New to VOlvo, Tire suggestions, maintance?

Post by **tjts1** » 28 Nov 2009, 14:34

If you need cheap tires for your 850 or x70, I picked up a set Falken Ziex ze912 today for $186 shipped.

turbotim2 · Post by **turbotim2** » 29 Nov 2009, 05:28

Check out tirerack.com for tires. They have a good rating system. I just got a set of General Altimax tires, they were the second highest rated for the size (195/60-15) behind Michelins and about half the price. So far I am happy with them and will probably be putting a set on the other 850. It would be a huge waste for you to put snow tires on your car where you are. I live in Maine and never run snow tires, these cars are very good in snow as long as you have decent tread on whatever tire you have.

Post by **meine39** » 29 Nov 2009, 07:11

If you have the $$$ the Michelin Primacy MXV4s are fantastic - we replaced a set of Falkens with the Michelins and the car feels transformed - great handling and low road noise. Michelins were OEM on this car when it was new, and the newer generation MXV4s just feel "right" on the 850.

BTW the Falkens we had on the car are the worst tires I've ever had in over 30 years of driving - they were shot in less than 15K miles. Of course, YMMV. (Consumer Reports give the Ziex 912 a "poor" tread life rating).

Post by **tjts1** » 29 Nov 2009, 10:44

turbotim2 wrote:Check out tirerack.com for tires. They have a good rating system.

I tend to stay away from tirerack because their prices are slightly higher and they charge for shipping. It seems like most of their profit comes from over priced shipping. Otherwise they have great customer service.

meine39 wrote: BTW the Falkens we had on the car are the worst tires I've ever had in over 30 years of driving - they were shot in less than 15K miles. Of course, YMMV. (Consumer Reports give the Ziex 912 a "poor" tread life rating).

What kind of Falkens? I put 20k miles and 8 autoXs on a Falken RT615s which is a soft track tire with a barely road legal tread pattern. The wear rating was 100. Zeix 512s are notorious for road noise and most owners tend to replace them very early. The 512 was replaced by 912 which by all reviews is stellar. It has a 65,000 mile tread wear warranty. Hard to beat at $46/tire. I'll take actual owner reviews over Consumer Reports any day.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... =15&cs=195
Anyway, I put a set of 912s on my 960 3 months ago and just ordered another set for the 850.

cheers
Justin

Post by **meine39** » 29 Nov 2009, 17:27

What kind of Falkens? I put 20k miles and 8 autoXs on a Falken RT615s which is a soft track tire with a barely road legal tread pattern. The wear rating was 100. Zeix 512s are notorious for road noise and most owners tend to replace them very early. The 512 was replaced by 912 which by all reviews is stellar. It has a 65,000 mile tread wear warranty. Hard to beat at $46/tire. I'll take actual owner reviews over Consumer Reports any day.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direc ... =15&cs=195
Anyway, I put a set of 912s on my 960 3 months ago and just ordered another set for the 850.

Just pulled the receipt from my records - yep they were the 512s.

turbotim2 · Post by **turbotim2** » 30 Nov 2009, 06:02

I have never actually bought tires from the Tire Rack, just used their resource for ratings and a ballpark price guide. I had the Michelins on mine previously and still one my wife's 850 and they are great tires. They are too expensive for a car that may not outlast the tires in my case.