Need Advice on a Few '98 S70 T5 Issues

[T-Shirt]

Hi All:

I am a new user with a '98 S70 T5. I love it, but the repair costs are killing me. I want to keep this car, but a lot of what I see tells me that they are just very, very expensive to fix. Based on that, here are the issues I'm looking to solve as inexpensively as possible:

Tires: I currently have the Michelin MXH4 Energy P205/55R16. I'd like something sportier without going to a "V" rated tire that'll give me only 20k miles. And is that the optimal size?

Spoiler - I see a lot of these prepainted on ebay; are they completely inferior to the OEM part? I can save some big $$ here.

Fog Lights - Any other place besides eBay and Volvo to get these? And are they necessary if I upgrade to Sylvania SilverStar headlights? I've read good reviews on those.

Front knee bolsters under steering wheel and glove box - $200 each for these crappy things with flimsy tabs that hold them in place, only to break off. Where can I get some outside of Volvo?

Brakes - Mine shudder hard when stopping, but Volvo says they are fine, with plenty of pad left and that this is normal. It wasn't normal for the first 90k miles when they didn't do it...What causes this and what are the best pads to use?

Buzzing from steering column - This sounds like someone is blowing on the thin edge of a sheet of paper when I accellerate from a dead stop; it seems to be coming from the column. Any ideas?

Apologies for all the questions, but you seem to be the resident experts...Any advice on these items would be greatly appreciated!

Best Regards,

Michael Tschirret

[matthew1]

Tires: I currently have the Michelin MXH4 Energy P205/55R16. I'd like something sportier without going to a "V" rated tire that'll give me only 20k miles. And is that the optimal size?

This is a good thread regarding tires:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/chat/p ... php?t=2217
One member says Michelin.

Fog Lights - Any other place besides eBay and Volvo to get these? And are they necessary if I upgrade to Sylvania SilverStar headlights? I've read good reviews on those.

I've read Hella Micro DE Driving Lights From HIDS4LESS are very good -- but they're drivng lights. They may make fog lights.

Front knee bolsters under steering wheel and glove box - $200 each for these crappy things with flimsy tabs that hold them in place, only to break off. Where can I get some outside of Volvo?

Check here for parted out 850/70s, or call your local salvage yards.

Brakes - Mine shudder hard when stopping, but Volvo says they are fine, with plenty of pad left and that this is normal. It wasn't normal for the first 90k miles when they didn't do it...What causes this and what are the best pads to use?

That's warped rotors. It happens quite frequently to 850/70s. Search the forum for dozens and dozens of posts about brakes, shims, pads and rotors. Here's a good shim addition tutorial by Tsquared:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/shims.php

Buzzing from steering column - This sounds like someone is blowing on the thin edge of a sheet of paper when I accellerate from a dead stop; it seems to be coming from the column. Any ideas?

Upper engine mount?
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/engine_mount.php

[matthew1]

Oh, and there's a bunch of helpful stuff in the Repair Instruction, Tips and Fixes section on my main page:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/

[T-Shirt]

Thanks very much for the help!

Michael Tschirret