185/65R15 Snows on 98 V70XC

bubbeck · Post by **bubbeck** » 22 Jan 2016, 07:33

Howdy! First time posting, thank already for all the helpful posts out there I've already read.

I've got a chance to pick up some 185/65R15 snow tires and wheels for pretty cheap, and was wondering if they're ok to throw on my 98 V70XC. They're off a 97 850R, so I'm pretty sure the hub size, pcd, and offset are fine. But the manual recommends a 195/65R15 snow. Is a 185 too narrow / what problems would this cause? Is this tire too small in diameter? I did all the calcs, seems like its 4% smaller than the stock 205/65R15s, which I'm ok with speedometer wise, but worried about messing up what I hear is a delicate flower of a transmission.

Thanks!

Post by **scot850** » 22 Jan 2016, 09:10

I had a 98 V70XC fitted with 195/65/15 tires and steel wheels. The narrower tires work great in snow and if you are ok with the speedo variance then that shouldn't be an issue.

The main issue you have to consider is the wear on the used tires coming from a FWD 850R. You need to carefully check the wear to ensure there is no difference in remaining tread or that is when you will wreck your transmission/AWD. Hopefully someone else will ship in as I can't recall the maximum variation that Volvo allows for, but I know it was not much.

Neil.

Post by **misha** » 22 Jan 2016, 10:25

Too narrow!
You will jeopardise stability of a vehicle.195/65/15 is required minimum for these cars.

bubbeck · Post by **bubbeck** » 22 Jan 2016, 11:05

Hmmm so 195 is the lower limit for width? It seems like 1cm wouldn't make that much of a difference but what do I know. In that case, any problem running 195/60r15? Seems like theres a bunch of those kicking around CL too..

Post by **misha** » 22 Jan 2016, 11:33

No problem with 195/60/15.They are narrow too,but acceptable.My '97 came from the factory with 205/50/16 on Persus wheels.

Post by **E Showell** » 22 Jan 2016, 13:06

Not sure Misha's right about that. Check the owner's manual. I believe my '98 V70 (came with 195/60/R15s stock) actually recommends 185/60/R15s as the appropriate snow tire, huge caveat being that my car is not an XC and there may be completely different minimum specs. for an XC (and probably are).

Post by **mecheng** » 22 Jan 2016, 13:08

misha wrote:No problem with 195/60/15.They are narrow too,but acceptable.My '97 came from the factory with 205/50/16 on Persus wheels.

195 is Not too narrow, it is common practise to use one width smaller for snow tires for better traction. Reduced area = higher pressure = better snow grip.

I've run all my winter tires on all my cars, past and present at 195. Even my old lowered Prelude, during one snow storm I was the only one on the street that made it out: Michelin Artic Alpines to the rescue. My current Dunlop snow tires are amazing as well, so were my Yokes and Bridgestones.

To the op, check the load rating of the tire and weight of vehicle.

Post by **scot850** » 22 Jan 2016, 14:56

When I worked in a Volvo dealer to help out in parts for the winter tire season, they didn't carry any 195 width tires. Only 185. 185 are fine as long as you consider what I mentioned above regarding the tire wear.

Neil.

bubbeck · Post by **bubbeck** » 22 Jan 2016, 16:45

The manual recommends 185/65R15 for FWD V70s, but explicitly recommends 195/65R15 for the XC.

The tires I was looking has a load index of 88 = 1235# per wheel. With a curb weight of 3728#, and say 1000# of people and stuff you get 4728/4 = 1182# per wheel assuming even weight distribution, so I guess they're fine then?

Post by **scot850** » 22 Jan 2016, 20:18