Volvo Owners Club Forum

Volvo Owners Club Forum (https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/index.php)
-   AWD Discussion (https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=191)
-   -   xc60 AWD tyres (https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=272093)

Mavo47 Aug 28th, 2017 00:32

xc60 AWD tyres
 
Hi All
Quick question on changing tyres, I have xc60 AWD D5 R design 2014 was advised my front tyres are nearly ready for changing, I've measured the tread depth and its about 4mm on front 6mm on rear dealer is telling me to change all 4 tyres together as its AWD but it would be a shame to bin the rear tyres with 6mm on them, I have been told that I could just change the fronts as long as the new tyres with 8mm tread go on the back and the rear 6mm tread go on front something to do with the drive is there any logic to this or is it a load of tosh, would really like your opinions on this.
Many thanks
Mav

Tannaton Aug 28th, 2017 01:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mavo47 (Post 2312968)
Hi All
Quick question on changing tyres, I have xc60 AWD D5 R design 2014 was advised my front tyres are nearly ready for changing, I've measured the tread depth and its about 4mm on front 6mm on rear dealer is telling me to change all 4 tyres together as its AWD but it would be a shame to bin the rear tyres with 6mm on them, I have been told that I could just change the fronts as long as the new tyres with 8mm tread go on the back and the rear 6mm tread go on front something to do with the drive is there any logic to this or is it a load of tosh, would really like your opinions on this.
Many thanks
Mav

There is no reason to change all four. On some older AWD cars with a thermo viscous coupling (Vauxhall Cavalier, Land Rover Freelander 1, pre-2003 MY Volvo) it is important to keep the tyres about the same circumference or transmission damage can occur. However on the later cars with a Haldex based system (all post 2003 MY Volvo) it is simply not an issue whatsoever [to the longevity of the drivetrain] how you mix part worn tyres or where the less worn ones are fitted. So yes it is absolute tosh.

AWD system apart - opinion is divided as to whether you put the best tyres to the back or front - but probably all manufacturers and most motoring bodies (AA, RAC) now recommend the rear on the basis that there would be a greater chance of regaining control of the car if it aquaplaned. However 6mm and 8mm is so close and if you put the 8mm at the front, by the time the rears have worn to 4mm the fronts will have too. In spite of recommending that new tyres go to the rear, Volvo also recommend that you rotate the tyres regularly which invariably means putting the less worn ones to the front...

Rooster Aug 28th, 2017 12:33

Tosh,

Legal limit is 1.6mm across tyre so at 4mm your only half worn anyway,

The main issue on newer cars is the TPMS tyre pressure monitors,

Seen a few lately that have odd tyres on same axle and it keeps putting light on as it thinks one tyre is going down, but as long as tyres are changed in pairs its fine or if one is damaged for whatever reason it is replaced like for like (make and model of tyre is the same not just make as every tyre differs)

Mavo47 Aug 28th, 2017 21:10

Thanks for your feedback on the tyre issue, I am just going to replace the 2 front tyres and put the largest tread to the rear as recommended .
Thanks again .

Paul86 Sep 1st, 2017 09:33

When I bought my old xc90 it had cheap tyres on it. If you pushed it a little hard the front would wash out on roundabouts, I replaced the fronts when they wore out but then the back became very twitchy. Just be careful what you put on, I now try and keep all four the same to keep the grip the same otherwise the awd can cause problems with grip, especially if the fronts are the ones with less grip.

Tannaton Sep 1st, 2017 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul86 (Post 2314146)
When I bought my old xc90 it had cheap tyres on it. If you pushed it a little hard the front would wash out on roundabouts, I replaced the fronts when they wore out but then the back became very twitchy. Just be careful what you put on, I now try and keep all four the same to keep the grip the same otherwise the awd can cause problems with grip, especially if the fronts are the ones with less grip.

Also the 2WD versions of the XC60 can be prone to torque steer with un-matched front tyres (either tread depth and/or variant)

NigelDay Sep 13th, 2017 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooster (Post 2313046)
Tosh,

Legal limit is 1.6mm across tyre so at 4mm your only half worn anyway,

Not necessarily. The manufacturers do state that for maximum 'winter' performance, you should not go below 4mm.

Tannaton Sep 14th, 2017 00:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by NigelDay (Post 2318036)
Not necessarily. The manufacturers do state that for maximum 'winter' performance, you should not go below 4mm.

I've just rotated the tyres on my XC60 tonight (41k and still on the original Continentals that are between 3.5 and 4mm). Noticed that they now have wear indicators at 4mm as well as 1.6mm.

skyship007 Oct 22nd, 2017 23:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tannaton (Post 2318133)
I've just rotated the tyres on my XC60 tonight (41k and still on the original Continentals that are between 3.5 and 4mm). Noticed that they now have wear indicators at 4mm as well as 1.6mm.

You need to have a minimum of 4 mm and snow flake rated winter tyres (The mountain symbol ones are better) to be legal in Switzerland and Austria during the winter. The tread depth makes no real difference in ice, but sure does in snow. That's probably why they have wear indicators at 4 mm.
Some all weather tyres are snow flake rated.

Oddly enough a lot of drivers forget that how good the tyres are makes very little difference to a cars performance when cornering, it mostly effects braking distance figures (They relate directly to how good the grip is) and to some extent handling.
Winter tyres are not much better than summer tyres on black ice, although they are better on dry ice (Below about minus 15c). At present there is no EU standard for braking tests on ice, due to the EU failing to define which type of ice should be used.

When selecting tyres, the only manufacturers worth considering are Continental, Dunlop, Goodyear and Michellin. If you use winter tyres, Nokian are also worth checking.
Not much difference between the performance of any of the major brand top of the range tyres, although Michellins seem to last slightly longer and on average Continentals have the best braking distance figures.

Tannaton Oct 23rd, 2017 12:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyship007 (Post 2330190)
You need to have a minimum of 4 mm and snow flake rated winter tyres (The mountain symbol ones are better) to be legal in Switzerland and Austria during the winter. The tread depth makes no real difference in ice, but sure does in snow. That's probably why they have wear indicators at 4 mm.
Some all weather tyres are snow flake rated.

Oddly enough a lot of drivers forget that how good the tyres are makes very little difference to a cars performance when cornering, it mostly effects braking distance figures (They relate directly to how good the grip is) and to some extent handling.
Winter tyres are not much better than summer tyres on black ice, although they are better on dry ice (Below about minus 15c). At present there is no EU standard for braking tests on ice, due to the EU failing to define which type of ice should be used.

When selecting tyres, the only manufacturers worth considering are Continental, Dunlop, Goodyear and Michellin. If you use winter tyres, Nokian are also worth checking.
Not much difference between the performance of any of the major brand top of the range tyres, although Michellins seem to last slightly longer and on average Continentals have the best braking distance figures.

The problem with Europe is the rules and recommendations differ so much between countries, it's really hard to tell. Some have more relaxed rules for visitors and in some the rules only apply when it is actually snowing. I think the EU parliament have been too busy banning light bulbs and vacuum cleaners to get around to winter tyres...

https://www.theaa.com/european-break...s-winter-tyres

I would agree that if you carefully select a tyre from the manufacturers you have listed you are assured of reasonable results - but I would not restrict it to just those - FYI with regard to car tyres, Goodyear and Dunlop are the same entity. These days it's really important that people buying tyres check the EU label and keep that in mind when making a selection. Vredestien, Cooper, Yokohama, Bridgestone and Pirelli all have offerings as good as those listed.


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 13:01.

Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.