V70 Wheels/Tyres: Winter Tyres

[Deck]

That's extremely useful, many thanks Bill.

[Gazdok]

Originally Posted by Deck

Hi All,

Sorry if this is naive - first time poster

I've a V70 DRIVe - which, slightly troublingly, doesn't seem to be in the range any more. The tyres are 205/60 R16.

I've seen several posts about getting new wheels rather than just replacing existing tyres. My questions are:

1. If I go for the Nokian WR G2, should I go for the same tyre dimensions (205/60 R16), or is there a good reason for looking into changing the wheels too?

2. Mytyres.com has two types of WR G2: a 92H and a 96H XL. Why would I buy one over the other?

Many thanks,

Deck.

Hi Deck,

You can use either tyre probably.
To be sure, look for a plate under the bonnet or the rear doors when they are open, which tells you about your max. axleload for front and rear and divide this by 2. The result is the lowest LI you can use.
Mine is 1170 kg and 1130 kg for a V70 D5 AWD GT. This means I can use tyres down to 585 kg LI = 89 if I want to stretch the envelope or to be legal LI 90. When I bought my car it had LI 94 tyres on.
If you go up with LoadIndex the tyre walls get stiffer and ride harder.
Also higher LI tyres are often more expensive.

[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by Gazdok

Mine is 1170 kg and 1130 kg for a V70 D5 AWD GT. This means I can use tyres down to 585 kg LI = 89 if I want to stretch the envelope or to be legal LI 90.

You meed to be careful about using a simple arithmetic interpretation of load index, as inflation pressure also comes into the equation.

A tyre is only capable of carrying it's peak load if it is inflated to or above the corresponding pressure (about 36psi IIRC for standard load tyres, or 43psi for XL tyres). A tyre with load index ox 'whatever' is only rated for it's full load when inflated to that pressure.

My S60 manual sanctions pressures as low as 32 for a lightly-loaded vehicle, and so the tyre's load-index needs to have some 'headroom' to allow for what will be lost owing to sub-optimal inflation pressure. By 'sub-optimal' I mean (sub) optimal for load-carrying. There may be very good handling/safety/comfort reasons why a pressure lower than that of 'peak load' pressure may be recommended.

It is a good idea to go with the car-maker's recommendation, anything else could land you in hot water with insurers should you ever have an accident. The car-maker may well specify a load index that seems over-generous, because they want to run their cars with pressures below the optimum for load.

[obbard]

Originally Posted by Bill_56

You meed to be careful about using a simple arithmetic interpretation of load index, as inflation pressure also comes into the equation.

A tyre is only capable of carrying it's peak load if it is inflated to or above the corresponding pressure (about 36psi IIRC for standard load tyres, or 43psi for XL tyres). A tyre with load index ox 'whatever' is only rated for it's full load when inflated to that pressure.

My S60 manual sanctions pressures as low as 32 for a lightly-loaded vehicle, and so the tyre's load-index needs to have some 'headroom' to allow for what will be lost owing to sub-optimal inflation pressure. By 'sub-optimal' I mean (sub) optimal for load-carrying. There may be very good handling/safety/comfort reasons why a pressure lower than that of 'peak load' pressure may be recommended.

It is a good idea to go with the car-maker's recommendation, anything else could land you in hot water with insurers should you ever have an accident. The car-maker may well specify a load index that seems over-generous, because they want to run their cars with pressures below the optimum for load.

Just to interest does the load rating have any effect on tyre wear etc, or too little difference to notice?

[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by obbard

Just to interest does the load rating have any effect on tyre wear etc, or too little difference to notice?

Interesting question. I was about to say 'can't see why it should', but then I thought of how XLs have re-inforced sidewalls that are widely believed to have an effect on handling and comfort. So I wonder whether a tyre with less flexible sidewalls may end up passing additional stresses onto the tread, hence affecting wear? Just a thought.

And leaving aside the fundamental difference between Standard Load tyres and XLs, I wonder whether differences just in the LI would have similar effects on comfort, handling and maybe even wear rate?

But I've used XLs myself in the past as it's all they had in stock one time and, personally, I never noticed any difference at all in handling or comfort. And they lasted about the same life as the standard load tyres (same brand) that I normally use.

Somebody else may know better....?

[Bigcheese1]

Originally Posted by Radarman

TFR

I was wondering about winter tyres for a bit, but then remembering how rubbish my V70 was last winter in the snow, I bought a set. Nokian WR G2 205/55/R16 94H on 16" steel rims from mytyres. Including postage it was £521. Excellent service from mytyres btw. The 16"rims supplied fit very well.

My logic for buying went as follows .... 2 new tyres (needed now) £240. Insurance excess for a claim (maybe) during the winter months £250. Peace of mind £31 :-) Need I say more?

I think I'm right in saying the Nokian WR G2 are unusual in being classed as an all weather tyre rather than a winter tyre. Though they do feature quite often in winter tyre tests and have impressed testers with their winter performance. This is backed up by reviews by Canadian drivers who seem to be impressed with them.

Of course the advantage of them being "all weather" is that you can keep them on all year and avoid the inconvenience and expense of swapping tyres.
Would consider these tyres myself if I hadn't got a great deal on Continental Winter Contacts - great choice for UK due to their cold wet weather handling.

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by Bigcheese1

I think I'm right in saying the Nokian WR G2 are unusual in being classed as an all weather tyre rather than a winter tyre. Though they do feature quite often in winter tyre tests and have impressed testers with their winter performance. This is backed up by reviews by Canadian drivers who seem to be impressed with them.

Of course the advantage of them being "all weather" is that you can keep them on all year and avoid the inconvenience and expense of swapping tyres.
Would consider these tyres myself if I hadn't got a great deal on Continental Winter Contacts - great choice for UK due to their cold wet weather handling.

Just taken delivery of some Nokian WR G2 195/65/15 95H XL. I had a good "fondle" of them and was surprised at how "flimsy" the side wall seemed, meaning they seemed very thin and easily flexed. I'm not entirely convinced or sure of how the "re-inforced sidewall" argument I am. I'm wondering if it means it gives less under higher air pressures rather than meaning it has greater structural strength in its own right?

[Bigcheese1]

Originally Posted by tommyweaves

Just taken delivery of some Nokian WR G2 195/65/15 95H XL. I had a good "fondle" of them and was surprised .......

Glad to see your having such an interesting relationship with your tyres!

When it comes to the structure of the sidewalls though, well your way out of my knowledge zone.

If I were you, I'd just stick to the groping. No licking though - nasty rubber taste YAK!

[Bill_56]

When I did my own research a year ago, the Nokians were marketed in Europe as purely a winter tyre. In the USA they seemed to be marketed as 'all weather' but, a big distinction, not 'all season'. The difference seemed to be that an 'all-season' tyre is optimised for summer but still usable in colder weather too, though probably not much good in snow & ice. Whereas if I understand right, the Nokians are the reverse... optimised for winter, still usable in milder weather, but maybe sub-optimal for a scorching summer.

The tread is heavily siped (multiple fine 'razor' cuts) as per a winter tyre, and according to Nokian's website the tread is canona-silica, as per winter tyres. So I wouldn't personally want to keep them on the car in summer for fear of rapid wear, or even of mis-haps resulting from poor handling. Last time I looked, I'm pretty sure Nokian's European website suggested the WR G2s were for winter use only.

'Can't comment much on the sidewall stiffness. It is my understanding that Extra Load 'XL' tyres (as opposed to tyres with just a high LI) are supposed to have reinforced sidewalls, but I've no idea whether or not that would be obvious by feel. We don't often get the chance to 'feel' tyres off the wheels. I already confessed I don't really know for sure whether XLs offer any more protection against potholes, tho' I'd like to know too...

[Bigcheese1]

Originally Posted by Bill_56

When I did my own research a year ago, the Nokians were marketed in Europe as purely a winter tyre. In the USA they seemed to be marketed as 'all weather' but, a big distinction, not 'all season'. The difference seemed to be that an 'all-season' tyre is optimised for summer but still usable in colder weather too, though probably not much good in snow & ice. Whereas if I understand right, the Nokians are the reverse... optimised for winter, still usable in milder weather, but maybe sub-optimal for a scorching summer.

The tread is heavily siped (multiple fine 'razor' cuts) as per a winter tyre, and according to Nokian's website the tread is canona-silica, as per winter tyres. So I wouldn't personally want to keep them on the car in summer for fear of rapid wear, or even of mis-haps resulting from poor handling. Last time I looked, I'm pretty sure Nokian's European website suggested the WR G2s were for winter use only.

'Can't comment much on the sidewall stiffness. It is my understanding that Extra Load 'XL' tyres (as opposed to tyres with just a high LI) are supposed to have reinforced sidewalls, but I've no idea whether or not that would be obvious by feel. We don't often get the chance to 'feel' tyres off the wheels. I already confessed I don't really know for sure whether XLs offer any more protection against potholes, tho' I'd like to know too...

My mistake Bill, the WR G2 is, as you state, a winter tyre. It seems I've misread some of the tyre tests that compare the WR G2's excellent dry handling abilities to those of summer tyres'.