Good tyres for Volvo 940

[aardvarkash10]

Originally Posted by haymitch

Apologies for such a basic question but it'd like to know what a good type of tyre would be for my Volvo 940.

My mechanic advised me that my current tyres are wearing quickly because they are asymmetric which the cars suspension was never designed for. He suggested a pair of old fashioned 'block' tyres to last longer and improve the cars handling. After looking online I'm guessing he meant symmetric tyres. I'm finding it difficult to identify a suitable pair of tyres using online tools like blackcircles.com. Most tyres I keep coming across are asymmetric. I wondered if any other 940 owners could help please?

Thanks!

If thats what he said AND what he meant, your mechanic is speaking from his nether regions.

Wear rate is almost entirely the outcome of the tyre compound. Soft tyres stick well, but wear fast.

All else being equal, tyre noise is largely the outcome of tread design - block tread is noisey, linear tread not so much. The reasons are pretty self-evident.

All else being equal, wet traction is the result of tread design, but I qualify that by adding that compound and the road surface are almost indistinguishable players in this game too.

An "older style" block tread design is almost certainly going to be noisier, less grippy cornering in the wet and harsher riding. If you consider that an improvement, go for your life.

[jpliddy]

the michelin energy tyres i have on the car now went on at 20500 the car has now done coming up to 248000 there is still life in them and obviously legal so will take them to the end of the summer and replaced for winter . i have kept a log /service history since purchasing the car in september 1999 . i have just checked my previous set and they have only done 380000 so sorry for the error
strange how I've managed another 7000 miles on these tyres i can't explain why the first set of michelin energy i put on was march 2005 . these are showing according to my records over 50000 mile so a vast difference in milage I'm getting over the years are there different compounds ? can't be

[haymitch]

Lots of interesting stuff there - especially since my current tyres are in fact Uniroyal RainSport 3s! They're the asymmetric tyre I was talking about. The previous owner added a full set to the car around 11 months ago. I had the wheels aligned around 4 months ago so I don't know if it's the driving before this point that has caused them to wear prematurely?

I changed the PSI in all tyres to 32 around 2 months ago. The car has definitely handled better since then but it's not stopped the wear. I've just looked through the service history and the car's done 8000 miles since the tyres were last changed.

I trust the mechanic - he's an honest sort and has been recommended on this forum. I've also taken the car to three garages now and none of them have spotted anything wrong with the suspension, which is what makes it so strange.

One garage noticed that the tie rods looked worn but not badly and recommended not to replace them. This wasn't mentioned at all by the other garages.

By 'good tyre' I mean one that is medium to hard wearing with good grip - not sure how else to describe it but not cheapies basically

[haymitch]

It does seem that people are getting good returns on their asymmetric tyres...

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by martin calva

As I said earler, my Michelin Energy tyres have now done about 56,000 km (around 35,000 miles). There is still bags of life left in them.

So jpliddy getting 45000 miles from his does not seem surprising to me.

I'm surprised how someone can say a tyre is pricey when they apparently last for 45000 miles.

Sounds too good to be true.

J.

[jpliddy]

I've only ever put michelin tyres on my car . i have swopped the front for back around 25000 miles on every set I've had cheating a bit maybe but it works for me !

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by haymitch

Lots of interesting stuff there - especially since my current tyres are in fact Uniroyal RainSport 3s! They're the asymmetric tyre I was talking about. The previous owner added a full set to the car around 11 months ago. I had the wheels aligned around 4 months ago so I don't know if it's the driving before this point that has caused them to wear prematurely?

I changed the PSI in all tyres to 32 around 2 months ago. The car has definitely handled better since then but it's not stopped the wear. I've just looked through the service history and the car's done 8000 miles since the tyres were last changed.

I trust the mechanic - he's an honest sort and has been recommended on this forum. I've also taken the car to three garages now and none of them have spotted anything wrong with the suspension, which is what makes it so strange.

One garage noticed that the tie rods looked worn but not badly and recommended not to replace them. This wasn't mentioned at all by the other garages.

By 'good tyre' I mean one that is medium to hard wearing with good grip - not sure how else to describe it but not cheapies basically

I see your location is Cambridge, living just up the road from you and knowing what the roads are like round here, is your driving mainly on main roads, round Cambridge itself or the back droves through places like Histon, Cottenham, Hauxton and so on?

The bit i don't think the others will know and/or appreciate is the adverse cambers on the roads round here.
That's why tyres with symmetrical patterns and block treads will in fact be better round here than the modern stuff. As Ash rightly points out, on wet roads they won't grip so well so you need to take that into account as well.

I am a bit concerned you've got your tyre pressures at 32 psi all round. There really should be a slight difference between the front and back as Volvo specify for all the 7xx models i've had, i'm assuming the 9xx models are similar but please check - if i've assumed wrongly then my apologies.

[haymitch]

I mainly drive around Ely, Burwell and Waterbeach and Wicken Fen. The cambers are pretty extreme around here.

Will check the tyre pressures.

Currently looking at Michelin Energy Saver that was mentioned earlier. It looks like a symmetrical tyre to me if I'm not mistaken?

[Laird Scooby]

Doesn't look symmetrical to me to be honest.

Knowing most of the roads in that area the adverse cambers are pretty extreme as you say and some of the bends come under the same description too!

The surfaces leave a lot to be desired as well!

Given most of your journeys are within that area i'd be surprised if any tyre gives you a long life and serious grip!

[James_EG_940]

Just checked the tyre sticker on mine:

Normal:
28 front
30 rear

Heavy load:
30 front
41 rear

Over 100mph:
add 4psi

Tyre types:
185/65R15
195/65R15
205/55R16