V70 Tramlining - poll

[busbridge]

At the risk of boring everyone my experience was same as many others - 17" wheels on Pirellis P6000. Awful tramlining and hard ride. Unless I was motorway driving the car darted all over the place as if it was on Crossplies. I changed the wheels to 16" with Michelin Pilot Primacy tyres & the car is transformed. Accurate steering response NO tramlining at all quieter more compliant ride and no noticeable loss of directional control. Don't be fooled by the 'go faster/look faster' switch to larger wheels. They may look good but ride quality suffers and the tyres are a lot more expensive.

[nunrgguy]

I think tramlining is just a fact of life with these cars...suspension components getting older, low profile tyres etc.
I used to have F1s on my fronts - tramlining was bad.
Recently I've had Avons on and increased the pressure to 36psi and while still tramlining it was an improvement. Interestingly on my tyre suppliers website they actually recommend 41psi in the fronts and 38 in the back.
After my experience this week though I wouldn't necessarily recommend Avons though. They are the same tread pattern as F1s and are supposed to be reasonably hard wearing. I've just had a collapse of the sidewall on the nearside front which could have caused a nasty accident. The effect of the collapse, which happened at about 50 mph was to cause the front end of the car to lose it in a completely unpredictable way (it felt like the front of the car was trying to fold under itself) and almost resulted in a spin on a very narrow country lane. At the time I thought it was a patch of ice (temp was 4 degrees), until shortly after feeling the car 'tramlining' in a very different way at about 20mph. At that speed the feeling was similar but more 'squishy'. The tyre was still up and retaining pressure but the the split in the sidewall (just below the 'treadline' was causing the tyre to 'fold' in and out of the rim. This was after only 5000 miles wear. Tread depth was down to 4mm.
So ...Avons...maybe I just got a bad one but...pants!

[spostgate]

I've just had my tyres replaced on my D5 V70 from Dunlop sport contacts to Pirelli Pzero. The Pzeros have transformed the car completely. I had been thinking of uprating the suspension bushes to Polyurethane but now I don't need to. The tramlining has gone completely.

[Nuisance]

Had Pirelli P6000 on recently... They were lethal. Tramlining was best described as "Violent" And handling with "spirited" driving was unpredictable.

Changed to Goodyear Excellence (Asymetrics) the car will not tramline at all now, Even on very visible ruts.

The Eagles were too soft for me, they didn't last 5 mins

Anyone who says it's the car and not the tyres is spouting BS.

[Engineer]

Originally Posted by Nuisance

Had Pirelli P6000 on recently... They were lethal. Tramlining was best described as "Violent" And handling with "spirited" driving was unpredictable.

Changed to Goodyear Excellence (Asymetrics) the car will not tramline at all now, Even on very visible ruts.

The Eagles were too soft for me, they didn't last 5 mins

Anyone who says it's the car and not the tyres is spouting BS.

and there's me thinking your car was a P11

[Nuisance]

Originally Posted by Engineer

and there's me thinking your car was a P11

It is indeed, but they suffer the same issues. Larger tyres rub, and many brands tramline badly.

Volvo certainly didn't solve the problem on the facelift.

[Engineer]

Originally Posted by Nuisance

It is indeed, but they suffer the same issues. Larger tyres rub, and many brands tramline badly.

Volvo certainly didn't solve the problem on the facelift.

For sure all tyres perform differently mate but to condem everything else other than the tyres is silly IMHO see link. Plus the poll doesn't agree with you anyway lol....

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showpo...5&postcount=46

[Nuisance]

Yeah, but I think most people are agreed that the tyres are a major factor.
So I stand by my comment that people who are saying it's not the tyres (IE: the tyres have no effect), it's the car, are wrong.

True other cars don't have this issue with tyres, and it's probably due to suspension geometry on the Volvo but I have found that on a V70 tyres have a massive effect on the sttering over bad surfaces.

[Engineer]

Originally Posted by Nuisance

Yeah, but I think most people are agreed that the tyres are a major factor.
So I stand by my comment that people who are saying it's not the tyres (IE: the tyres have no effect), it's the car, are wrong.

True other cars don't have this issue with tyres, and it's probably due to suspension geometry on the Volvo but I have found that on a V70 tyres have a massive effect on the sttering over bad surfaces.

Sure they do, as they do on all cars but worn or new? I wish I could show you how much movement there is on the TCA when your accelerate and brake even when the whole system is new. Hence if not ridged enough and/or set up correctly then you only have the tyre to compensate which not all tyre makes can do due to the design. I guess this subject will run and run until all manufacturers stop cutting corners on suspension components as is the case on some Volvo models. Especially non R's and all P11's.

[Nuisance]

I think alot of manufacturers compromise too much good handling in the name of comfort and isolation. Surely Volvo must be well aware of the tramlining issue, it's been a problem for a decade now, just as the rubbing steering.

It does make you wonder, where thier priorities lie.

I have found that diferent tyres can make so much diference as between being undriveable, and driving perfectly OK. Arround town you may not notice much, but once you get out on the open road the diference is massive.
I found myself quite agressively fighting the Pirelli P6000's to stay on course.