Tyres

[Paul Wildsmith]

Need to buy 4 new tyres. What is the benefit of getting the volvo "branded" ones over the same thing without "vol" stamped on then?

[Darlo 1]

Fit what you can afford, personally speaking i think "branded" tyres are nothing but a marketing gimmik, if they are a decent make they are good enough.

[Tannaton]

None I would suggest....

I would say :

- Be clear on what you want from a tyre - sporty handling, all seasons, winter, maximum economy, comfort, noise? You can have probably two of that list of six...

- decide your budget - do you want premium tyres (Pirelli, Michelin, Continental) or just good brands (Hankook, Cooper, Bridgestone...)

- Shop on line, usually much cheaper than high street - Oponeo, ASDA, Camskill, MyTyres etc.

[TeamG]

Plan ahead and look out for the online offers. I found a deal on four Crossclimates with Costco that saved me over £300 with a combination of online offer and a limited time £100 cash back from Michelin. I’ve also found a decent offer via Asda tyres and fitted locally. Both with a bit of cash back via Quidco.

[e123]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

None I would suggest....

I would say :

- Be clear on what you want from a tyre - sporty handling, all seasons, winter, maximum economy, comfort, noise? You can have probably two of that list of six...

- decide your budget - do you want premium tyres (Pirelli, Michelin, Continental) or just good brands (Hankook, Cooper, Bridgestone...)

- Shop on line, usually much cheaper than high street - Oponeo, ASDA, Camskill, MyTyres etc.

Interesting you mention Cooper. At 15000 miles on my MX5, I got a punture and the local Wilco put a Cooper on as a repacement. 15000 miles later when the others needed replacing, it needed replacing too.

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by Paul Wildsmith

Need to buy 4 new tyres. What is the benefit of getting the volvo "branded" ones over the same thing without "vol" stamped on then?

There isn't any benefit for Volvos. Some makes' sports cars tyres are specifically specced/ designed.

I think Volvo feel they need to do it as part of being a premium brand. Mercedes (MO) and Audi (AO) have done the same for years. Occasionally you will find the 'original equipment' tyres cheaper than exactly the same tyres without the OE/Vol mark but normally it's the other way around.

I would get the make/model of the OEM tyre and buy the one without the OE marker at a discount.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by e123

Interesting you mention Cooper. At 15000 miles on my MX5, I got a punture and the local Wilco put a Cooper on as a repacement. 15000 miles later when the others needed replacing, it needed replacing too.

I've been using Cooper Discoverer MS2, Winter and WeatherMaster WSC on my Volvo XC's (60, 70 & 90) and Ford Rangers for about 8 years.

On the 2003 Volvo XC90 the Cooper Discoverer MS2's were replaced after 41,000 miles but only because they were 5 years old and cracking, they still had good tread.

I've just replaced my first set of Discoverer Winters on my XC60 with another of the same after 2 years/42,000 miles. Again there was around 5mm tread all round, but I had an non repairable puncture so rather than change just one I did all 4.

The WeatherMaster WSC's on my Ford Ranger are ~2 years old, done 12k miles and dropped about 2mm from 11mm to 9mm - so they should be good for 40k if I replace them at 4mm.

Appreciate that I'm using all terrain biased 4x4 winter tyres not standard road car but their life in my experience is very good.

[Casa1862]

Originally Posted by Paul Wildsmith

Need to buy 4 new tyres. What is the benefit of getting the volvo "branded" ones over the same thing without "vol" stamped on then?

What car is it for? I've just had two replaced on my 2020 S60 235/40/19, I ended up replacing with OEM Michelin Primacy 4's, however I noticed there was two fittings both marked VOL, I got the "Acoustic" ones as they were only £10 more, couldn't really see the difference anywhere until the fitter showed me the form insert in the tyre, the one he took off also had the foam insert so not sure if all the VOL marked tyres use this to keep the noise down (I wouldn't think it makes much difference though)

[Familyman 90]

Originally Posted by Paul Wildsmith

Need to buy 4 new tyres. What is the benefit of getting the volvo "branded" ones over the same thing without "vol" stamped on then?

None whatsoever.

[DaveNP]

For the original question, I've no idea what advantage there is to having a tyre with VOL branded into it, and I suspect neither do the vast majority of car owners, mechanics or even tyre fitters.
To make the decision I use online tyre tests to compare the performance of the options, I underline tests because online reviews are (in my opinion) not worth the paper they're not printed on, as I pointed out to my son, your Aunty Lilian can post a review, but her choice of tyres was based on what the nice man at Kwikfit said, and he must be a nice man because he gave her a free coffee before charging her nearly £500 for high performance tyres on her base spec hatchback. If you search for tyre tests there are a number of motoring organisations and magazines that do side by side tests for a lot of factors such as grip, braking, cornering, noise, in the wet and dry etc, all you need to do then is work out what level of performance you want and find the best option for the money you can afford.