V70: Wheels/Brakes 17" wheel & tyre size

[tommyweaves]

I ordered my MY2011 V70 with 17" Njord alloys and at the time (early September 2010) the price list and info (Verson 2.1 dated August 24th 2010) stated they came with 225/50/17 tyres. However, when I collected the car it had 245/45/17 tyres, suggesting the wheels were wider than I expected. It's not a major issue but that's a very wide tyre considering our road conditions in this country and that most of the time a skinnier tyre would be better for very wet or snowy roads.

Both tyre/wheel size combinations are covered in the manual so I guess it's part of the normal range in terms of specification. The only handling issue I've noticed (and it may apply to both variants) is that the steering seems to "pull" on extreme cambers, particularly at low speeds, in the same way as my 1970s Morris Mini did with wide wheels that had an excessive offset.

I just wondered if anyone had a view.

[KiwiRob]

If you're going to drive on snowy roads get a set of winter tyres, winter tyres are also better then standard tyres if the temp is in single digits.

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by KiwiRob

If you're going to drive on snowy roads get a set of winter tyres, winter tyres are also better then standard tyres if the temp is in single digits.

Agreed. Can you recommend a winter tyre for the UK?

[KiwiRob]

I have continential winter viking 3's on mine, 16" alloys, works well, at the moment we don't have any snow but are suffering through the coldest November in decades avg temp is -9 so pretty icey, I wouldn't dream of running summer tyres in this weather.

[cloggers]

I have just bought some Vredestein Wintrac Extremes (gotta support the Dutch economy a little bit) but unfortunately they haven't arrived yet.

I am currently managing on icy roads with my 245/40/r18s but would be happy when my winters finally arrive next week...

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by cloggers

I have just bought some Vredestein Wintrac Extremes (gotta support the Dutch economy a little bit) but unfortunately they haven't arrived yet.

I am currently managing on icy roads with my 245/40/r18s but would be happy when my winters finally arrive next week...

Funnily enough I'd just decided on the same tyre as a good option for winter tyres. Stock seems difficult to get hold of though, where did you get yours?

[tommyweaves]

I've got to the bottom of this:

Not all the 17" wheel options on the MY2011 are the same width! The 17" Njord alloys are 8" wide as opposed to the 17" Balder and Cassini alloys which are 7" wide. That's why my tyres are 245/45/17 and SouthOxons's tyres are 225/50/17 even though we both have 17" rims.

Thanks to a little nugget of info from Irishcarfan I found the following which shows all the wheel options, sizes, recommended tyre sizes and offsets.

http://vccs.volvocars.se/accessories...lu/default.htm

There is also legacy information in the form of pdf documents (about a thousand pages!) for pre 07 V70s and pre 00 V70s which show all the wheel options, sizes, tyre sizes and offsets, which should answer everyone's questions on what wheels fit what cars. (I believe). Start at this page: http://vccs.volvocars.se/accessories...GB/default.htm

[SouthOxon]

This thread provoked me into getting some winter tyres for the first time. I don't really know why I needed provoking; I am French [as well as English] & my wife is Dutch and I have long realised the wisdom of continental motorists who drive six months of the year on summer tyres and six months on winter tyres, and how Neanderthal the British are when it comes to such things, so why has it taken me forty years of driving to do the bleedin' obvious (© J Cleese)? I suppose that I am just a slow learner.

Actually getting hold of some tyres was rather more difficult that I expected. After two weeks of prodding the Volvo dealer in Wantage came up with price of £ 1,100 for a complete set of Continental winter tyres plus four 'Balder' wheels, which I suppose is quite a good price for what it is, but I don't see the need to buy a another full set of alloys and in any case they could not actually get the tyres.

I did manage to place an order with a bunch of internet cowboys called www.mytyres.co.uk [aka Delticom Limited] but I cancelled the order when they emailed saying;

Because of data security rules we need a proof of identity from our customers to ensure a high level of fraud prevention. So, please fax your last electricity bill / gas bill for address confirmation purposes.

Cheeky gits; 'Big Brother' does not rule. Yet.

So I ordered a set a from Bespoke Wheels Limited in Warwick and they were quite efficient and delivered the tyres directly to my village garage (whom I would highly recommend). I then did a deal with the garage for him to provide a winter tyres service; swapping between winter & summer tyres twice a year and storing the unused set in between times.

I have just had the winter tyres fitted. As it happens, it has started snowing heavily this morning and the trip back from the garage was on decidedly iffy roads, with cars (and people) slipping and sliding all over the place. However, I had no difficulty coming home carefully and slowly (but still quicker than anyone else) and so far, after about a mile of use, the winter tyres seem to be doing what it says on the tin.

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by SouthOxon

So I ordered a set a from Bespoke Wheels Limited in Warwick and they were quite efficient and delivered the tyres directly to my village garage (whom I would highly recommend). I then did a deal with the garage for him to provide a winter tyres service; swapping between winter & summer tyres twice a year and storing the unused set in between times.

I have just had the winter tyres fitted. As it happens, it has started snowing heavily this morning and the trip back from the garage was on decidedly iffy roads, with cars (and people) slipping and sliding all over the place. However, I had no difficulty coming home carefully and slowly (but still quicker than anyone else) and so far, after about a mile of use, the winter tyres seem to be doing what it says on the tin.

Which tyres did you get in the end? I'm assuming they've gone on your 17" Balders?

[SouthOxon]

Originally Posted by tommyweaves

Which tyres did you get in the end? I'm assuming they've gone on you 17" Balders?

I ended up with with some Continental Matador MP 59 Nordicca M+S. I had never heard of them (well, I had heard of Continental; they are the OEM tyres). I had very little choice; these seem to be from a Slovakian subsidiary of Continental and the reviews I could find seemed generally favourable; the main downside being that they apparently generate more road noise than some. They cost £ 160 each (cheaper than many winter tyres which in any case are not available) and, as you assume, they have gone on my existing 'Balders'; I can't see the point of having two sets of identical alloys each of which are only used half the time.