Tyre punctures, worn locking wheel nut

[Lel]

Hello
Firstly, apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I have looked and can’t seem to find a similar predicament.
I have owned a 2006 xc90 for 5 years and live out in the sticks (miles of single track poorly maintained roads on a daily basis)
The car picks up punctures all the time. And I really do mean all the time. Sometimes they can be repaired, other times it’s a replacement. I have sought a lot of advice from a lot of tyre fitters and they all say the same “it’s a heavy car, and flint/stones will cause punctures.”
The tyres gave stones embedded in them within a couple of miles from new on these roads.
I’ve run with premium continental, Pirelli etc plus budget. Makes no difference in terms of picking up punctures.
Added to this, I have just picked up yet another puncture and have been told the locking wheel but is too worn and I will need to take the car to have all 4 drilled out.
It’s getting to the point that I think I may have to sell the car and get something that will be more tyre friendly
Unless anyone has any ideas? They would be gratefully received. Thank you!

[Simmy]

remove the locking wheel nuts and bin them there are lots of choices for off road tyres more suited to your track / road conditions but they will not be quiet like the standard type tyres.

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by Simmy

remove the locking wheel nuts and bin them there are lots of choices for off road tyres more suited to your track / road conditions but they will not be quiet like the standard type tyres.

Exactly what I would have said, on both counts.

[Lel]

Thanks for the points, but I am guessing that the wheel nuts will need to be drilled out? The key (locking key?) is too worn and won’t work.

What tyres would you suggest? I have asked a lot of advice and I’ve had the more “rugged” ones put on, and still get punctures. As I said, the advice I get is it’s really common with heavy cars?

[Tannaton]

You don’t tend to hear about wheels being stolen these days so on all my cars when I buy them I order replacement standard wheel bolts and ditch the locking ones. I would get 4 ordered (cheap on eBay second hand) replace the ones you can and get those that need to be drilled out done - most tyre places can do that or will recommend someone. If the car is stranded with a puncture - I have a friend for whom the AA did it.

With regards to future punctures your need to move to a more rugged off road biased tyre such as a BF Goodrich AllTerrain, General Grabber AT3 or Cooper Discoverer AT3. If you have a R design or Sport model you may need to get some 18 or 17 inch wheels and there is a downside in slightly reduced comfort, economy and grip, with a little extra road noise, but I would expect you would reduce your punctures by at least two thirds. Going to a 17” wheel like the Neptune will give you far more choice of tyre, and lower cost. When looking at tyres go for All Terrain, not Mud Terrain which will be horrible on a xc90 and you should let your insurance company know as it may be classed as a modification.

This is a problem you will have on any car you buy…… large or small.

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m61b0s221..._Noise%3A_75dB

[Lancee]

If it's just the key worn out perhaps you can get a replacement? If it's Volvo OE then a Volvo dealer should be able to help. Might be cheaper, and less likely to damage the wheels when "drilling" out the old ones.

Ditto the ultimate ditching of the locking wheel nuts altogether, therefore the "new" key will be just to remove your four. If the locking nuts are definitely still ok you could maybe sell the set on e-bay to a now less savvy person to recoup some of the cost.

Sorry, can't help with the tyre choice.

[ian ferguson]

Hi, Concerning the locking nuts. This happened to me in Spain. I went to the local tyer place, they are always willing to go out of there way to help. The guy hammered on a impact socket, then spun them off with a combination of impact gun and breaker bar. He had sockets that he used before for the job. Some took a few goes. Also he had box of wheel bolts, he found four that matched and gave them to me.

[Georgeandkira]

There are those who love their locking wheel lug hardware.
I've used a touch of anti-seize (copper slip in the UK) on the locking hardware and go easy on the torque.

Don't fail to inspect the mating surfaces. These things do wear out.

I'd love to see the sharp flint roads you live amongst. A tyre designed for towing will be stronger and more expensive.

You didn't mention the tyre size AND SPEED RATING you run. You mention Contis and Pirellis. Did you select performance tires with V, W ratings?
Softer tires catch more debris and endure more punctures.
Select from the T and H categories.
Also, it's vitally important to keep tyres up to pressure.

Are you OE or did the previous owner select a lower profile tire? Whatever your situation, any "low profile tyre" is what you don't want.

[Lel]

Thanks so much to those who have offered advice and tyre suggestions. This is always such a helpful forum.
Suggestions on tyres are really appreciated- thank you. I looked into all terrain tyres awhile ago (I feel like I’m off road more than on it with the roads around me) but couldn’t find the size to fit, but it looks like I can get them now.
The tyre place tried a variety of different methods and tools to get the tyre off, but ended up giving the advice to take it to my garage and ask them to drill them off. Totally agree with ditching the locking wheel nuts totally as well!

In response to the type of roads I drive on, I am very rural. The roads are really badly maintained and the school run (twice per day) is all single track, very muddy, full of run off from fields including stones (lots of flint) and involves pulling into field entrances, verges etc. A number of my fellow school run parents (in Discovery’s, X5 and other large 4x4s) regularly pick up punctures to the point that it is a normal occurrence for one of us to ask to be picking up the children as one has got stuck with a puncture. As I said, the tyre fitters have all said that considering the roads, it’s actually really normal and there’s not much that can be done. I’ve heard of crazy stories of someone regularly changing Range Rover tyres at an extortionate price because of the state of the roads.

I’m also really safety conscious (hence the XC90 because of children) and tyre pressure and condition is something I pay a lot of attention to, so being under or overinflated is not the cause of punctures.

I am going to look at putting on all terrain tyres and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks so much again to those who have given great advice

[buick boy]

Have a look at rally tyres . They are of a much stronger construction than normal tyres . Fitted them to several vehicles that suffered from damage & punctures on rough roads and unmade tracks . We used "gravel" tyres and they outlasted standard road tyres by some considerable margin . Demon tweeks is a good supplier with a wide range . Hope this is of help.