V50 Wheels/Tyres : Which Tyres????

[paul g]

Any advice?

What are the best tyres for the 205/50/17 for the V50. I have normal pirelli p7000 on the front but then when I had to change the rear ones two years ago, had BF Goodrich on them. Shockingly I had to change the rear wheel bearings in March with just under 60k on the clock. I now find that I have worn these tyres down too - and what a racket the thrumming makes. I have looked at the tread wear indicators and they are well down. Any advice and also a good fitter in the mid-Essex area?

Paul

[Higgy50]

Paul,

Tyres seem to be a problem on the V50 due to road noise and wear. On my old V40 and S40 I used Uniroyal rain sport and found these really good solid tyres which held the road well, were nicely priced and were good for noise...

When I bought my V50 it had some worn pirelli P6000 on it which were really noisy, thinking about the success of the uniroyals on my old cars and liking the price I put two rain sports on the front...for your info I can report that the tyres perform well for handling on the V50, however I still get some road noise although I feel they are a bit quieter than the P6000...Depends what sort of budget you've got?....if you have the money to blow a work colleague has just put 4 continentals on his S60 and really rates them, however they cost nearly £500!!!

Cheers

Higgy

[paul g]

Higgy,

Thanks, I had heard that continentals were good, but may well look into the UniRoyal Rain Sport and get back.

Safe driving

[KrisSWFC]

Hi

I have been using Avon ZV5's on my V50 and my wifes S40 and I am really impressed with the performance & cost.

[glypto]

There is a good thread on tyres here:
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=73745

[Welton]

I've got 205/50/17 Pirelli P7's on mine, 3 of them have about 7-8mm tread but one has just 4mm (was the best of a bad bunch when I bought it) thing is I can really hear the 4mm tyre and it sounds like a wheel bearing gone.

I'm dreading when the others wear down so on balance I wouldn't really recommend the P7 just due to the noise (although a very grippy tyre).

Maybe look at the research on Mytyres etc? I know Vredestein seem to fair well usually and Toyo's (although they're soft and wear fast I think) Conti's, BF Goodrich and Goodyear are all worth checking out too.

I think we all tend to stick with our own experience but what's good for one doesn't always suit another.

One thing I can say without any doubt is to avoid cheapo tyres, we won't be putting Kung-Po's on our prestige motors here thank you very much

[NewVolvo]

Try Michelins.

They use a softer compound than Pirelli's and are therefor alot more quiet, but also wears out quicker.

However, the Michelin's will be better in the rain.

[v50Dom]

Defo second the Avons. They seem to suit the V50 nicely. Great grip - enough to get her screaming "slow down!"

Before these I had Toyos fitted, they were great initially, but as ianmd pointed out in another thread they wear out quickly and badly. ATS told me that the Toyos were a budget tyre - I'm inclined to agree. So far the Avons are wearing well.

Cheers now.

[Guru]

End of life countdown for my summer Pirellis 6000 has began too, so i'm researching the subject, but hoping they'll still make it through this summer "until late october that is"

Dunlop's SP Sport fastresponse are hot candidates, so are the Continental Premium Contacts, read fairly good reviews about both brands and at 100€/pcs they seem to be Ok.

[Higgy50]

Interestingly, I have just spoken to my colleague at work who put four new continentals on his S60 which cost nearly £500 and he is now saying that he is dissapointed with road noise having now used them for a while!!!!!

To me this is a subject that could go on for ever but I have to conclude that the V50 is very sensitive to road noise so the choice must be:

Less noise = shorter tyre life
Longer tyre life = more noise
or opt for a more 'mid range' tyre which you will save some money on and maybe get the balance of both.

I know the Uniroyals suffer a little road noise but wear extremely well, perform well and will cost you less than the rest so you take your choice I suppose!!?

The other slightly cheaper tyre that nobodys mentioned is firestone....anyone tried this brand??

Higgy