Winter tyres

[bobdabuilda]

Originally Posted by sumomeister

Anyone come across these -

235/60 R 18 Avon Ranger Ice 107H XL

Click on Tyres have them for £110 - £32 cheaper than the Wintrac 4 Xtreme

Other sites have them considerably more expensive, so is it a genuine bargain, or are they to be avoided?

Cheers.

Sumo- try A&A tyres on Wettle Road in Cardiff who will often match or better the price. They have General grabbers in stock which are superb and much cheaper than online sites at around £120 fitted a corner. Speak to Craig or Mal, top blokes.

[sumomeister]

Originally Posted by bobdabuilda

Sumo- try A&A tyres on Wettle Road in Cardiff who will often match or better the price. They have General grabbers in stock which are superb and much cheaper than online sites at around £120 fitted a corner. Speak to Craig or Mal, top blokes.

Thanks mate, I'll give them a ring.

You in Cardiff too?

[bobdabuilda]

Originally Posted by sumomeister

Thanks mate, I'll give them a ring.

You in Cardiff too?

Aye, let me know how you get on. BUT Watch the 4wheel alignment guy who is a mouthy git and one of the owners sons.... Nepotism at its worst i'm afraid! He took 7goes at mine and blamed the car and wouldnt give me a printout at the end of it all. Not the cheapest either at £108 with a non existent camber adjust.

[kentishdriver]

Originally Posted by bobdabuilda

They have General grabbers in stock which are superb and much cheaper than online sites at around £120 fitted a corner.

That seems expensive. The going rate in SE is about £100 or less a corner.

[indiebands]

Originally Posted by kiteski

thanks to the tip on here, now sitting in my Volvo with nice new 235/65R17 (108H) Vredestein Wintrac 4 Xtreme XL fitted courtesy of http://www.clickontyres.com/ who has some 17 and 18" still left in stock!

Hi All,

Sorry for the cross post, but this is a great thread. Based on some great feedback here (thanks!), I am planning to order the Vredestein Wintrac 4 Xtreme XL 255/50 R19 V107 (which get great reviews from owners) for our recently ordered XC90 V8 Exec.

The next question is what to do about chains for driving in the mountains during ski season. Volvo does not sell Volvo OEM chains larger than 18". The owners manual states "Certain size tires may not allow the assembly of snow chains/traction devices."

I am looking at the K Summit XXL chains (K66 size) from Thule. The chains grip onto the tire tread itself and do not hook over the inner wall of the tire, which reduces the odds of some kind of rubbing/damage to the wheel well. Does anyone have experience with chains on 19" wheels? Any concerns or issues that you'd see with these chains? Thanks in advance.

Here is a link to the chains http://bit.ly/9dWlzA and to the video instructions http://bit.ly/cslGBg

[bobdabuilda]

Originally Posted by kentishdriver

That seems expensive. The going rate in SE is about £100 or less a corner.

Fitted and balanced with new valves etc I thought was v competitive as most online retailers charge £130 plus for supply only without postage. Your deal in the SE is brilliant and I am jealous!

[bobdabuilda]

Originally Posted by sumomeister

Thanks mate, I'll give them a ring.

You in Cardiff too?

How did it go?

[inishfalle]

Just changed the front tyres for Vredestein winter tyres. Rears are conti normal all year tyres. As usal with the xc90 (mying 3.2 petrol) the fronts wear quickly as the car is 60/40 front/rear driven which varies in more extreme conditions. Having experienced some extreme snow events last winter in wales and in essex, the car only slipped a couple opf times decided to try out the winter tyres this season. As the rears have shown hardly any wear have not changed them and the tyre garage did not see any issue either.

Any thoughts? should I fit rear winters as well and just store the all year round tyres?

Thanks for all thoughts.

[REDSHEEPRIDD]

I would always put all 4 winter tyres on.

Is the 3.2 different with a 60:40 drive?

[Pinstripe]

Originally Posted by inishfalle

Just changed the front tyres for Vredestein winter tyres. Rears are conti normal all year tyres. As usal with the xc90 (mying 3.2 petrol) the fronts wear quickly as the car is 60/40 front/rear driven which varies in more extreme conditions. Having experienced some extreme snow events last winter in wales and in essex, the car only slipped a couple opf times decided to try out the winter tyres this season. As the rears have shown hardly any wear have not changed them and the tyre garage did not see any issue either.

Any thoughts? should I fit rear winters as well and just store the all year round tyres?

Thanks for all thoughts.

Dangerous idea. You are setting yourself up for snap oversteer! You should NEVER put winter tires on the front only. Never. The difference in traction between all season and winter tires is quite large. The rear of the vehicle now risks loosing traction well before the front which will cause the rear end to step out/oversteer very quickly and chances are the stability control will not be able to recoup as the tires will simply not have any traction to them. Four winter tires should always be fitted. In any circumstance that 2 winter tires are fitted, they should always be placed at the rear - even on a FWD car.

Also, all MY2006+ XC90's have a 95/5 split for power. It's only 60/40 on initial take off. Otherwise, power is varied front and rear as needed.