What are the best tyres to put on an XC90?

[mauser1905]

In previous responses there was a mention of insurance and appropriate speed rating of the tyre etc.

I have yesterday gone throught he XC90 MY13 owners manual and here the the two snapshots.








Question was raised for H rating use and insurance implication.

ABI document says as long as the vehicle manufacturers specifications are followed it is ok.
owners manual says it is acceptable for winter tyres with lower speed rating to be used. However it clearly states that in that case the speed rating of those tyres should not be exceeded.

Also I am insured with Admiral and as per ABI Admiral doesnt need to be informed if I am to use winter tyres nor it affects the insurance premium.

Regards

[TruckbusUK]

Originally Posted by mauser1905

ABI document says as long as the vehicle manufacturers specifications are followed it is ok.
owners manual says it is acceptable for winter tyres with lower speed rating to be used. However it clearly states that in that case the speed rating of those tyres should not be exceeded.

Also I am insured with Admiral and as per ABI Admiral doesnt need to be informed if I am to use winter tyres nor it affects the insurance premium.

Regards

Personally I would still check with your actual insurance company, while this is a very long running thread and the info has changed, the ABI document is fairly new (couple of years) you may still be surprised at the answers you get, Direct Line for example in December 2012 still tried to charge a premium for using "all season or winter" tyres, I'm sure there are many other companies that "avoid" the giudance from the ABI ... is it actually a legal document ?

Anyway how are you going to prove after the accident that you were following the "manufacturers specifications" and observing the "generic" info in a non UK specific manual/owners giude .... real minefield IMO that needs legislation rather than wooly guidelines! .... just some thoughts.

[marinemitch]

Any one been running these pirelli scorpion verde all season for any length of time as would like to compare with standard OE contis

http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/gb/en/su...eason%3DSUMMER

[TruckbusUK]

Originally Posted by marinemitch

Any one been running these pirelli scorpion verde all season for any length of time as would like to compare with standard OE contis

http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/gb/en/su...eason%3DSUMMER

Only available as "H" speed rating ...

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by TruckbusUK

Only available as "H" speed rating ...

130mph. No XC90's officially go faster. How fast does yours go?

[Shadeyman]

Informed direct line this morning of my change to winter tyres.

She said they didn't need to be informed of the change as long as the tyres were "fit for purpose"(size and speed rating).

So I told her the size and speed rating of the tyres and asked if they were "fit for purpose".
She put me on hold for a few minutes and then said they were fine, as I would be well over the national speed limit and braking the law if I got anywhere near the speed rating of the tyres. As speeding usually invalidates the insurance policy I would be an uninsured driver because of speeding well before the speed rating of the tyre was able to invalidate my insurance.

[TruckbusUK]

Roy, Shady ... long running discussions & opinions ....

Each to his own, but probably not that fast, but the type approval for the XC90 was granted on V rated tyres ... everything else is advisory ....

pays your money takes your choice , again the rating is only for 600 seconds before carcass failure.

Robin

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by TruckbusUK

Roy, Shady ... long running discussions & opinions ....

Each to his own, but probably not that fast, but the type approval for the XC90 was granted on V rated tyres ... everything else is advisory ....

pays your money takes your choice , again the rating is only for 600 seconds before carcass failure.

Robin

Don't all tyres have "Component Type Approval"? I thought that's what the speed rating was about?

The interesting one for me is oil, given that different engine oils will change the emissions.

[Shadeyman]

Originally Posted by TruckbusUK

Roy, Shady ... long running discussions & opinions ....

Each to his own, but probably not that fast, but the type approval for the XC90 was granted on V rated tyres ... everything else is advisory ....

pays your money takes your choice , again the rating is only for 600 seconds before carcass failure.

Robin

1. You'd have to be nuts to travel at 130mph on a UK road in an XC90(if you found one capable).

2. Your insurance(above 70mph) and driving license(above 100mph) would be gone long before you reached the max speed for the tyre(130mph), so again you'd have to be nuts.

3. Type approval? The handbook clearly states what is and isn't allowed.

4. Advisory - If your nuts and ignore the speed limits and handbook you WILL invalidate your insurance, you WILL loose you driving license and your tyres WILL explode if you some how manage to drive your XC90 at 130mph for 600 seconds.

Stu

EDIT.
A little more on topic. I prefer wider tyres than standard for winter conditions, eg snow, not narrower ones like most people recommend. I find there's more grip with a wider tyre ..

[RoyMacDonald]

Only the petrol xc's are quoted as being able to reach 130mph anyway. The diesels are all limited below that speed.