V70: Wheels/Brakes V70 tramlining

[rickp78]

My 2009 R-Design tramlined badly when I had Goodyear Eagle F1s. It also tramlines with Dunlop Sportmaxx RT tyres, all 245/40 18.

However I fitted my Dunlop winter 3D tyres on 'Balder' rims (225/50 17, 50mm offset) and have no tramlining at all and a smoother ride.

I think it is due to the size of the tyre and the offset?

The turning circle (or lack of) is another issue at times.....

Regards,

Richard

[Ryu]

I bet it's the profile of the tyre, i wonder if we could get away with 245/45/18?

[ASt85]

IMHO avoid Bridgestones - by far the worst for tramlining ever had on a Volvo, even though they gripped well and gave fairly good mileage before replacement - quite good for fuel use as well, also found them prone to squeal when on full lock at very low speeds even though 4 wheel aligned regularly.

[Ryu]

which model bridgestones?

[ASt85]

Sorry - I really can't remember which type or model they were. I was reasonably happy with them most of the time, i.e. the tramling wasn't extreme, just annoying.
I tried to reduce the effect by experimenting with different tyre pressures which didn't make any great difference, apart from the squeal when using full lock, much worse at lower pressures, and just made the mental note to avoid the brand in the future.

Over time the best all round tyres I've used on any of the Volvos I driven are probably Uniroyal Rain or Rain Expert, I or II variants, and Michelin Pilots. The reason I go for the Uniroyals is the way they grip in the wet, they return reasonable mpg, are fairly quiet on the road at most speeds and cost a lot less than the Michelins for my current Ph2 V70.

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by Ryu

I bet it's the profile of the tyre, i wonder if we could get away with 245/45/18?

Ryu

I suspect this would make very little difference. My car originally had 8j x 17 Njord alloys with 245/45/17 tyres and it tramlined just like the 8jx 18s that people describe. The Njord alloys have a 55mm offset just like the 18s. When I changed to 7j x 17 Balders with the 50mm offset for my winter tyres the tramlining practically disappeared.

It made such a difference that I sold my Njords and got another set of Balders for summer tyres. (It also meant I could get the steering limiters removed which markedly improved the turning circle - which might be of interest to rickp78)

If you're in Leicester you're less than an hour away from me so if you'd like to come and have a drive of my car, or try on my set of 7' x 17s with conti 225/5/017s on your own car for a half hour try out let me know.

[taz]

Another thing that causes tramlining is a worn power steering box/pump. So you could be barking up the wrong tree blaming the tyres. I had this on a van and a Disco & it turned out to be the power steering box on them. It is bloody frightening mind when it happens at speed, snatching the steering from you and going where it wants to go! My advice would be to get your steering checked out too before swapping tyres as it could be a waste of money.

Taz

[ASt85]

I can quite see how a worn power steering pump could cause a tramlining problem, and agree that this should be checked.
However in my case it stopped when the tyres were changed from Bridgestones to Michelin Pilots (got around 19Kmiles out of the pair), and did not come back when the Pilots were changed for Uniroyals(16Kmiles), which were still on the car with approx 4mm when I sold it.

[Andy Northface]

Worn wishbone bushes?

[Thassos]

I'd agree with andy N, first place id be looking is worn front wishbone bushes and the mileage is about right for this..

I've noticed with tyres nearing the end of their life (3mm-2mm tread depth) you'll feel a big difference when accelerating say on marker lines or similar, new tyres with plenty of tread depth and this disappears..