185x14 or 185/70/14 fitment? 240 est.

[hennabm]

Hi all

As you may know I have recently purchased a 240DL estate. It had been stored for about 8 years, so one of the jobs I wish to do is to change its tyres.

It is current on 185x 14 and this is what the handbook says it should be on, as an estate car.

On visiting my local tyre house the choice for 185 x 14 is very limited unless I go for a commercial vehicle tyre.

If I go to 185/70/14 then there is far more choice. Again looking at the handbook these were an option for the saloon but not listed for the estate.

So my question is has anyone fitted the 185/70/14 to an estate and what if anything was the result? My DL has only four gears and I was wondering if the overall gear ratio would be changed and by how much?

Any thoughts/ advice welcomed by this Volvo newbie.

TIA

[classicswede]

I would go with the tyre fitted to early GLT's from memory 195/65/14

[Stephen Edwin]

I have noticed the same specifications in the handbook between saloon and estate. Does anyone know, is the issue the load carried by the vehicle?

I suppose if one varies from the handbook, then if there is an incident, or a fastidious vehicle check, one might encounter officialdom difficulties?

But it seems to me like an inconsequential thing that the law does not concern itself with .... de minimis non curat lex.... unless one uses tyres designed for moderate load when carrying a seriously heavy load.

[Derek UK]

My 92 SE Estate came with 185 x 15, 5 speed box, and I found it rather over geared. Fine once you were up to speed but it always seemed to need one lower gear than seemed reasonable on any hill. I fitted 15" Virgos with 195/60 tyres and these were lower than the 185 x 15. a big improvement in driving IMO. With the 4 speed I'd think that 185/70 x14 would suit you unless you want to cruise at much over 70. Can start to get a bit noisy. The car won't mind but you might. That's when you miss the overdrive or 5th gear.
The 185 x 14 is the taller of these two but the 195/60/15 is wider.

[tannachyallen]

Goodness!! I run 195 70 15 commercial mud and snow on mine, what does that do to my gearing??

Dave A.

[Derek UK]

Originally Posted by tannachyallen

Goodness!! I run 195 70 15 commercial mud and snow on mine, what does that do to my gearing??

Dave A.

That probably makes the gearing close to what I had with my 185 x 14's.
The use of commercial i.e. van tyres, has come up before. You may get good wear but you'll loose the car tyres comfort and cornering ability, especially in the wet. It's a similar problem, but the other way round, if you use car tyres on a caravan. The tyre construction doesn't match the usage. I also thought that using van tyres on a car was actually an MOT failure, but the differences in looks if not construction is much closer now days so the MOT man might not notice.
Try a track day on your commercials and see what the results are. I'd predict not very good.

[Clifford Pope]

Originally Posted by Derek UK

I also thought that using van tyres on a car was actually an MOT failure, but the differences in looks if not construction is much closer now days so the MOT man might not notice.
Try a track day on your commercials and see what the results are. I'd predict not very good.

My regular MOT tester says it's OKl.
I don't think the tyre specification plate says a ply-rating, does it? It's the size, pressure and load that matter, and you mustn't drive faster than the speed rating of the tyres.

I'm not interested in the potential track performance of the car. I want something tough, cheap, long-lasting, and with a chunky tread for grip on muddy/leafy potholed rural roads.

[Derek UK]

My track day comment was tongue in cheek but stiff sidewalls don't help keep the tread in contact with road when compared to the more flexible car tyre ones. I'm sure white van man has helped to make the van tyres safer by reducing the tyre manufacturers liability to the effects of banzai vanning.......

[classicswede]

A 240 that my brother has came with van tyres on the rear and the back end was very twitchy with them. Swapping back to normal tyres made a big difference. While it legal to use them I do not consider them safe.

Also note that the speed rating is down to what the car is capable of than how fast you go. If it was just for how fast you go then in theory we would only ever need tyres with a 70mph rating

[hennabm]

For a car MOT the load rating and speed rating of the tyre is not testable.

Only when you go to a Class 7 ie a goods vehicle 3 to 3.5tonne do these apply.

Looks like I'll be using 185/70/14. A 10% difference from a 185/14 ie 18mm will not make too much difference to the rolling radius.