who's running 225 70R16?

[carboncow]

I'm looking at yoko geolandr A/T-S and have ready many good reviews. I've seen several references to 225/70R16 fitting fine and atleast one person saying 235 are a tight but acceptable too.

I'd like a taller look and additional ground clearance for my winter needs.

thanks
Shawn

[haoz129]

I like big foot too. Pls ref my setup, I'm running 225/60R18 in summer which is 6 mm taller than 225/70R16:
http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18052
I'm sitting 20mm higher which makes my XC70 really standing out among other XCs, .

And I'm afraid 235/70R16 is too tight to fit without modification.

But big tires may not be suitable for winter snow driving:
As you can see from the pics in above thread, big tires reduce clearance between rear tires and front of the wheel well significantly. When you drive on snow, slushes will be traped and accumulate there. This will prevent wheels from rolling and even cause wheel arch to be destroyed.

I think you had recorded snow last winter and still remember how much snow/ice stuck in front of the rear wheel arch which need to be removed.

That's why I only use big tires in summer.
BTW, If you will have lots of off-road in summer stone and mud trapping also need to be considered.

[Astro14]

Taller is OK for snow.

Wider is worse. Fundamentally, the wider tire can't bite into the snow as well as a narrower tire (it's geometry...the narrower tire covers less area for a given distance, so it will displace less rain, or have less snow to sink into and it is the interaction of the tire and surface that yields traction).

But the MOST important consideration for snow driving is dedicated winter tires - rubber compound, sipes, tread design on winter tires make the vastly superior to all-season tires in the snow.

I used to see AWD cars (including Subies and SUVs) wipe out in the snow/ice/slush in Vermont, while I drove by in my 240 wagon (RWD) equipped with 4 winter tires...

[carboncow]

all great points on tire clearance and winter driving.

I always like to point out that winter driving in Ohio is far different then the upper east coast or out west and to be honest dedicated snow tires are a huge waste of money. I learned that in a couple Saabs I had back in the day.

In Ohio our roads are always clear in a day or two 90% of the time. So you need the snow tires for 2 days and then the next 20 you are ripping the rubber off your snow tires at an alarming rate on the hard asphalt/concrete. Maybe I bought the wrong Gislaveds. I drive about 100 miles daily on the freeway to a small ski resort...so I have to get to work when 12-14" drops and clearance is always the best friend as well as thin cutting power of course...but then it turns to ice quite a bit. Ohio is cold, snow, warm, cold, rain, warm, cold...all this equals lots of ice (and salt) and ugly with grey snow. Ohio is only pretty for a day after it snows at best.

All-Terrains may suit my needs since I also go off road lightly. Just yesterday I couldn't get a moderate grassy hill with spinning Pirellis...that sealed the deal on my upgrade need and these Scorpions are going on the wives V70 T5.

[Astro14]

Think twice about putting the Scorpions on the T5.

It came with 215/55 R 16, and the 215/65 R 16 are a much taller tire...speedometer errors, etc will be pretty large...

[carboncow]

Think twice about putting the Scorpions on the T5.

It came with 215/55 R 16, and the 215/65 R 16 are a much taller tire...speedometer errors, etc will be pretty large...

1.7 inch and 4mph...neither concern me much as it wouldn't hurt to get some more rubber for a softer ride in that car...although I'm not sure the scorpions are softer the tall will help some. Simple economics...I need something different on the XC and I'm not buying two sets right now!

Those wheel wells have a lot to give and I'm sure thee are some tight wheel wells on some of S60s running around my parts with 18"+ rims!

[Skater]

Think twice about putting the Scorpions on the T5.

It came with 215/55 R 16, and the 215/65 R 16 are a much taller tire...speedometer errors, etc will be pretty large...

It actually came with 215/65R16, so that is fine. That's what I have on right now.

[carboncow]

It actually came with 215/65R16, so that is fine. That's what I have on right now.

I think he was referencing my comment about moving the 65s over to our V70 T5 which came with 55 and thus a big step up.

[Astro14]

OK, I think you understood me, my point:

T5 came with 215/55R16, optional 235/45R17.

Diameter: 25.3

XC came with 215/65R16.

Diameter: 26.8

So, I come up with a delta of 1.5" and 6%...

I think the difference of 6% is significant. I would not fit the STRs to your T5 if it were mine...the taller height might lead to interference as well as the speedo error and odd handling of the softer/taller sidewall.

The XC has different lower control arms - I don't know that the STRs will fit in the well. All the wider tires that you see on the P2 chassis, like the 18s, or the 17s on my car, are the same diameter; 25.3"

I would get the correct size for the T5 when it needs tires, not look to use these up by fitting them to the T5....check out my signature block...I know both cars too...besides, at the rate that XCs wear out tires, you'll have fried those Scorpions before winter and can get the new rubber you want...

I would give consideration to the Nokian WR G2 SUV in 215/65R16 - in 10,000 miles on the XC (and 7,000 on the 300E), they've been great in all respects; excellent ride, handling, traction (including snow) and wear...and they are precisely the right size, speed rating and load range. For the T5, I went with Continental Extreme Contacts in 235/45R17 - and they have been great as well...

[carboncow]

Your data is right on from what I got. I'm going to roll the dice since it's the easy thing todo at this point. I've bumped up an inch on Saabs before with no concern but you are correct we are approaching 1.6-1.7" for sure.

I did some measuring in the wheel well and turing lock to lock and I think I'll be safe but again as you state the geometry could be off and cause wear issues but I'll take that chance. I'm not worried about sidewall softness. The Pirellis are stiff and the T5 chassis is old and needs a softer touch anyways.

Thanks for you comments and expertise.

I've also used this create tire calc for years if anyone needs one:

The visual is fun!

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

EDIT: I should add I'm doing a alignment on both cars post tires too just to tiddy things up. Maybe this will get the T5 dialed in well.