Tires for 2004 XC70 (215/65-16)

[svenska572]

It's that time again. It's time for me to replace the Michelins (that replaced the Pirellis) on the Cross Country. My dealer is recommending either a Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3 (98H rated) or a Michelin Latitude Tour HP (98H/V rated).

Both look like good tires. The Michelins are $45 more per tire than the Goodyears. I prefer an all-season tire but the Michelin appears to be more of a "winter" tire. I do live in Michigan so the winter isn't all bad, but I don't want the tires to get chewed up in the spring/summer/fall.

Any other recommendations? I don't mind paying more for a nicer ride but still need some good snow/wet traction.

[rmyin]

I'm buying tires right now as well... I'm planning on going with the General Altimax HP. At $96 a piece, it's one of the best values you can get. I ran General tires on my Audi S4 before and loved them. Recommended them to some friends and they loved them too. General is not a big name and sounds generic but is actually owned by the ContiTech group now I believe. Regardless, it's a great tire at any price and since they don't advertise or sponsor F1, their prices are much cheaper.

At one point, I bought tires for work. BF/Micheline, Goodyear, Firestone, etc were all my suppliers. Tires are essentially a commodity item these days and advertising is where the cost differences are, provided you are getting a good tire that meets a reasonable standard first. I'm all for silica compounds and directional patterns. I live in Seattle and the directionals have an advantage in water from my experience.

Just my $0.02... Tires are a matter of preference and opinion... Of the big brands, I like Michelin. You can't go wrong with them but for the money, it's just not worth it for me. My 2004 has 40,000 miles. I seem to get 40K/set regardless of what I drive and what tires I drive with... except my track tires of course...

[Astro14]

So many recent threads on this subject...didn't you search them?

At least your dealer is recommending tires that are appropriate...

I would look into the Nokian WR G2 SUV in your size...

[Willy]

I think the Goodyear Ultragrip is a winter tyre also.
Willy

[svenska572]

Astro14 - my apologies. I looked back a few pages and didn't see anything so I went ahead and posted. I'll do a better search later.

[Sweet Lew]

I would look into the Nokian WR G2 SUV in your size...

I second this. [thumbup]

[tom_m]

I couldn't get hold of any WR G2 when I was looking (the UK has a woefully poor supply of winter tyres) so I went with the WR D3 instead (and I had to get them shipped in from France!); they are proving an excellent choice so far, and clearly better than the mismatched set that was on the xc courtesy of the previous owner.

[mhrir]

I just installed Michelin Primacy MXV4 in 235/60-16 which have the same diameter as 215/65. The MXV4 is a top rated tire plus there was $70 cash back. So far I am very pleased.

[Astro14]

Svenska - no worries...my point was that there have been several threads on tires...looking back a few pages might not revela them, but a search would...and there has been a ton of discussion on size, load rating, speed rating.

Bottom line - get tires that have good reviews and meet the specs of the OE tires and you'll be happy. A good resource for tire searches and reviews is www.tirerack.com

Cheers,
Astro

[rmyin]

Here is a quick link, I'm doing my research right now. I'm still leaning toward the Generals. You can't beat it for the money IMHO.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=152

[svenska572]

That's a good looking tire. I am looking at this one also.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+ENVigor+(H%26V)&partnum=165HR6ENV&autoMake=Volvo&autoYear=2004&autoModel=XC70&autoModClar=

I need a little more snow traction in Michigan than you probably do in Seattle.

[Au_xc70_03]

That's a good looking tire. I am looking at this one also.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+ENVigor+(H%26V)&partnum=165HR6ENV&autoMake=Volvo&autoYear=2004&autoModel=XC70&autoModClar=

I need a little more snow traction in Michigan than you probably do in Seattle.

Our 2004 Mini Cooper S has these tires on it. I m not sure how they will handle the snow yet. On my XC70 i have Yokohama Geolanders.

[rmyin]

That's a good looking tire. I am looking at this one also.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+ENVigor+(H%26V)&partnum=165HR6ENV&autoMake=Volvo&autoYear=2004&autoModel=XC70&autoModClar=

I need a little more snow traction in Michigan than you probably do in Seattle.

Well, we are getting more snow in Seattle than I'd care fore and with the hills here... chains are selling well let's just say.

I bought a set of yokohamas once before in my life on a little pickup truck. That tire was so horrible in the wet, I used to be able to drift each time when it rained, sometimes not intentially. I swore off Yokohama since.

I can't say I have had experience with this tire in the snow but I do have experience with General's (Edit: recalled the tire's name) Exclaim UHP Summer performance tire (One of the very few summer performance tires also with a M+S rating). I had them on my 2001.5 Audi S4 with the 2.7TT and six speed manual and of course Quattro. I always ran summer wheels/tires and winter wheels/tires but that year, it snowed early and I was not prepared for it.

I had to take the care out and at first was like here goes nothing... I live on a hill and it was packed with icy snow from all the people trying to burn their way up it. I lived in MN and Seattle people just don't know about snow. Long story short, I pulled the car out with the UHP summer tires, tested it going up that icy hill, blipped the gas and banged my gf's head in the headrest. She wasn't happy and I was amazed at the traction.

That snow storm, the Audi with the Generals ran so good, I forgot at one point it was snowing. That was a huge snow storm, all over the news around the country. After that snow storm, my GF at the time bought an Audi.

So that kind of made a believer out of me for the Generals and I have gone through lots of tires in my relatively short life on many different cars and motorcycles. I believe their tires are as good as the expensive brands. I can't say that for some of the other budget tires. They skim on compounding and makes up for ride/noise with the way they cut their shoulder blocks. Essentially, the tires will get loud after wear.

Hmmm... I think I just talked myself into another set of Generals! I think I'll get them put on tomorrow. Cheers

[TurboKwong]

Before the winter comes, I've purchased a all-season tire from Townfaire tire.

They recommends Cooper tire - actually this is MasterCraft (used to be independent US tire company & got bought by Cooper tire).

Brand: MasterCraft Strategy
Size: 215/65-16

I love this tire, it just made perfect for this car: 2002 XC70.

I've tried out BF Goodrich T/A as well as Yokohama Enviga. I like the Mastercraft best!

-Joe