what tires to get for my '03 XC70

[nassles]

The dealer is pushing me to put Pirelli ST's to replace my STR's (one of which blew today at 38K miles). He says they are better for Pacific NW driving. I don't feel like I need Nokians since we don't get much snow here. What do others think? I need tires that I can get asap, and this size is hard to find in stock.....

[v70+xc70]

Pirelli still makes the ST!!??

I had no problems getting the STR from my local indie hole in the wall tire shop.

Ask around

[philosophicaldreamer]

The dealer is pushing me to put Pirelli ST's to replace my STR's (one of which blew today at 38K miles). He says they are better for Pacific NW driving. I don't feel like I need Nokians since we don't get much snow here. What do others think? I need tires that I can get asap, and this size is hard to find in stock.....

I just put Hydroedge Michelin on mine, and love them. They are quiet and have no problem handling rain.

Ta-ta, j.

[ralfx]

Approx. 2 weeks ago I put Goodyear's Assurance TripleTred on my 03 XC70. So far I am happy - they are much quieter than the OEM Pirellis, the handling on dry and wet roads is ok + they have a cool look.
Winter is not to far away here in Michigan -> soon I'll get a chance to check them out under snowy/icy conditions.
They are a little bit pricy (US$ 112.00 / tire) but I hope their performance makes them a good investment.

[Joy Driver]

I live in the Seattle area, and just yesterday I put on the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred. They are quieter than the ST's, but overall I was pleased with how the ST's performed. I put on nearly 45,000 miles on the ST's, before running over a sharp rock on Friday afternoon and puncturing one tire. I had 3/32 tread left.

I've been researching tires for the past month, knowing I had to replace them prior to the start of ski season.

Nokian WR- concerned about changing size (yeah I know, minimal) also, treadwear would probably only last 50k
BFGoodrich Traction T/A- great tire for the money, 70k warranty
TripleTred - 80k warranty, I heard from 4 different tire shops that this was an outstanding tire.

My local dealer also recommended the TripleTred. Good luck choosing.

[nassles]

Thx for the responses, but aren't the Goodyear Tripletreds T rated? I was told never to go down from a V-rated tire to more than something like an H?

that's the problem with this car, the choices are so limited in V or H...

[ChuckK]

If you don't have any grooved highway pavement, the Pirelli STR tires are very good. If you do, or if you don't have to pay a lot of money to convince yourself you have a good tire, I recommend the Kumho HP-4 tires. If you haven't heard of them yet or are afraid to buy tires made in South Korea, check out the customer comments, customer ranking, and track/road test for this tire on www.tirerack.com. The problem with the Goodyears and other tires is that they are not H-rated and you will give up handling. I am very pleased with the Kumhos and I even ran them year-round in Colorado last year (but purchased dedicated winter tires for this year's winter).

[XCS]

I've had the goodyear Triple Tread on MY03 for over 10,000 miles now. They are reat in the rain and they felt more secure on dry pavement than teh STRs. I got mine at "Americas Tire Store" in Vancouver Wa. They were in stock.

I don't think I will ever drive fast enough to require the V-rated tires.

[ralfx]

Yes, the TripleTreds are T-rated which gives them a top speed of 118 mph / 190 kmh. I general I agree with the statement that the tire rating should match the max. speed of the vehicle but here in the US I can live with this limitation. I would not put them on my XC if I lived in Germany ... ;)

[ChuckK]

The Kumho HP4 has been replaced by the Kumho Solus KH16, which is also available in the XC70 tire size.

Here are excerpts from the road and track comparison test on tirerack.com:

"The KUMHO Solus KH16 (and the tire it replaces, the ECSTA HP4 716) drives as if it is tuned towards the sportier side of the Grand Touring category. Just as with its predecessor, the handling of the Solus KH16 felt well-connected around the curving off-ramps and responsive during light-duty cornering around the 90 degree turns of our road ride route. The OE Goodyear Eagle RS-A also felt responsive, but was rated just behind the KUMHO by our team. The Yokohama AVID TRZ slotted in a close third, while the Affinity LH30 felt a bit less responsive than the other three tires.

The KUMHO Solus KH16, which felt a bit firm over the bumps on our ride evaluation, rewarded drivers by offering the most overall grip and responsiveness on our dry handling track. Coming as an unexpected surprise the Yokohama AVID TRZ, which was the most comfortable on the road, was able to post lap times right behind the KUMHO. While steering response was not quite as crisp as the KUMHO or Goodyear tires, the overall stability and grip level of the AVID TRZ made it easy to control."

[ChuckK]

Yes, the TripleTreds are T-rated which gives them a top speed of 118 mph / 190 kmh. I general I agree with the statement that the tire rating should match the max. speed of the vehicle but here in the US I can live with this limitation. I would not put them on my XC if I lived in Germany ... ;)

Consumer Reports has pointed out in the past that the speed rating of a tire does not just give its maximum speed but is also an indication of how well the tire will handle. The higher the speed rating, the better handling the tire in general. Test results for quite a few all-season and winter tires are given in the November issue of Consumer Reports. They state that "Replacement tires should have a speed rating no lower than that specified on the placard in your vehicle." Although Volvo supplies the XC70 with V-rated tires, they do not specify a required speed rating. I note that on tirerack.com if you enter an XC70 they will display only tires with a speed rating of H and higher. Also, the folks at Discount Tire have told me that XC70 drivers are often dissatisfied when they switch to tires that have a speed rating lower than H, because of the loss of handling, not because they're driving 130 mph. On the other hand, people on this forum seem to like the Goodyear TripleTreds.

In that issue of CR, the TripleTred was the highest rated tire out of 18 all-seasons. They recommended it except where there is the possibility of encountering ice. For all-weather conditions, they recommend the Michelin X, their second-highest-scoring all-season tire. I have owned 3 different models of Goodyear tires over the years (Vector, Wrangler, and Eagle GA). All three of them had either a serious design flaw (Vector and Eagle GA) or serious manufacturing flaws (Wranglers), and I swore I would never buy Goodyears again. But that's just me.

[Jonliv]

I just put new tires on my '03 XC70.

I spent a fair amount of time calling around for opinions on what to put on.

Nearly all the independent, non-commission based tire shops I called, and TireRack all said that Kumho was a good tire, and that Continental as well.

I put H rated 215/65/16 ContiPremierContacts on mine. From the comments at TireRack seems a fair amount of other XC70 owners have as well and they were satisfied, as am I. Just had a major rain Nor'Easter here in Boston and the car handled excellently and no more noise that I got from the stock Pirellis. The Conti's come with a great mileage warranty and the price, including shipping from TireRack was a bonus. Every Volvo dealership I called insisted that I had to put the Pirellis on the car, based on this thread and others, makes me really wonder why...

[Jonliv]

Not to sound like I am getting a commission or anything...
but.... I was really impressed with TireRack. They took the time to explain all the aspects of the tires to me, and I am below a Novice when it comes to that. I stressed that the single most important attribute I was looking for was Safety in the finky New England weather (snow, ice and rain).

So far I am very happy with the choice they suggested.

[geo]

Hi,
just looking through the threads, My 04 xc will not make 25,000 miles (40K) on its set of OEM Pirelli tyres. is this normal, good or bad.
I am looking for a set of 235x60x16's for all round use in the UK, where we rarely have weather extremes. Any suggestions from those who know?

[Jonliv]

I didn't make much over 30K on the original OEM Pirelli's