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Back in the 'good old days' when radial tires first came out, people used to tell me my tires were flat because they didn't look like round donut bias ply tires.
Yes, I agree with you, that 3 pound difference is quite minuscule. But a low profile tire doesn't have that much air volume to play around with. Volvo, and other car makers are just playing it safe. Thank goodness the new cars finally show the actual pressure on the dash, like Canada has done for years.
The low profile tires look great, but I don't like them. They ride too hard, they wear out too fast, they heat up too fast, and they don't have enough air. And, they like to have you keep the air pressure consistent, even when the temperature drops 40F.
I just had to add air to my daughter's Outback, one of the tires was getting low. I drove 1 mile to the service station, pumped all 4 tires up to 36psi knowing that a cold front was on its way. I checked the pressure 2 days later and it was 31psi on all 4. And these are not low profile!
Find yourself some used rims, put nice tires on them, and 'save' the low profile for summer use only. Interesting, I just checked Tire Rack and they list 16" wheels: 225/60/16. I wonder if they fit over the caliper, and if they do, it would be much better for a commuter car, especially snow tires.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new
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