quote "Very few of us will ever test the rating of a "V" tire."

I dissagree. This is not why we should use the V rated tire if specified by the manufacturer for the particular car/wheel. The higher the speed rating, the stronger the tire under normal conditions. Not only will the tire withstand the at-speed V rated driving conditions, but due to stronger sidewall construction and reinforcement, the tire will be more reilable, balanced and smooth under the 55-65 mph driving we all do.

A good example of this is when Volvo first fit a 'better/performance tire' onto S60's and V70's (mostly V70's), they used Pirelli P6 all-season tires in a H rated. After some years, Volvo got a lot of complaints from customers about these tires having blow-outs on simple potholes and bulging sidewalls apparently under normal use. Volvo fought the complaints and refused to replace the tires, getting a lot of people upset and cursing these tires. The issue was not the tires, or the model or the brand, since Pirelli makes some great tires. The issue was the load and speed rating for the given vehicle weight and profile of tire. Volvo changed the speed rating to V rated and the blow-outs and compaints dissapeared (this was for '04 models). Same Pielli P6, which I have on my 04 V70 2.5T from the factory. It is a great tire, and would reccomend you use it on the '98 V70, but make sure you get a V rated tire, whichever tire size your car uses.
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'89 245 sportwagon, destroyed by hit & run driver, RIP. '04 V70 2.5 T Sportwagon, 12k mi and '91 245 5-speed, 209k mi, replaced the '89