Hi Yannis.

As the former owner of a '94 850 Turbo with a trashed tire and alloy wheel (cracked and split open) due to pothole damage, let me assure you there was NOTHING wrong with the Michelin Pilot tires that came with the car. The issue was the size of the tires (specifically the 50 series profile). The reason for failures was simply because the tire selected wasn't the ideal match for a car in the Northeast (the same setup in Southern California would have had few problems).

I knew what I was getting when I bought a car with those tires and accepted the risks and degraded ride quality in return for better handling and high-speed capabilities. It's wrong to blame the manufacturer because those tires performed as designed (and worked fine on the BMWs that came with them). Whether or not Volvo should have made sure owners were educated about 50 series tires is debatable (and I believe was the basis for the lawsuit).

After owning Dunlop SP series tires, Pirelli Asymmetrico P-Zeros, and Michelin Pilots (MXM4 HX, XGT V4, XGT Z4) I can readily recommend Michelin Pilots (just put Z-rated 245/45/17s on the S80 T6) assuming the driver knows what sidewall height is and how it should affect choices in tire sizes.

Thanks.

-rdo