Will these clear the wheel wells in tight turning? Will they rub the strut towers?

I would like to get a bit more height for my winter tires since these cars tend to sit so low to the ground.

Thanks for a response.
--
1991 745 & 1993 965 /// RIP: 86 764T; 79 262C

Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.

Very cute :-))))

Perfect work!

Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!

I want to say - thank you for this!

6oXsm5 ihhhlaugarsp , [url=http://zesiywtzfjhk.com/]zesiywtzfjhk[/url], [link=http://tyydaayjgqzk.com/]tyydaayjgqzk[/link], http://aqpznkysyzrl.com/

Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!,

If you have to do it, you might as well do it right.,

Great. Now i can say thank you!,

Perfect work!,

If you have to do it, you might as well do it right.,

If you have to do it, you might as well do it right.,

R6OEGp I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!

I believe you will find most 17 in. tires are lower profile 45/50 vs. stock profile of 65 (195 x 65 x15). If go to a tire that is taller (larger diameter) you will find it to be wider than the stock tire. This gives you a larger contact patch (rubber on the road), this is the exact opposite of what you want for snow/ice conditions! I'm now on my 3rd 965/V90 after 2 745 Turbos. I drive 35-40 K miles yearly in the North. (Syracuse, NY area) The best non-studded snow tire I've found is Nokian latest design, the Hakkapelitta R.
http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11949&group=1.01&name=Nokian+Hakkapeliitta+R

This tire is notably better than it's predecessor the Rsi, particularly in dry weather handling. It doesn't have the squishyness (sp?) of many dedicated snow tires. (Blizzaks come to mind). These tires with 2-3 bags of Tube Sand (100-150 lbs) in the space over the spare tire will give you plenty of traction and the tires cut through slush well.

If you want to experiment with tire sizes there is a great tire size calculator on the Miata group webpage. Select end option to get an idea of what the cross section of the tire looks like.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Here's the website of a friend I've been buying Nokians from for 15 years. His prices are very reasonable and he will ship UPS.

http://www.obrienscars.com or robrien57@frontiernet.net

Good Luck,
Tom Heitzman '98 V90 w/ 200,325 miles

Tom, you are correct, of course, about width of tires and winter driving. The rationale for my question was trying to juggle which rims and tires would get new summer tires and which would get new winter tires. In the meanwhile, I sold off the 17 inch rims as they rubbed against the strut towers and I could not be bothered buying spacers (they were quite nice rims, though, and some day I would like to install them on my 965).

I will take seriously your recommendation as Syracuse gets more snow than Boston! I do have a local tire dealer I like and I will call around for prices. By the time the tires are mounted and balanced, it is sometimes not worth it to buy tires separately online. But, again, I will check prices.

It sounds like you have some experience with these cars. I own a 93 and a 97 and love them, although the 93 has developed leaks in multiple places and I may have to abandon it (see future thread on that). What was the reason you have owned three cars of the same model now? Did the previous two quit or did you just wear them out?

Best, Chris
--
1991 745 & 1993 965 /// RIP: 86 764T; 79 262C

Reasons For Me Driving 965/V90's!

1. Volvo Quality/Durability/Safety/Rust Resistance/Space

2. RWD-After driving VW's/Porsche 356/Peugeot 504's for 15 yrs. I tried a used German Rabbit and the 1st built in the USA Diesel Rabbit Pickup. Never got used to the FWD and the Pickup was a pig/lemon. Girl friend at the time had Volvo 1800E
which was a nice solid car. Being a cheapskate I started driving 10-15 yr. old 122's. I also had a beautiful restored 123GT. Went into the antique business in '86 and needed something with space so I bought a restored '69 145 after 200K with that I went through a couple of well used 245's. One I traded an antique fountain pen and $50 for. My wife drove it without much trouble for a couple of years! As the 245's wore own I bought a couple of 745 Turbos that the same guy who restored the 145 had rebuilt. The 1st one had Turbo Plus and I had overboosted it as well! At 225000 it blew with a huge cloud of smoke when passing a guy on a two lane road in PA. It looked like somebody had shot down the Red Baron! I had already purchased another backup up '86 745 Turbo with a fresh '93 long block & new turbo. Ran that to 220K and the wiring harness self destructed!

3. Made the quantum leap to my 1st '96 965 114K but a two owner car with questionable maintenance. Spent a lot of money on with the local dealer until I found a great independant mechanic. At about 190 K I found a car advertised on this list that was owned by compulsive guy from Maryland. It had 146K and was extremely clean. When it had close to 200 K on it and was due for Timing Belt and some other work I found my present car on the list. The current owner had bought it at 146K and I read about all the stuff he did to it to get it up to snuff. All the front suspension and recently been done with a new steering rack as well. New sun roof also. It's a '98 and was the last of the breed. Sold my old one for $2000 to a friend and paid $3000 for this one. It's the best of the group.

Getting back to your height problem. My 1st '96 965 had original shocks and sat fairly low. The 2nd one had Nivomats which I replaced but sat even lower when it sat for a day or more. My present '98 V90 has fresh Volvo Struts and shocks and sits much higher in the rear than the other two even when the Nivomats were jacked up. So, if your car doesn't have Nivomats I'd recommend a new set of Volvo shocks at about a $100 for the pair from Tasca.

Each step upward in the Volvo stepladder (122/145/245/745/965) has brought a more comfortable and quieter car. Unfortunately the snow capabilities of the cars have become less. Mostly due to tire contact patch getter bigger but I think the compliance of the suspension may have something to do with it as well.

Good Luck,
Tom

Tom, excellent little bio of your love affair with Volvos. Perhaps we should all do the same and have them archived somewhere ;->

My signature line gives my Volvo history which only spans the last 12 or so years but is now out of date with the addition of the 1997. In a few intervening years, I owned a Honda and a Toyota.

I really became addicted to the ride of the 965s while I was looking for a nice 745T. I ended up buying a nice example of a normally aspirated 745 (1991) but I was addicted to the ride of a couple of the 965s I test drove while going through this little exercise to find my next brick. I kept coming back to the smooth acceleration and the taught ride. So, I bought the 745 and then quickly thereafter found a 1993 965 beater-mobile with 230k miles. It's the one I have now and am contemplating giving up because of the multiple oil leaks.

The wife wanted something more cushy so I bought the 1997 with 121k miles for about $4000. I think I was the other person who came in second to the 1998 you bought (if you bought it from someone in NY).

Anyway, things do go wrong with these cars and that is why I'm always posting to this board (which is great!). I am certain you will be able to help us (relatively) new 960 owners out with your experience gained with your three cars and the combined brick years you have under your belt.
--
1991 745 & 1993 965 /// RIP: 86 764T; 79 262C