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Hello all, I finally decided to spend the big bucks and buy a set of Michelins for my 87 244. Nice looking tires etc. But VERY unhappy with them. The car literally rides like a rock. I have a 1919 FIre Engine with solid rubber tires that rides better. I have always bought BF Goodrich Radial T/A's as they are cheap, good, tires. This time I decided to buy "the Best" according to everyone. It is just unbelievable how rough the car rides now. I really think the whole car will shake to pieces before I have an excuse to get rid of these things. Was wondering if anyone else has had the same experience?
Scott in Dallas
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Mounting is important, but so is tire PSI. What PSI do you have them set at?
Had the BF Goodrich Radial T/A's on my Volvo when I bought the car. I agree with you, a very good tire for the money.
I've tried many brands over the years and have been ultimately disappointed with a few exceptions, so five years ago I went back to my old standard for my Volvo - Michelin MXV4's. Great all around tire!
When Michelin stopped making the MXV4's I had a little dilemma. I know the Defender has great reviews as does the Michelin Premier A/S. Last fall I bought 2 Michelin Premier A/S's for my 2002 VW Passat wagon. They ride and handle great (even in the rain and snow)! Run them at 30 PSI (2 above recommended). Considered the Defender but now I'm glad I spent a little more and got the Premier's.
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I'm running 32 in all of them. I ran 32 in the BF Goodrich. They DO have a better treadwear on them than the Radial T/A's so yes, maybe that's it. Sidewall is too stiff for me. I am sorry now they wear so long, because I really hate to be stuck with them so long. They ARE good in the rain, not any better than the BF Goodrich's from my driving perspective. I am old, I care nothing about handling etc. I liked my nice soft, quiet ride, now completely gone with the Michelins :(
Scott in Dallas
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Try running them at a lower PSI for awhile. Maybe 27-28? That should soften the ride. I believe 28 PSI all around was factory spec for my 90 240 sedan. Michelins are firm but not rock hard for a reason. The stiffer sidewall improves the handling and ride on rougher, winding roads like we have here in New England. Longer treadwear too. Personally, I like a somewhat firmer ride. Better control and handling. I'm not young either..:)
Will your dealer swap them? Another option would be to sell them and buy another set of T/A's or maybe try Kumho Solus 11's. I had the Solus's on both my 240 and 850 for awhile. A good cheap tire that rides well. Cheaper than the the T/A's. Plus recent reviews of the new T/A's indicates they don't perform as well as the older style.
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hi sages- interesting observations about the defenders. i was used to the michelin symmetry radials which i think is the same as the mx michelins. symmetrys arent made anymore. 2 years ago put a set of defenders on the merc marquis my wife drives.apparently the defenders do not have the cushioning soft rubber liner under the tread like the symmetrys did. have taken vehicle on long road trips and have noticed that they ride much harder. they grip well and wear very well. mpg has improved too. would think the ride would be even harder on the volvo 240 . currently have cheaper goodyear radials on it which will have to be replaced soon. pondering getting defenders for the volvo. wonder too if harder riding tires wear out the suspension faster, bushing , joints etc. havent seen any comment or research on this point. defenders are warranted for 90k miles too. thanks tons oldduke
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''wonder too if harder riding tires wear out the suspension faster, bushing , joints etc.''
Would there be a difference in noise tranfered inside if a Volvo 240 has poly bushings instead of the OEM rubber ones ?
Just wonder since I never put on poly type.
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hi roland- last year i replaced 4 rubber bushings on the ends of rods on each side of a 92 245 with polys (panhard rod? radius rod?). they definitely give a harder ride. doesnt seem to be a problem though. just dont want to jump any hills in frisco like frank bullitt did in 68. might bend the frame of my volvo. the bad guys charger did the same thing. guess most have forgotten that movie. kitty grey might remember. regards oldduke
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Uncle OldDuke!
Yeah, Bullti! That movie is awesome. So is that Mustang Steve McQueen drives.
Hop up a Volvo 120, 164, or 240, and maybe you can drive just like that around the 'Frico by the bay? Maybe not in 2016, though.
I like the stiff sidewalls and harder ride full inflated Michelin's give. Yeah, with some more PSI, they seem to last longer, run cooler, and gets you better MPG a bit.
Bullit with Steve McQueen. Though the famous car chase scene was heavily edited though in post production. You see one Mustang with bits hanging off, and then the chase scene continues with no damage to the Mustang.
Makes me want a Volvo 240 fastback! A Volvo 243? With hopped up B23 E Turbo (and Getrag M90 manual transmission)? Probably not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullitt#Car_chase
I have to get some wheels as these 6$ each 14" Corona wheels are badly corroded (yet the tires hold air) yet the cheapie tires are all out of round (off of craigslist like even years ago or so). I mean to get 240 steelies, the final part number version from the 1990+. I have the two-pierce steelie hub caps fro the steelie wheels. Though a set of the steelie 15" from a 700 / 940 may be okay. Doubtful.
The Michelin tires on mine are like 10 years old as of this coming July or so. So, by age, time to replace, I guess.
Hope all's aces, Uncle OldDuke! Three pedals and all!
Thank you.
Kitty's Grey 1991 Volvo 240 sedan.
(leaking engine oil like a sieve again. Has new rear main and all three front engine seals. Valve cover and rear round plug is maybe 14 yeas old now. Hope that's it. All seals properly installed using a Volvo SVO tool seal press. Oh well.)
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MacDuff - Thanks for the picture. Brings back memories. It was fun watching the Mustang flying off those SF hills!
Bullitt, great movie! Perhaps the best chase scene ever filmed! Although Gene Hackman's chase scene in French Connection was pretty damn good too...
I like the firm Michelin's too. Good handling/ride, good MPG and normally long lasting. Their only drawback seems to be that the sidewalls dry rot a little prematurely. If your tires are 10 years old it's time to think about replacing them.
Last fall I bought 2 Michelin Premier A/S's for my Passat. The replacement tire for the Michelin MXV. My take on them is that they handle as well as the MXV's but with a little less steering feel. On the positive side they ride better, are quieter and are better in snow. In rain it is wash...ha-ha-ha....:) IMHO - They are expensive but worth it if you like a good handling car.
J
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" If your tires are 10 years old it's time to think about replacing them."
My opinion is that anything over 5 years should be replaced, rubber doesn't hold up very well after that.
Dan
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My experience with Michelin's support your point. I've seen them dry rot after as little as 5+ years, but it does vary depending upon climate etc. Think manufacturers recommendations are either 7 or 8 years. Moral of the story: Check the manufacturing date on the sidewall...:)
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I like Michelin tires and they are all I buy for my 4 240's. I have had several sets of defenders and have had no complaints from my wife and kids. I do not get advertised mileage and they are usually used up at about 40 k miles.
The only problems I have had were with the Symmetry line I had on my own 240, 2 of the set of 4 went bad at about 3 -4 years. One developed a sidewall bubble and within a month another delaminated and self destructed on the highway. I guess there is a reason this line was discontinued!
My car is now on 16" Hydra wheels and Premier A/S Michelins that I have had for about a month. So far so good, I got them because they are highly rated on Tire Rack for noise, handling, wet weather handling.
Dan
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Been lucky, never had a problem with Michelins except for the sidewall dry rot. Can't say that about other brands...
Never had the Defenders. Most of my Michelin experience is with the MXV4's. Got 50k on a set of MXV4's on my 850 wagon. They are about done. Car is going up for sale so I've replaced 2 so far with non-Michelins. The other 2 will be on the new owner...:)
It's only been about 6 months with the 2 Premier's but so far I love them! They ride and handle great! Good in the rain and even did well driving in 8 inches of snow in a blizzard this winter. Bonus - I also get about 2 mpg more than with the MXV4's in the front. When the other 2 MXV4's wear out I'll definitely replace them with 2 more Premier A/S's.
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hi kitty grey- youre right! i did notice that a few times when i watched mcqueen wheel that mustang around. pieces hanging off it were edited off in later scenes.later came to like the mustang, but favored the bad guy's black charger.i had a 69 charger just like it but it was special order with a smaller 318 v8 instead of the 383 that was in the movie car. that engine sucked too much gas. mine had a heavy duty 3 speed manual . wanted to get a manual overdrive but strangely american cars phased them out in 68 only to revive them in 76. anyway on your 240, why is it leaking when you did all that work on oil passages? most chargers and early mustangs are gone now- rusted to hell. but dominic torretto still drives one. keep up the good work. btw what is an m90 trans? regards oldduke
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Don't forget the scene in Bullit where McQueen parallel parks the Mustang reversing uphill in one move...
Me, I run Michelin Defenders on the 945 (15") and like them just fine. Michelin X-Ones on 15" rims on the 245. ???
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hi bisco- wow dont remember that scene. will check it again on my black and white 18 inch dumont tv- have to until the white dot in the center goes out. what do you think of replacingmy worn out goodyears with 14 inch defenders on the m2 245? thanks tons oldduke
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I had to show my girlfriend the video of McQueen doing the uphill parallel parking maneuver when I was teaching her to parallel park for the road test... It's kind of funny how it is just thrown into the middle of the movie. Uphill and to the left, manual tranny and a big lumpy V-8. Not easy. The clip was on YouTube, but I can't find it now.
As for tires, I'm not the one to ask for advice as I've only run the Michelins and have nothing to compare them to. I've been more or less happy with Michelins, but my 245 is tight with poly and BillyHDs, so there's no avoiding a stiff ride.
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I have replaced all the bushings on my 240's (I even have my own trailing arm bushing tool :) anyway, I stayed away from poly because I like a nice soft ride. That is gone now because of the defenders. With the amount of road shock imposed on the car now, it can do nothing but wear everything out faster. Especially the front control arm bushings especially....
Scott in Dallas
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Scott, thanks for bringing this Michelin Defender subject.
This brings me a lot of information because I was looking at these tires at Costco just last week. On top of that you use the OEM rubber bushings that I suspected would transfer less noise to the car body. But you seem to say this is not the case and the tires only are to blame. Good to know.
Then I will look at an other brand of tires for the summer. There was snow again here this morning and our winter tires with studs have to be removed by April 1st.
To Oldduke: Yes me also am old enough to have watched these Duke of Hazard movies. Not just Charger bushings took hard hits, other parts also.
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Basically, if you drive solo a lot and don't carry much load, run the pressures at the minimum that Michelin recommends. That should be about the same as the Volvo sticker on the B post. I run 30 all round on my wagon with 195/60/on 15" Virgos. Yes, put the pressures up a bit when loaded or cruising long trips at "80", as the sticker also says. Running above the highest recommendations loses you more than you think it gains. The max pressure mentioned on the tyre isn't meant to be the maximum running psi but as a safety warning. Sometimes when tyres are fitted the guy will take it o the max to get a good seat but will drop to the specified pressure afterwards. I'd be happy at 28 all round for comfort but mine is good by modern standards with 30psi.
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hi derek of the uk- your point is well taken, but not sure i completely agree with you. keep my 245 at 32 with goodyear radials. find that if i drop to 28 the mpg goes from 27 to 23. car does ride stiffer but but i think thats more due to the polys i put in the side radius rods. know my options will be less w/ the defenders. my uncles are in the uk and visited once. biggest difference in driving i saw was high gas prices, most cars are diesels and a lot more have 3 pedals on the floor. regards oldduke
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I get 30mpg + (imperial) when cruising 80+. That will reduce with a lot of town work of which I do hardly any. This is with the 2 litre engine and a 5 speed. Averages out at a bit over 300 miles per tank until I bottle out and go and refill.
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Go out and check the tire pressure. Then check the tire pressure sticker in the car (if it has one).
If no sticker, this facsimile may be close:
http://www.davebarton.com/label1338146-TirePres-png.png
It suggests ~27 PSI for light loads. Give that a try and see how it affects the ride.
-T
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a tires ride is dependent on many things
most important being how it was installed (mounted/balanced)
you might want to return to the installer and see what they say and possibly remount them etc
as an aside, 2 weeks ago I purchased a set of defender xt's for the crv at Sams
installed and out the door- 319$ including the Michelin 70$ rebate
ride fine for me in this non Volvo car at 4# above recommended psi of 26
gc
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I do not understand too much what you describe as ''ride like a rock''.
I adjust tire pressure at 32-33 psi. This is about the recommended pressure I beleive and correct me if I am wrong. I figure the difference of comfort between two brands of tires is hardness of rubber gum and noise. Recommanded tire pressure may be about the same for every brand for a given size I would think.
I will follow your post and others comments because I was also looking at buying Michelin Defender as a 4 season tire for summer use. I beleive it is fair enough for noise and mileage life (harder gum than Pirelli I think). I might change my mind now.
Is 185 70 14 size produced by fewer brands now ?
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14" tires are more a rarity save for the most economical of rides, and yet, ever more rare for a quality tire.
The higher the tread wear, the harder the tire.
Though sidewall flex, or lack of it, can make a ride harsher. Michelin tires tend towards a stiffer sidewall. And I like that.
I have Michelin MX something made in USA or Germany on the 1991 kittys grey Volvo 240. These are a whopping ten years. They are meant for rainy environs as a decade ago I imagined life in Vancouver, WA. They suck in the snow, though.
They still do alright. ('Cept snow.) Though well past the seven year replace the tire for safety practice.
The have a max pressure of 44 PSI. I was not ever happy with the underinflation values auto makers put on the door post as a guide.
So, 40 PSI in front, 35 or so rear, more or less, or as the tire holds. I have to buy three new sets pretty soon.
Though Continental tires have some quality problems, like Firestone, or many made in Asia tires, the Made in North America and Europa Conti seem okay, yet just research the heck out of them.
Michelin remains the go to fave, unless you drive a Porsche or want to ruin your Volvo with some silly drifting set up well before you'd service them rear wheel bearings.
cheers,
Twinings Lade Grey Tea - Best in the 100 gram tin.
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