I am going to need to get new tires for my 244 soon. What size tire will I need to get. I have the Corona wheels. I may go ahead and replace the wheels to freshen up the look, so what offset should the rims be.

Thanks a lot,
Joe

No one has asked so far - where do you live?? - and where do you drive???

If you are in New Mexico or Washinton State - you would most likely need a different tire than say if you lived and drove mainly in Montana or Idaho.

what are your most common driving conditions - freeway, gravel, mixture of the two?

Mountain passes, rainy roads, dry desert, etc.

Then I can offer a bit more input that matters.

Goldy

The sky's the limit as long as you don't get too wide or tall. I've ran as large as P205/70/R14 to as small as P175/70/R14 (Neon/Civic size). 205/70's ride better and skinny 185/75's are the cheapest size you can buy. P185/70/R14 or 185/14 is the recomended size in the manual. I have 185/70/R14's on my corona wheels. Taller tires will get you better gas milage, lower & wider will handle better.
Ben

i got the least expensive kumhos from tire rack, something like $39 each not incl shipping. 195/65 14" no complaints so far. i previously had 185/70 14 bridgestones on it and the 195's, as expected, ride harder but have better steering response.

As far as wheels go, stick with Volvo wheels. Volvo "hub centers" their wheels, that is, the wheels fit snugly over the hub. The studs do not center the wheel. There are a lot of nice rwd wheels out there. My favs are Virgos (Turbo). Widely available and clean up nice.
Tire Rack is tops for tires. The rep can usually tell you of any specials they are running. I use Yokohama AVS but there are other good brands. A nice oversize on the 240 with 15" wheels is 205-55x15. About the same rolling diameter as stock and no rubbing concerns.

Skip
'93 850GLT
'83 240TI Flathood

The factory tire size is 185/70R14. Many many choices with this size. A quality brand like Michelin or Goodyear, and you can't go wrong.

Any 14 or 15" wheel from any RWD Volvo, except 95+ 960 models, will fit fine and work correctly. Most alloys are 15X6, and take 195/60R15 tires. All of these would be fine for your car and most look good too.

Look through the gallery here for some ideas- and check the classifieds here and at www.ipdusa.com for wheels for sale.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 234K, '82 245T/M46-182K, '84 242DL/AW70-100K, '89 244DL/AW70- 212K and I miss my: 86 244DL 215K, 87 244DL 239K, 88 744GLE 233K, 88 244GL 147K, 91 244 183K

Meh. After my experience, I can't say Goodyear is quality.

Best advice - go to TireRack and check up on the reviews. There are tires out there that are low priced, yet excellent, and ones that are expensive and suck like crap.

Back to the original poster ... if you want to freshen up the look, clean up the rims. Shiny Corona rims almost always look good on a 240. The finish is really bad, scrub clean as best possible, give it a 2 coats each of primer, followed by Rustoleum 7715, then clear. Makes 'em look just like new.

-- Kane
--
Blossom II -'91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles -'74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup -'86 245GL/AW70
The Wayback Machine -'64 P220/M40 ... The ParaBox -'90 745GL/AW70

Agreed, Goodyear makes crap and quality. Probably any brand name is OK. However after being severely disappointed with some Pirelli's winter traction, and incredible wear rates on some Dunlops, I can only offer this: you get what you pay for.

Cheap tires are junk, regardless of brand. Better tires always cost more money.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!

- Cheap tires are junk, regardless of brand. Better tires always cost more money.

Again, not true. I stand by my comment that there are low-priced (meaning not necessarily the cheapest) tires out there that are excellent, and there are expensive ones that just plain suck.

Just a word of advice to everyone, really ... DO NOT equate mileage with quality. Having traction, whether wet, dry, snow, or ice, is much more important than trying to save a few bucks because the tires are designed to last 60+k miles. All it takes is one minor accident to wipe out all of that savings.

In the end, everything that makes a car go, stop, and turn, relies on those 4 pieces of rubber.

-- Kane ... and if your slushbox equipped, normally aspirated, 4-cylinder Volvo can spin the tires dry without doing anything special besides stepping on the gas, THEY SUCK! Get new tires ... quickly!
--
Blossom II -'91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles -'74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup -'86 245GL/AW70
The Wayback Machine -'64 P220/M40 ... The ParaBox -'90 745GL/AW70