I've currently got the steel wheels from the base model 850 sedan on my car. Are the alloy wheels lighter or offer better handling? A coworker recently had their car badly damaged (also a 1996 Volvo 850 base sedan, nobody was injured thankfully) and is parting it out to help pay for a new(er) car. She's willing to sell the 4 good alloy wheels (picture below) with tires that need replacing for $150. Good upgrade for the money? I'll need new tires soon anyways. PS. Any good tires you'd recommend on a budget?

 

Stock alloy wheel are just for looks and ease of cleaning.

 

Are they any lighter than the stock steel wheels though?

 

If they are, it isn't going to make a difference. That isn't exactly a performance car.

 

wheels in the pic are the "Cetus" which came on the GLTs and some of the turbos (as a delete option). $150 for the wheels is a fair price for a set of Cetus wheels in good shape (but they are plentiful and not in huge demand so you can haggle). To compare, use car-parts.com to see what yards are selling them for - you may want to shop a set from a yard with good tires for a similar price. I just dropped four new 195/60-15s on my daughter's 850 and it was $400 out the door even with "economy" (Sumitomo) tires. I use the steelies for snow tires and alloys for summer so you can probably save or sell the old ones for winter use. If you want to gain performance you'd want to go up to 16 or 17 inch with a slightly wider rim and plus 1 or 2 tire (ie 205s or 215s). The 850s use the same bolt pattern/center hub as most of the newer models (ie S/v70s) - where you can find some 16 or 17" OEM which are bolt on. Caveot - the 850s were subject to a law suit years ago due to frequent blow outs on the 16s - my theory is it was a combination of firm suspension and the factory recommended tire pressure was too low. If you go plus 1 or plus 2, run higher pressure (ie 36-39 PSI). It will firm up the ride at that pressure and you'll feel expansion strips etc where the 15s are more compliant and give a smoother ride. As for brands, the first decision is what kind of tire - If you live in a warm climate (ie CA) or are up north and run snows you can shop summer tires. If you see some snow but don't do change overs, I'd find an all season (more snowy? I'd look for an all season tire with an aggressive side lug). I've done Falkens, Kumhos and now Sumitomos on the 950, I have General Altimaxs on my VW CC and S40 (great all season but the new design are a bit noisier than I'd like) and Conti's on our Highlander (Conti's were OEM on my VW and replacements were priced in the Michelin range..)

 

For tires I was looking at these Goodyear Eagle RS-A

 

I think you can do better. Take a look at the UTQG rating for RS-As. That's telling you the tread wear scored a 260 - which is about what I'd expect for gummy track tires. Most 40,000 mile warranty tires are in the 400 range and the long wear tires are in the 600-700 range. I'd bet you'd only get 25-30K miles on them and they probably will wear even more quickly if you have worn suspension parts.

 

I paid $60 for my 17 inch S80 wheels.

 

Keep in mind the UTQG rating is really only good for comparing tires from the same manufacturer.

 

Another thing to think about...

Alloy rims are prone to corrosion along the bead. The corrosion causes small leaks that require constant filling of air. Tire shops can grind away the corrosion and use a bead sealer to stop it for a bit (about $30 per rim) or you can go to a specialty shop and have the rims cleaned and recoated (not sure how much that cost.)

 

I think personally, I'd rather have the steelies with $150 more in tires on them than the Cetus with a cheaper tire.