I'm a bit confused about all the different wheel offsets offers on Volvo wheels.

I put a set of winter wheels on my car that were 6.5x16x ET 52.5 and I had major wheel noise and sounded like bad bearings.

I put my all seasons back on (factory Volvo 17") and everything was quiet again.

I looked up the specs and I'm seeing a ET40 on this car, which is the same as S80's.

From what I gather ET52.5 is for S40 and Fords.

Can this much difference of wheel offset cause THAT much noise?

What is the max ET tolerance allowed on this car?

Thanks

 

offset won't create the noise - I'd say the tires are the cause. Your winter tires probably have some cupping, which on top of a winter tread will make some noticeable noise. Tollerance for offset is typically +-10 mm with clearance being the main concern - particularly when going wide (ie rubbing on the fender lip or on the strut or inner fender up front is the main concern - take a look to see if there's any rub marks from the 16s to be sure). Most Volvo wheels are in the 39 to 45 mm range - there's a stamping on your wheels to see what the 17s are. In the VW community its not uncommon for a person to drop Audi rims on a VW to get the wheel "flush" to the fender lip (ie going from a 50 to a 35) with no problems provided they don't rub.