Hello
My LR tire developed an irreparable leak on the sidewall. Overall tread depth on the Continental tire set is pretty good and it would be nice to avoid replacing the whole set.
However, I'm aware of the sensitivity of these AWDs to mixed tires. My regular mechanic suggested I could do a used tire if the tread depth with within 2/32" of the rest of the tires.
Checked with three tire shops today and they either don't deal much in used tires or don't have this somewhat uncommon size (235/50R18). So we're not even getting to discussing tread depth.
So I could continue to bury more time into running around searching out a replacement tire, or bite the bullet for a new set.

For a new set, I'm thinking of going with Costco, who has a deal on good Michelins right now. I definitely want very high quality tires (maybe not top end, but higher end). When I still had my 2001 Cross Country, a tire shop once told me that the proper tires for the car have a higher load rating than normal passenger car miles.

So I'm wondering--
Does anyone know what the original stock tires were on the 2010 XC70 T6, and their specs?
If you were to buy a new set for YOUR 2010 XC70 T6, what would you go with?

Thanks for any input!

 

I should point out that I want all-season tires, and I live in relatively mild climate northern California.

 

"stock tires" vary by market and car model, and they are not always the best choice for your personalized interests. My suggestion is to use a good content site like tirerack.com, use their size/tire type filter then compare brands by review/ratings and price. You can find Conti's, Pirelli's, Mich's in the high performance all season categories as well as some of the lesser known brands. What you want to pay attention to is the tire's wear rating and speed rating (not that you're gonna be driving 120+ on I-80 but its an indication of the tires stability and that translates to less heat build up). As a plan B, if you can find a replacement tire identical to your remaining 3 tires, there are tire shaving services that will cut the new tire down to match the size of the remaining tires. Ref: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=18 Note that many "all wheel drive" cars are really two wheel drive and only transfer power to the rears when wheel slippage is detected. This is why the article talks about tire matching in pairs. Having all four be the same make/model/tread depth is important for balanced handling but you can have some differences from front to rear provided side to side is even.

 

Thanks for your reply. Interesting article on the tire shaving. Fortunately I don't need my car to commute, so I have some time to look at options and as you suggested, comparison shop.