Hi:
I'm new to the forums and just wanted to say hello. I live in New York and I own a 2016 XC70 AWD T5 2.5L that currently has 36K miles on it. I enjoy the outdoors (...hiking, backpacking, camping, skiing, kayaking, mountain biking) so I'm always loading up my car with gear. Previously I owned two Nissan XTerra 4WDs which I loved because I could get through any kind of terrain and weather without any concerns, but the reality is that I am 5'1" so the XC70 is more practical for me to load and unload and it's my only vehicle so I use it to drive to/from work. My only gripe with the car is that the stock tires (235/50 R18 97V Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Weather Run-Flats) are not great in winter and it seems I often have to fill them up because they run low on air when temperatures change. I bought a Viair portable compressor, so that's no longer that big of a deal but I need to replace them anyway because one tire is bulging and they've developed cracks. Having said that, I'm looking to upgrade my car to something more off-road worthy so I'll be looking for recommendations on wheels, tires and suspension upgrades from the forum community, but I think I'm supposed to post about that in other threads.
Thanks,
Jo-Ana

 

My recommendation is to run snows in the winter on a second set of rims (provided you have a place to store them...) and go to a shorter rim like 7.5Jx17 ET55 and run 235/55-17s. the taller side wall will give you a lot more pot hole protection. Also I like to keep 3 PSI more air than the factory card suggests - ie if it says 36, put in 39... Most tires are good up to 50+. Check out hubcaphaven.com for OEM style rims.

 

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated! I thought about doing just that but then thought that's a lot of $$$ if I were to do it all now (and buy a full size spare for each set?)... What I'm thinking after continuing to look into all this is using BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 LT255/55 R18 with the 7.5Jx18 rims assuming the slightly larger diameter will not cause an interference within the wheel well... Any thoughts on that? I'll definitely look into hubcaphaven, I think I came across them on one of my searches. Thanks again!!!

 

Xterra's were amazing! I sadly traded mine in when I started having the dreaded coolant transmission issues and realized it was about to let go. Sadly, not long after they recognized it was a widespread issue and provided a warranty on it, sigh. Had mine everywhere from ski trips to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, rock climbing through the Red River Gorge, and all throughout the rivers and forests of the Carolina's. Was easily my favorite vehicle.
Have never seen an off rode setup Volvo, can't wait to see what you're able to put together! Glad to see you're putting effort into making it off road worthy too. A few weeks ago there was a local tourists on a waterfall hike he shouldn't have been on near me, he had a brand new (but stock) Dodge Ram that was stuck at a trailhead that is notorious for taking dedicated off-road vehicles to get out of.