Hello,

I purchased a 1990 740 Volvo in September of last year, and need to replace the tires, and was hoping for recommendations. I am bewildered by the conflicting array of opinions out there on supposedly good tires.

I live in Florida, so heat and humidity are issues, not cold. Would like quiet, but more concerned about safety.

What are the ones that have worked best for all of you out there? Willing to pay, but obviously a great deal would be nice.

~Thanks in advance.

 

I'm guessing you don't need any sort of performance tread, and would prefer to get a lot of mileage out of them. I had a set of Michelin X Radials, they were smooth, quiet and held up great, considering how abusive I am on tires. They are rated @ 80K miles

 

I really like the Michelin Primacy MXV4's I put on my 92 745T (which has the optional 16" 'Hydra' wheels), they are quiet, smooth, plenty sticky enough for anything I'm going to do in that battle wagon, and have great rain traction too. But they are rather expensive.

 

And...for yet another opinion, for general run around tires, I run 15" Fuzion HRi's...great traction, good wet handling....but soft compound...makes them relatively low mileage but I don't care because here in Texas I don't run tires at highway speeds for more than 2 years. So, for everyday stuff I buy cheap tires.

 

Another General recommendation I put a set of Hankook Optimo 727s on my 940 and they're really smooth.

You can read the ratings on tire track for the size of tire your looking for.

For the rating they had and the $420.00 I spent I felt pretty damn good about the purchase.

 

+1 on the Fuzion HRis.

Also consider Hankook 727s; cheap, good wearing, squeal when the going's tough. What you'd expect from a tall sidewall.

 

I love my Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads. Goodyear is an American Tire company too. They have about 36,500 miles on them and look a little over half used. They have a good mixture of driving on them. Interstate speeds of 65 to 75 is pretty normal and we've loved pushing the car through any corner we get the chance to. They still feel excellent as far as balance after 4 years of use. They car has never gotten stuck in snow or even broken loose and any bad driving condition unless I wanted the car to. These have been really solid and predictable tires. The tread wear rating is 740 and they are speed rated up to 135mph. They do cost just over a c-note, but I think that you get what you pay for with these guys. Since you don't need much for snow, you may want to check out Goodyear's other similar tires.

 

I like the Harmony which is non-directional and you can rotate four tires, five with a full size spare, in a complete five tire rotation--which would extend the life.

For directional tires, I like the Michelin Hydro Greens.

For me, I'm getting the Michelin Energy Savers for my car. Still debating what size to get.

 

I'd stick with the stock sizes for any given rim and car combination. deviating too much can make the car steer heavy, or worse.

On a 740, I believe that's 185/65-15 (sedan) or 195/60-15 (wagon) or 205/55-16 (if you have optional 16" rims). you definitely want a tire with a sturdy sidewall. you can put a 205/50-17 on properly fitted 17" rims, but the ride will be busy and harsh.