I have the stock 16 inch (Gallactica) rims on my 2003 S40. I bought this just under a year ago and it has 3 different brands of chinese crap tires on it. I'm looking to replace them with quality tires that won't make me skidder around like a hockey puck in the rain.

The documents that came with the car and Volvo have told me the correct tire size is 215/50/16R. My problem is that I've only found one tire that is that size (Dunlop Direzza DZ102 - 215/50R16 90V) out of all the top brands. I'd prefer an all-season tire as I frequent areas with inclement weather.

The crapper tires on my car now are 205/55/16R. They ride terrible and have no traction.

Any suggestions?

 

Original 16" tire size is:
215/50R16 VR

Kumho has a tire that size. Not sure how good it is but I have heard good things about the brand.
Kumho Ecsta ASX

 

I am running 205/50-16s on my S40. Considering the base tire is a 195/60-15, the plus 1 sizing is in between the 205s and 215s. If you use Tirerack's specs for tire rotations per mile spec as your guide, you'll see all three sizes fall in the 860-870 range with a +- of 10 between brands. That says there's a .9% variance, eg 1 mph speedometer difference at 90 mph. My thinking is run the 205/50s and you get a long list of choices and about $100 for a set of four, and you can use the info to pick a brand that is slightly taller.