Has anyone else noticed that the Volvo S 40 is not designed to be driven with snow tires/tyres?

I recently bought a 2011 S 40 T5 with 17" alloy wheels. The car was outfitted with low-profile tires. I consider these among the worst ideas ever adopted by auto manufacturers. Low-profile tires last half as long as regular tires. They jar the teeth out of your head when you hit a pothole or bend your rims or both. What do you gain in return? Sex appeal and tight cornering, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

So, anyway, with winter coming, I invested in Volvo's tire package and dropped down to 16" steel wheels outfitted with Gslaved snow tires. I drove away from the dealer and thought immediately that I was going to roll off the road. The car swayed and waddled. The nose dove on turns like it was headed underwater. The shocks and springs on the S40 are obviously no tuned for snow tires, and the tires themselves struck me as cheap goods, with sidewalls so flabby that I could nearly poke my thumb through them.

I drove back to the dealer and told them to get rid of the Gslaveds and put on some Nokians. (This is the winter tire I have always used on my Saabs, with excellent results.) The Nokian snow tires are slightly better than the Gslaveds, but the car still wallows and waddles, feeling at every minute as if it's on its way to a rollover. Yes, I could rebuild the suspension with sway bars and news shocks and springs, but who the deuce has ever heard of a "Swedish" car that can't be outfitted with snow tires? Help?!

 

Downsizing to smaller tires for winter is not always beneficial . You should of bought 17 inch winter tires and mounted them on you're stock wheels or you could of bought a aftermarket 17 inch wheel and mounted winter tires on those .

 

Stage2 is right, although the downsized 16s should be fine. Maybe your are a little more sensitive than you think and everything is actually fine? I've been running winter tires (usually Continentals but also Nokians and Blizzaks) on my 960, XC90, and XC70 with zero issues. Seems weird that the S40 would be any different given how many I see on winter tires in Iceland (running on them even in the summer).

 

17" snow tires?! All I know is that the dealer dropped down to 16" and installed the snow tires on new steel rims.

How would a 17" snow tire work? The car normally runs on 17" low-profile tires. If you switch from 17" low profile tires to 17" snow tires--presumably with more meat on them--how do you fit the tires in the wheel wells? Thanks for clarifying.

 

You can probably get winter tires in the same size
That you're car
Originally came equipped
With . My c70 has 225/45/17 for summer tires and the same for
My winter tires

 

There are few reason why volvo install 16" on the snow not the 17". mostly is the cost, 16" tires & rims (steel rim) are much cheaper then 17". In fact they perfom much better in heavy snow or icy condition. eg. softer=more impact, thiner=more easy to cut through ice. check the rally cars, when they are on snow & ice track, they use taller & thiner tires compare to tomac. another reason why your car wonder may be because of the alignment. new tires=new alignment, just like wearing a shoes. I have to admit Nokian is one of the best snow tires but also one of the most expensive one on the market too. It cost almost 1/3 more then the Gislaved. R u willing to pay extra for all that 17" rim & tires & less benefit on snow?? if so, u may as well get the 17", nokian+alignment. but got remind u, all snow tires rubber are softer then the all season, so u may still feel alittle soft on corner. the tread height is not a problem, as long as u replace at 4 tires @ the same time

 

I have 17s on my XC70, 18s on my XC90. No issues at all.

 

I run dedicated snows on their own wheels on all of our cars...Gilsvad on the S80 and Hankook on the VW. I have always run the factory size tires, including on the S (245/45/18) without issue and better handling than downsizing.