I have a newly acquired 2003 s60 2.5L AWD, with 100K miles on it. Is it necessary to replace all 4 tires at the same time? I understand there is some debate about this, in regards to differential damage, and I'm hoping that someone can clear this up. Can I replace only the front axle tires?
My tires are 234/45 17 ZR. Many thanks.

 

I would only replace all at once, you don't want to introduce strains on the awd system by having tires of significantly different levels of wear at either end, especially if you were switching brand/tread patterns.

 

I know this is what Volvo suggests also, but it seems there should be something in the AWD that would accommodate/forgive slightly different levels of tire wear.

 

if there is slight levels of wear, its fine (like if you have a blow out on fairly new tires) otherwise - you should do all four

 

if this is an around town beater and you live where it does not snow or have slick roads when it rains, so you don't care about potentially adverse handling under these conditions go ahead and just replace the 2. If you want this car to behave well at speed and or under adverse conditions and not potentually suffer failures replace all 4, rotate them frequently to keep the wear even.

 

I wouldn't use that standard RGT - the angle gear could be damaged by having different sized tires on the wheels. You certainly don't want to have to deal with a blown angle gear.

 

The famous philosopher, Harry Callahan, once taught: "You've got to ask yourself a question. 'Do I feel lucky?'. Well, do you, punk?"

If the tires are the same diameter, then you're not going to put strain in the diffs. If they are not, then you will. I don't know whether you get snow or rain in Santa Fe (NM?) but if you do, then I'd replace all four. If money is a concern, ask yourself if you need Z rating. I suspect heat is a concern where you live, so I'd go no lower than V, or maybe H if it is an "in town" type of car that doesn't take long highway trips while loaded.

I bought a set of Conti ExtremeContact DWS tires for wife's V70 which are all season Z rated and cost about $700 with Discount Tire/America's Tire replacement warranty, lifetime balancing and rotation. Not the cheapest in that size (BTW, yours are 235/45 17) but here in the Midwest, we need a tire that will run in snow and ice. There aren't a lot of choices in that size, but some were cheaper. Ask yourself how much 2 tires will cost over life of tire set versus price of AWD repairs. From this Forum, Volvo's set up isn't cheap to fix.

 

What size were your DWS's?

I just paid $114 each for my 225/50/17's from www.onlinetires.com
Super cheap but pretty lame customer service...

www.discounttiredirect.com is the best in terms of pricing to me, call them and negotiate, they will price match onlinetires price and you get free shipping and better service..

Concerning the rubber, i'd change all four and go with either the Continental ExtremeContact DWS (if snow or longevity is a concern) or the ExtremeContact DW if you want a top class summer tyre!

Price.. works out to about $120 vs $130 each or so

 

235/45 -17. But that included mounting, balancing, valve stems, lifetime rotation and balancing @ 5K intervals, and the "replace for free is unfixable" warranty which costs money. The base price of the tires was maybe $500+ for all four. Discount Tire was cheaper than T*** R*** when these factors were included.

Tires are the only thing I ever buy the extended warranty for -- wife, 21 y.o. son, and 18 y.o. daughter appear incapable to recognizing a flat tire and each has driven on at least one, creating an unrepairable tire. I lost another tire too, in a construction zone last spring when some debris sliced the sidewall. Clang, thud, thump thump thump in a matter of seconds on the freeway! So I figure I'm at least breaking even, if not coming out ahead. The cheaper the tire, the cheaper the warranty costs.

I can only imagine how long a 45 aspect tire lasts without air!

The local Discount Tire store matched price of DT's online store when all charges were considered. Just easier to go to the store and not having to pay for rotation and balancing is a big incentive to just stop in and have it done at the right intervals.

I never thought of going with your size. I'd actually prefer the 50 series sidewall here in the pothole capital of the Midwest.