Tires

Jay Laifman (Jay_Laifman(at)countrywide.com)
Thu, 3 Dec 1998 15:15:55 -0800

This is a question not for my Sunbeam, but could be equally applicable. How does one tell the real differences between tires? We need new tires for our Volvo 850T. I've gone to Michelin's, Pirelli's and Goodyear's web sites. They all have nice things to say about the abilities of their tires. But, all of their tires sound like they glue your car to the road in wet or dry conditions, and even the lowliest tire is made to sound like a performance tire. None of them specifically suggest one is better or worse in wet or dry. Carefully reading the adjectives they use gives some indication, but nothing solid.

And, as to the speed rating, certainly our Volvo will not be doing sustained speeds over 100 mph. But, is there another benefit to a tire that is rated to go well over that speed, other than ego? There is also the "Tread", "Traction" and "Temp" rating. Our current tires are Michelin Pilot HX MXV3A's with 240, A and A, respectively, and V rated. There are some Pirellis (P4000 Super Touring) that my local shop suggested that are 320, A, A, in either V or H. But I don't know.

Lastly, I am alone in not trusting salespersons to honestly tell me if I need new tires or to have the brain capacity to tell me the difference between the tires? My wife thinks I am paranoid and too distrusting of salespeople.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Jay