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Winter Wheel Thread

222K views 749 replies 135 participants last post by  marwood15 
#1 ·
So I emailed Gary at TireRack regarding potential winter wheel packages for the Polestar. And as I expected, below was the email exchange. Let this Thread serve as information regarding winter wheel packages, tires, etc...And post up your pics once the flakes start to fall!

Hi Gary,
I have a 2015.5 Volvo V60 Polestar on order (only 120 being brought over here). I will need a winter tire package, but I'm not sure if you guys will have one listed given the small number of cars coming here to the States. Below are the specs. Have anything that would work? Thanks

Wheels & Brakes
Front
Polestar/Brembo 6 piston brake calipers 371x32 mm ventilated and floating Brembo discs

Rear
302x22 mm ventilated discs

Rims
Polestar bespoke rims, 8x20" ET53

Tires
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 95 Y 245/35ZR20

Thanks for your inquiry.

You're right, unfortunately we would need access to the car in our South Bend, IN facility during a time when we can perform a full brake profile and suspension scan in order to be able to guarantee a fitment. You may want to consider simply mounting winter tires on your current wheels if they are available. I should have more information on this seasons upcoming winter tires, typically mid to late September.

Best Regards,

If you order online, please reference "Gary" on the order as a previous contact. Thank you.
Gary Stanley | Sales Specialist
__________________________________________________________
Tire Rack
7101 Vorden Parkway
South Bend, IN 46628
O: 888 428 8355 ext. 4386
O: 574 287 2345 ext. 4386
F: 574 236 7707
Gary@tirerack.com
 
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#2 ·
I would strongly suggest that you do not use the stock wheels for mounting and dismounting winter tires. Our tire program will, for sure, offer winter tires to fit these Volvos.
 
#3 ·
I agree. I always use a dedicated setup for winter use, but I think Gary was just reminding us of the option.

I'm sure Volvo will come out with a package, but I would imagine at a steep cost if they are anything like BMW. I always use TR and have had no complaints
 
#11 ·
thanks, now i'm curious about the netherland sweden and japan. no-one here from japan, perhaps they have their own swedespeed?
 
#12 · (Edited)
While internet researching the international allocation of the MY2015/2015.5 Polestars I came across some relevant winter tires information for this thread.

There are three different specs of winter tyre available on a choice of 19 and 20-inch rims. This will include Michelin Pilot Alpin and X-Ice North 3. I suspect PA4 due to its available sizes: http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/category/winter/pilot-alpin-pa4/tire-details

Looks like the 19" rim will be similar or same as the MY2014 S60 Polestars in Australia. See bottom of page 12 and top of page 13: http://www.volvocars.com/nl/Documen...VOLVO-S60-V60-Polestar-MY2015-12-mei-2014.pdf

Personally I would buy those 19" rims and install Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 (http://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-hakkapeliitta-r2/). Not sure which size would best fit those rims. That would be used for my Tahoe ski trips and driving back to Vancouver (Canada, eh) in the winter. I have a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires and steel rims for my 850 which were excellent for my Whister and other BC ski trips. I now understand why rally racers love using Nokian tires in the winter. :D

And I need to find the best chains/cables for that 19" winter tire setup due to California's chain control requirements. :p
 
#13 ·
While internet researching the international allocation of the MY2015/2015.5 Polestars I came across some relevant winter tires information for this thread.

There are three different specs of winter tyre available on a choice of 19 and 20-inch rims. This will include Michelin Pilot Alpin and X-Ice North 3. I suspect PA4 due to its available sizes: http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/category/winter/pilot-alpin-pa4/tire-details

Looks like the 19" rim will be similar or same as the MY2014 S60 Polestars in Australia. See bottom of page 12 and top of page 13: http://www.volvocars.com/nl/Documen...VOLVO-S60-V60-Polestar-MY2015-12-mei-2014.pdf

Personally I would buy those 19" rims and install Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 (http://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-hakkapeliitta-r2/). Not sure which size would best fit those rims. That would be used for my Tahoe ski trips and driving back to Vancouver (Canada, eh) in the winter. I have a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires and steel rims for my 850 which were excellent for my Whister and other BC ski trips. I now understand why rally racers love using Nokian tires in the winter. :D

And I need to find the best chains/cables for that 19" winter tire setup due to CA's crazy chain patrol requirements. They love chains here. Got winter tires and AWD? Too bad. When it snows in the mountain passes and chain patrol is active you put on chains or turn around. :p
Love Nokians. Used them in Calgary for a couple of years and they're great. Lived in Van for a few years...mucho miss it...

I just moved to CA and wasn't aware of needing chains. Wouldn't having winter tire ratings be enough?
 
#14 · (Edited)
#16 ·
I received confirmed information about the official Polestar winter wheels. The wheels are, like I assumed before, the 19x8 rims from the aussie Polestar fitted with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 in 235/40R19.

The 19" diameter is the smallest you can go. 18" rims DO NOT fit over the brembo brakes.

Best regards
 
#17 ·
I received confirmed information about the official Polestar winter wheels. The wheels are, like I assumed before, the 19x8 rims from the aussie Polestar fitted with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 in 235/40R19.

The 19" diameter is the smallest you can go. 18" rims DO NOT fit over the brembo brakes.

Best regards
Thanks Foxy
Is the offset the same ET53?
 
#24 ·
If the Pirelli Sotto Zero is available in the size we need I'd get them again in a heartbeat. I've had many performance winter tires and the Pirelli surprised me how good they are. They were run flats too. I'll likely get some rims and those tires.
 
#26 ·
Someone needs to locate a wheel that is going to fit. We have the recommended tire size, but I for one do not want to pay for a Volvo Complete Tire set $$$
 
#29 · (Edited)
Since it appears our cars will be arriving only shortly before the snows, a bit of planning is warranted.

Most people prefer to run stock sizes only. For those who don't, 1010tires has a great comparison tool.

Now as:
a) speedos seem to run 5% (ish, or more) slower than actual these days, and
b) I want a wider sidewall than stock for rim safety but still keep the speedo under a 3% increase as too much of an increase can put modern vehicles into limp mode ...

I will likely choose to run a 235-45R19 for winter, and once the summer tires wear down if the wheel-well depth supports it, I will run a 255-35R20 all around in summer.

This link provides the operational comparison of sizes [245/35R20 , 235/45R19 , 255/35R20] , and lists for us all the tires 1010tires has in those sizes which is an excellent reference in general; not limited to snows but all of them.

http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator/245-35R20/235-45R19/255-35R20

I feel the difference in speedo is well within tolerance, the speedo will still read faster than actual, and I'll have more sidewall to protect against bent rims in some small way.

P.S. oh, but the 255 section width I'd like to run in summer isn't recommended on the stock 8" wide rim. :(
 
#30 ·
Why would you go 255 in summer? Polestar had months to find the best tire size performancewise. If 255 would have been better, dont you think they would have consider them? Plus, 255 on a 8" wide rim is very unuseual (I had 255 on a 9" rim on my Aufi TTS). I dont think this is a good idea, I think the tires might even touch/scratch the inside (sry, do no the proper expression in english)

But of course, in the end it's your oen decision. Just wanna tell you my thoughts.
 
#32 ·
Why would you go 255 in summer? Polestar had months to find the best tire size performancewise. If 255 would have been better, dont you think they would have consider them? Plus, 255 on a 8" wide rim is very unuseual (I had 255 on a 9" rim on my Aufi TTS). I dont think this is a good idea, I think the tires might even touch/scratch the inside (sry, do no the proper expression in english)

But of course, in the end it's your own decision. Just wanna tell you my thoughts.
No problem; you expressed it perfectly and better than I {or google translate} ever would have in the other direction :). Thanx.

I think it's a combination of things, one of them also being the economics of offering an 8.5" or 9" or 10" wheel, or availability of it, that kept them from going wider. Not that it can't be better if it can fit.

I know the difficulties trying to upsize in width in the front very well. Often one can upsize one step [10mm] with the stock rim or with aftermarket rims having close to stock but different offsets to alter the centerline as required for fit. But upsizing two steps is difficult often requiring a rim with that perfect offset plus possibly some modifications to the wheel-well.

As you'll note in my "p.s." I realized the 245mm we'll get is probably already upsized one or two steps, and is also the max the stock rim will support. So that'll be a no go, and will mandate finding that 'perfect' rim with the 'prefect', yet to be determined offset, that lets the tire fit within the mm. (if it will at all; tbd)

Why? gggggrrrrriiiippp !!! :D
 
#31 ·
Anyone find a wheel yet, other than the 19" Aussie Polestar wheel?
 
#33 ·
I haven't researched which rims with our bolt patterns have the offset [within a few mm] we need yet.
 
#34 ·
Here are the Polestar recommendations on winter rims and tires:

-What are the smallest wheel dimensions (19"?, offset? spoke design) that will clear the brakes for winter use?
4 -*The smallest wheel dimensions are 19" and we strongly recommend to use the Polestar 19" wheels as other 19" Volvo rims will not clear the brakes.
- What are Polestar's recommended winter tires? What were the requirements for deciding the winter tires?
1 -*We recommend the following winter tires for the S/V60 Polestar: Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 235/40 R19 96W XL and Pirelli W 270 Sotto zero S2 235/40 R19 96W XL. These have been tested as thoroughly as we have tested summer tires for the car.
 
#36 ·
My personal perspective...

I've bent countless rims ; well over $10,000 worth of AMG, Brabus, Kinesis and OZ rims ruined beyond repair and sent to the recycler. My worst case was I got $50 from the recycler for the weight of the aluminum of what started as something like $4000 worth of Brabus rims; a complete set bent within about a year or two.

And I believe that's with more side-wall rubber than the Polestar 20" or even 19" rims will have.

So if it isn't already evident, there is no way I am paying that amount for the 19" Polestar rims for use as winter rims.

I'll be hoping the guys at the Tire-Rack gets hold of a Polestar and does some test fittings with numerous rims as they had with the Mini JCW when it came out . I'm expecting the OZ Ultraleggera and some others to fit our brakes and cost 1/2 the amount or less of the Polestar rims.

That's just me. Please deduct $0.02 from my account.
 
#42 ·
I'll be hoping the guys at the Tire-Rack gets hold of a Polestar and does some test fittings with numerous rims as they had with the Mini JCW when it came out . I'm expecting the OZ Ultraleggera and some others to fit our brakes and cost 1/2 the amount or less of the Polestar rims.
Gary over at TireRack offered to send me a wheel to dry fit the fronts. If they don't fit I would just need to cover the return shipping. Considering there really is no other options for us who don't want to spend ridiculous $$$ on a Polestar/Volvo setup, I guess this is our only hope. I have always purchased my winter setups from TR and have had no issues. I also was looking at the OZ Monaco
 
#37 ·
I'm with you. There has to be an aftermarket 19" wheel for winter that fits, KPAX has a big brake kit and uses BBS wheels. I asked about 19" BBS CK and the answer was Polestar only. I just don't like the 19" Polestar wheels.
 
#38 ·
I would be interested to see if my 19" HEICO Volution VIIs fit. I put them on this '13 RD last year. There is a little bit of room.

 
#39 · (Edited)
Ok, I'll bite. How are you bending up those rims? Why is it so easy to damage them?

Just to disclose I have a set of Volvo 15" steel rims that I use with my winter tires on my 850. For over 15+ winter seasons I have used those rims they have never got bent up. Yeah, I have driven through some nasty winter roads over those years.

Thanks for a better understanding of your winter rims experience and what I might encounter with those 19" Polestar rims. :what:
 
#40 ·
15" rim give you what, 4 - 5" of sidewall? With that much sidewall I wouldn't expect you to have ever suffered a bend; unless you didn't realize your tires had dropped on the order of 20psi or lower and you hit a monster pothole at highway speeds, which bottomed the rim down to the tarmac past that otherwise large sidewall a 15" wheel give you.

That's very different than running large rims and tires with 2-3" sidewall and hitting the monster potholes we see in the NYC Tri-state area. And now given the size of our front brakes it mandates we run 19" rims? I'm probably going to oversize the outer diameter of my winter tire rubber just to get more sidewall as I noted a number of posts back in this thread.

And the other factor, probably the bigger factor, is the "psi" in the tires. I found 30 - 35psi in the tires and I'd suffer the most frequent bends as the rim would easily hit the tarmac at low psi. And sad to say I would sometimes go a few months without checking tire psi, and almost as a rule I'd get a bend if the tires were near 30 - 32psi. When paying attention I always run 35 - 40psi to limit impact damage. But even that doesn't ensure prevention, depending on the speed one is driving and the structure of the hole encountered in the road. I hear the roads are bad in the northern mid-west. But I have trouble believing it's worse than the NYC Tri-state area given the deterioration we see from the combination of weather, salt and heavily traveled roads.

My greatest hope is the "blow-by valve" I read about of the Ohlins allow the wheel to move up fast enough on big hard impacts instead of fighting the movement and the rim bending instead.
 
#41 ·
My greatest hope is the "blow-by valve" I read about of the Ohlins allow the wheel to move up fast enough on big hard impacts instead of fighting the movement and the rim bending instead.
Hmm, that was my similar thought regarding the Ohlins. I would hope they help eat the hard impacts. Maybe that's a question you could ask on the Polestar Q&A thread? Apparently there has been a lot of winter testing with these 2015 S/V60 Polestars.

Thanks for the other info.
 
#48 · (Edited)
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