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Polestar Tire Down

13K views 50 replies 16 participants last post by  rebelde azul 
#1 · (Edited)
Cleansed
 
#2 · (Edited)
Are you planning to use the Bridgestone as a spare until you can get new PSS? Were you not able to use fix a flat on the tire? Tirerack can get a set of PSS here by Tuesday.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Moving away from pss

No spare option
Your call, but that is a mistake. The Bridgestone is a far inferior tire with regards to grip. You'll get better life out of it and may be quieter, but you'll suffer in handling and braking. The Bridgestones also do not handle Wet weather like the PSS, so just hope we continue to not see rain here. Not sure what you mean about the spare comment.

The Bridgestones even came in 4th against other budget Summer options: http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/tire-test-nine-affordable-summer-tires-take-on-the-michelin-ps2-comparison-tests. Based on this test, they have a tendency to understeer.
 
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#4 ·
I get that you already mounted them. But you also paid $62k for a performance car that is now handicapped. If you really just use the car for commuting, than it won't matter to you. You may actually like these new tires better as they should be slightly more comfortable and quieter. If you like to go driving in the hills, like the rest of us, then you are going to feel a difference when you push the car and not a positive one.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I ran the RE760s for 10+ years (multiple sets) on my P2 S60 and they are great tires especially when you compare the price to the PSS. I doubt you will ever exceed their capabilities on the street.

Down here we regularly see torrential rains and I'm always at ease going 80 mph with the cruise on with the 760s. I'm always in the left lane in the rain passing everyone else. Drip grip is also super sticky. I've recently switched to the RE970 A/S tires for a little more tread life but both are great tires.

Bridgestone does make a few **** tires I'm sure but that can be said about ALL tire manufacturers.

I say good choice!
 
#6 · (Edited)
I ran the RE760s for 10+ years (multiple sets) on my P2 S60 and they are great tires especially when you compare the price to the PSS. I doubt you will ever exceed their capabilities on the street.

Down here we regularly see torrential rains and I'm always at ease going 80 mph with the cruise on with the 760s. Drip grip is also super sticky. I've recently switched to the RE970 A/S tires for a little more tread life but both are great tires.

Bridgestone does make a few **** tires I'm sure but that can be said about ALL tire manufacturers.

I say good choice!
Did your S60 have 370 ft-lbs of torque, because his P* does? It's a different level of performance we are talking about here. I'm not saying the Bridgestone's are not good tires. I'm saying they do not compare to the PSS, which were specifically chosen for this car for a reason. In case you are unaware T501, PSS are the OEM tires for P*'s.
 
#19 · (Edited)
+1 although less of an issue in sunny California. But anyone who encounters snow, slush or very heavy rain knows never to mix tire tread patterns.

But the real issue is the lack of availability of the odd-duck sized tires we are stuck using on this car. It makes me nervous thinking about a family vacation. Or even worse, driving somewhere in the winter needing snows, since there's even fewer options for those. I guess driving anywhere out of a major urban centre becomes a potential real adventure.
 
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#8 · (Edited)
Shhh
No one can tell
Tread pattern similar
They can, because of safety reasons.
Even different typ on two axles can be dangerous, one one axle is crazy. Left and right turn means different roadholding, especially in the wet.
760 is a sport tire, priced like Michelin PS2/3. PSS is a top UHP, priced like the old RE050 or the S001.
Replacing one tire, while having 3 with 12500 miles can cause problems with the All Wheel Drive, bacause of the different circumference. A friend got one tire replaced on his X5 in the UK, the car was undriveable.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
Bigger Q

Would anyone over there

Repair this tire
Nails are 18 inches apart
18" is good. They need to be at least 16" apart. The real question is if your sidewalls were damaged at all. One is pretty close to the shoulder also. If a reputable shop is willing to repair it, I would be more comfortable riding on that than one off brand tire. You are close to replacing all 4 anyway.

I have been using America's Tire in Redwood City for years now and they know their stuff if you are looking for a place. They usually do repairs for free. They also match tirerack pricing including rebates.
 
#12 ·
The tire differences here matter on a track but at legal speeds doubt you will notice much difference, correct? Speed limits are set with a good amount of margins I think. I don't go over the speed limits for safety reasons, so I am not sure if I over think my tires. I just buy them from name brands that are not made in China.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Incorrect! Traction and speed are two different things. When you have as much power as the Polestars do, they can be searching for grip from a standstill. When I am going up a mountain road the last thing I want is for one tire to have different handling characteristics than the rest of the car. As you self identified as someone who does not go over the speed limit, it is understandable that you do not understand how "delicate" a performance machine is. Especially since we are talking about a high power AWD car here, you don't want one wheel to have different traction than the rest. Plus, if you aren't planning to push the car, you buy a T5 or anything other than a Polestar.
 
#14 ·
P50GT...makes since, thanks for the explanation. Yes I would say I haven't challenged a tire in 25 years (wife and friends say I drive too slowly :))
 
#16 ·
Even in the CD review you posted they said the benchmark Michelin PS2 only finished mid-pack in dry performance handling and braking. A direct quote: "After which, we were understandably surprised that the pricey PS2s didn’t dominate the dry portion of the test, finishing only midpack in both autocross time and braking."

If the PS2 finished "midpack" and the 760s 4th, I think that puts them near equal.
 
#17 ·
I just received 4 of the Michelin 245/35 20s PSS tires from Tire Rack. Ordered Monday, arrived on Wed. $284/ea plus a $70 mail-in form.

 
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#20 ·
how may have the rusty spicket's ?

--
Don't know but I brought this up to my Service advisor because I am going in Wed for a tire rotation. I told them I want to look at the hubs when the wheels are off for rust. I will let you know what the Tech says.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I did the same with my rear rotors. Used VHT black satin high temp caliper paint. There was some faint rust on the rotors before painting but it cleaned off quite easily.



 
#31 ·
This is completely unacceptable to me. I already sent the two photos with the rust to my dealer as I am going in for a Tire rotation tomorrow. My mindset is that I am not going to be handling this, Volvo is. A brand new, $60k car should not be having this issue. A sealant should have been applied at the factory. The dealer will fix it at their cost and charge it back to Volvo.
 
#32 ·
Ideally Polestar could have configured the cars with the Brembo brakes (rotors & pads) on front and rear, even if it doesn't improve the braking performance with the rears. Then we wouldn't have the standard Volvo cast iron rear rotors to deal with. :)
 
#34 ·
Did anyone contemplate getting the road hazard (tire/wheel) insurance? For less than $900, it covers paint-less dent removal, lost key replacement, and wheel tire replacement in the event of potholes / nails, etc. One blowout pays for itself.
 
#36 ·
Yup.. me too. And my dealer covered the snow tires as well. Already had them patch one of the Pirellis after a screw managed to get it! I got reamed with my old Audi Avant and the P6s that came on it, so I went for the insurance. Peace of mind if nothing else...
 
#38 ·
Have not heard back from Volvo NA yet but did get my car serviced today. My car did have rust as well, not as bad, but it was there. Accordinging to the Tech, this is not an issue of rust build up over time but rather a transport issue. The reality is that all cars are showing up from Sweden like this. Ours is more noticeable with the larger wheels. Volvo is not taking the necessary steps to prevent this when shipping cars by boat and then not doing anything about it when the cars get here. The amount of rust can just come down to the location of your car on the boat. The rust was cleaned off my car and silicon was applied to prevent future rust and prevent any lock up between the hub and the wheel. Volvo apparently has a policy against painting of rotors.

After my tire rotation and my brake cleaning, I did notice that my brakes seem to be engaging sooner. I noticed this when someone stopped quickly in front of me and when I went to hit the brakes and was expecting more pedal travel before engaging them, they came on sooner and ending up locking up. I'm thinking I may have to go through the bedding process again. Does anyone have a quick link to the steps for that?
 
#41 · (Edited)
Picked up a nail on the Danish highway in the middle of nowhere. Massage on the dash informing the left rear tire was running low on pressure. Took the nearest exit an found an unmanned gasstation with an air pressure system. Tire was very flat and the nail was discovered almost immediately. Pulled te nail which was tiny and applied the repair kit. Compressor ran for a couple of minutes with the gauge indicating 30-35 psi. The manual suggested to drive for Some 10 minutes and check pressure again and adjust to correct pressure but after about a minute the tire blew.





 
#43 ·
Wheel is OK. Visited the local Danish Volvo dealer this morning. Since the Polestar isn't available in Denmark the didn't have any spare parts available. The dealer was under the assumption that the wheel was damaged and that the P could only fit 20" wheels. A new wheel, rim and tire, could take up to 5 days to be delivered.. (From the Netherlands..) I told them that the rim was OK and that only a new tire was needed but nothing PSS in the correct size was available. A phone call later they came up with a used Conti tire in the correct size at a tire centre in the area and asked if that was an option. In such a situation it is whatever takes you home so I agreed to install the used tire.



Near noon the car was ready given that they didn't know how to get rid of the warning message without connecting the car to the diagnostics computer.. I told them it wasn't necessary and that the car would recalibrate the tires all by itself. They didn't know..

Left the "crash site" at 12:45. Had to make a visit in Hamburg and arrived home at 20:30. Had several false wheel pressure warnings during the trip, just like on the way to Sweden, but only for the front wheels. Sometimes the left wheel, sometimes the richt wheel, sometimes a general warning. This is also the reason I wrecked the rear tire. With the previous warnings I checked several times and all turned out to be OK. The warning was for no reason. With the rear tire the only thing being different was it being about a rear tire. I had ignored the message at first but unfortunately this time the warning was legit. On the way home I checked pressure at a gasstation after the first message and all turned out to be OK again. Slightly upped the pressure on both front tires but the warnings came back. Often under braking from higher speeds, 200 km/h+, or after road surface changes. It is utterly annoying specially given that the messages can't be trusted.

So Volvo if you are reading this, EU TPMS sucks !! Please update the software asap because there is something very wrong with this system. Specially when used on a HP car.
 
#45 · (Edited)
I think having "Ferrari" tires on a normal (and heavy) family car is going to be problematic going forward. When your 4th car is out of commission for a few days, and all you use it for is toodling around a bit for fun, it's not a big deal. Wait until people get stuck in a winter storm in a remote area, with their family in their only vehicle, and there aren't even any used/temporary tires that will fit.

The screwball wheel and tire size was the biggest hesitancy for me with this car.
 
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