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Volvo S60 stock 18-inch tyres: A problem on Indian roads

1st October 2021, 11:37 by Rahul Nagaraj

A switch to 16" or 17" wheels would increase the sidewall height and offer more cushioning.

BHPian kratant recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all,

I am using a Volvo s60 2015 D4 with 235/40 R18's as standard from the factory. (continental), I replaced them with 4 Pirelli's a couple of years ago, slowly with every trip on the highway each tyre started giving up and I had to replace them one by one (a mix of Apollo/Dunlop/Pirelli due to availability issues). I am quite fed up with taking the car on the highway and having a stress free drive with the tyres on the back of my mind, the entire route to and fro.

I want to shift them to 16" ideally so I can increase my sidewall, But I'm not sure if the brakes are 16" or 17" in an 18" tyre. Please advise the best possible route to take so I can change all the alloys and tyres and finally be stress-free while driving on the highway/city.

Grateful for any and all advice! A thousand thanks to you all.

Update: I am not one to mess with the OE fittings of any car that we have purchased and since day one the tire has been 235/40 R18's. I have seen 16" on the same S60's but I have seen a lot of them with the same tyre size as mine. I would remember if I had got anything replaced

I am facing the issue with Pirelli, and now with Dunlop, Pirelli only had bulges/cracks, Dunlop outright blew out.

OE Continental tyres lasted 4 years, didn't face any issue since I had barely taken it on the highway and the car was sparingly used as well, to be honest, and since lack of use, the OE continentals developed minor cracks all around in all the tyres.

The failure mode is bulges/cracks and this time a slow blowout. The car mostly goes from Gurgaon to Lucknow which in my opinion is one of the smoothest highways in India, but at the same time, there are violent potholes in Delhi or on other highways.

I basically thought to come down to 16" or 17" so that the sidewall size can increase and there more of a cushion, but since there is no option in 16" for 235mm, that option is lost, and also I think my brakes could be 17" so 16" is totally out. But I'm not sure on the size of the brakes. A gentleman on another thread has suggested me to go on 17" and use 225/50 R17's, and it seems tempting. How much do you think this downgrade would affect the handling/mileage/turning radius/acceleration etc?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Fully agree with your intended move to 16s. It will give you far more robust tyres, cheaper tyre replacement costs and as a bonus, much cushier ride quality. Considering the S60 was sold with 16s internationally, it should be an easy fit and worth the effort. Just reconfirm with your Volvo dealer once that there is enough clearance for the brakes, and ensure no more than a 2% difference in the overall diameter.
Manufacturers are really brain-dead to be choosing such big rims + short tyre sidewalls for India. I have repaired my 530d's rims like 10 times for bends in 6 years of ownership. Luckily, I haven't faced any ruptured tyres yet.
I recently took an S-Class riding on ridiculous 20" rims to Lonavla! Ended up coming home with the space saver. Front tyre totally damaged on a rough road (not even a pothole):

Here's what BHPian psispace had to say on the matter:

I can personally vouch for this tyre size. Had been using this in the past until I upgraded to 225/55 R17. Did this only to get a little more ground clearance.
Quite surprising that your car came with OE fitted with 235/40.
Unless you drive like a hooligan, you won't find any downgrade in performance with 225/50. You will also find to have better ride quality with the additional profile. I personally prefer Michelins. However, in the present market scenario, you might find it difficult to procure these.
All the best!

Here's what BHPian niranjanrvce had to say on the matter:

Hi, I have a Volvo S60 D5 that came with 235/40/R18 as well and those tyres were an absolute pain on the highways and even slightly imperfect roads. Went through a few CPCs since the sidewall was so easily damaged.
Then I changed to 245/45/R18s and I couldn't have been happier. The difference is literally day and night even though it is only 16mm of the additional sidewall. The car handles bad roads like any other typical sedan and I have even had quite a few bad pothole hits at highway speeds without any issues.
I would highly recommend changing to this tyre profile before you go the costlier route of changing rim sizes and et all. I am running Dunlop Sportmax 050+ with this profile and am happy with the tyres too.

Here's what BHPian akshay4587 had to say on the matter:

I can totally feel your pain.
My Alfa Romeo in Australia rides on 235/40/19 tyres, and even though the roads there are brilliant, yet I have to be careful with the tyres and rims on many roads.
I recently picked up a preowned 320D Msport, and it came with 225/45/17 tyres, even though they are +5 on your tyre's profile, they feel very delicate.
Just completed a 600km trip this weekend, and I had to keep my eyes wide open even for the tiniest of the potholes.
My Car came with a lot of extras including these big brakes, which means downsizing isn't an option for me, since I do not want to give up on these brakes. I may switch to 225/50/17 at the next change.