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Sept. 15, 2008 11:19 a.m. jrw1621 Reader

It's time for new tires on my 1995 Volvo 850 non-turbo wagon with a 5 speed.

The car currently has Michelin XGT H4's. size 195-60-15. The tires were on the car when I bought it two years ago (with no history) and though they were not new then, they looked good and I have put 26k miles on them myself. Worn rear shocks (fixed), a bad front sway bar link (fixed) and a bad alignment (to be fixed) have not helped their life. What little I can find about XGT H4's on the net, leads me to believe these were most popular in '03 and '04.

So, it's time for new tires. There are many opinions out there on tires and I would like to hear yours. Recommendations of brand, model and retailer much appreciated? What I liked about the Michelins is that they seems quiet and offered a nice "comfortable" highway ride.

This car is the Daily Driver, in Northern Ohio and sees about 13k of driving per year. Snow is a factor though I have never owned true snow tires. It will be a few months until snow but I need tires now. How hard would warm weather driving be on true snows?
Sept. 15, 2008 11:37 a.m. Strizzo Dork

whatever you do, stay away from the michelin mxm4 all seasons. they came/come stock on a lot of honda/acura products, but they're trash. they were worse in the rain than the kumho MX's that replaced them.
Sept. 15, 2008 6:35 p.m. bludroptop Dork

'96 855 here.

Bought 4 new Michelin XGT H4's at 70K (in 2003). At 103K, replaced them with 4 Kumho Solus KH-16 from Tire Rack.

Delivered to my door, mounted and balanced locally, the Kumhos were literally less than half the price of the Michelins, and I like them better. Too early to judge wear, but they are quieter and seem to grip better in the rain.

For what it is worth...YMMV.
Sept. 16, 2008 3:00 p.m. jrw1621 Reader

So far, two votes for Kumhos. Thanks for the inputs.
Sept. 16, 2008 3:39 p.m. amg_rx7 New Reader

Have you checked Tirerack.com yet? I was just on there this morning doing some research on the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires that are on the Audi A4 that I just bought. They did well for all weather tire and they do have some snow potential. Might want to check the Tirerack's test data and comparison on them. They scored pretty well against the competition and were rated as very quiet and good riding.

XGTs were popular back a few years but don't seem to be produced any longer.

As for the Kumho's, I'm running the MX on my RX7 (track and street) and the SPT on the Mini (street car used all seasons but no snow here). I am very satisfied with their performance but they are not rated for snow use at all. You can't compare either of those tires to each other or to the Michelin's on the Audi since they are made for different tire segments - Grand Touring All Season, Max Performance Summer etc

Driving on true snows in the dry just plain sucks and you'll wear them out pretty quick. I did that for a few weeks after one North East winter (when I lived there) and it is not fun to drive snows when its not winter.
Sept. 16, 2008 4:46 p.m. 92dxman New Reader

Totally unrelated to tires but I saw a V70 Wagon today that was a 5 speed and I had to take a double look when I saw it
Sept. 16, 2008 5:18 p.m. mcp001 New Reader

I've put 150,000 miles on my '96 Volvo 855 5 speed manual sedan and have used Michelin MXV4 and Kumho Solus KH-16. My favorite tires are the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S that I put on about 2000 miles ago.

I was happy with the Kumho's when they were new. Half the price of Michelin's seemed good, but they gave me half the miles too. (Usually got 40,000 miles on the MXV4, got less than 20,000 miles on the Kumho's.) They also gave me a lot of vibration like they were either out of round or out of balance after they got a few thousand miles on them.

The Pilot Exalto A/S has been better in every respect than the MXV4's ever were. Michelin rates them as lasting longer than the MXV4 and they cost me less. BJ's Warehouse had a $60 off coupon and a set of 4 mounted and balanced were $310 last month.
Sept. 17, 2008 6:46 a.m. jrw1621 Reader

I checked Tirerack and everyone has great things to say about the Pilot Exalto A/S. I think I will go that way. Thanks for the tip.
Sept. 17, 2008 9:33 a.m. Jack SuperDork

I've suggested Nokian WR's to two folks who have like them and I'm putting a set on soon. Solid all season tire, with excellent snow performance.

It's hard to beat Kuhmo on price/performance, but I don't know how they are in snow.

jack
Oct. 29, 2008 12:48 p.m. jrw1621 Reader

I am bringing back this old posting from last month. From the answers that I got and the research done I think I will go with Pilot Exalto A/S in the factory 195-60-15 size.

The question I have now is where to buy?

It looks like back in August BJ's Wholesale had a deal but that is not the case now, they are $120 each. The lowest I can find is tirerack at $104(plus mount, plus ship.)

Does anyone have the inside information or any other tips on where to shop?
Oct. 29, 2008 1:42 p.m. MiatarPowar HalfDork

I really like the all-season Falken Ziex 912s that I put on my DD MR2, and had on my DD 900 Turbo convertible before that. Cheap from EdgeRacing and DiscountTireDirect, too.
Oct. 29, 2008 5:01 p.m. 92dxman Reader

Kumho Solus Kr-21's or Hankook 855 Mileage Plus tires should serve you quite well.
Oct. 29, 2008 5:12 p.m. jdmae92 New Reader

I have the Ziex 912s as well. They are on my Miata and are good for everything but snow.
Oct. 29, 2008 5:47 p.m. iceracer Reader

As far as snow tires, I have 5 winters on the Winterforce by Firestone on my Liberty and I can squeeze one more. The y don't drive that bad on the dry, Of course I wouldn't want to try an autocross.