V70 Tire Replacement

After years of using Bridgestone Perenza tires on my 240, 93 850 and now 2000
V70, COSTCO refuses to sell me a new set. Their reason: Volvo original issue
tire is 'V' rated and they fear law suits if they sell me 'H' rated tires.
Of course they will sell me a 'V' rated Michlien for $50 more per tire. B.S.

I'm looking for some recommendations for a replacement that will have similar
qualities to the Bridgestone without costing a arm and a leg. Are the U.S.
Mfg. (Goodyear, Goodrich, etc) any good with this type of suspension?

 

www.tirerack.com
Glenn

--
"*-344-*Never Forgotten"
Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as
long as I live,
nor should any American.

 

I would buy another set of Nokian WR tires for any car we currently have at
home (my 99.5 Golf TDI has them, the 93 Volvo 965 and the 03 Golf CL do
not... Michelin Energy MXV4+ on the Volvo, the stock Goodyear Eagle LS on
the other Golf)... The Nokian doubles as a winter tire (true 4-season tire,
with severe weather rating, has "Hakka" siping from their snow tire line),
comes in H and V speed ratings, phenomenal grip in the wet, and in the dry,
seems to wear well for and H rated tire, reasonably quiet. I have it in
195/65R15 91H rating.

Those Michelins are okay... smooth and quiet, reasonably grippy - overpriced
by far tho... The Goodyears are outdated tires, and quite lousy from day one
(we had them the first year they came out, on our Volvo... first time we got
rid of a tire having more than 1/2 of its life left in it) - Michelin is
generally a great tire, but you pay for the name...

But...if you like your choice in tire, find a store willing to sell them to
you. I've never driven with Bridgestone tires - I've heard good things about
the Pirelli's that come on Volvo's now... apparantly they are a fantastic
tire and last a long time, good grip etc!

H rated is good to 210kph, probably near where your V70 is limited to
anyways - and I doubt you will take it that fast in the USA/Canada.

You do might lose the added handling benefits and stiffer sidewalls, and
newer technology of a V-rated tire... but you might also gain increased
treadwear, winter weather suitability, and reduced costs. H and V rated
tires seem about the same tho... H rated usually being for the narrower or
taller sizes of a V rated design.

Make sure your H rated tire carries the same load rating tho... I had 89S
tires on the VW Golf I bought used and it handled dangerously in an
emergency situation, causing me to evade the original potential accident,
but I still crashed my car hard into a curb ($2000 in damage was more then
$600 for better tires (91H - as speced by the manual, same rating as our
heavier Volvo) - which I bought afterwards).