18 inch wheels

[fischet]

I just bought a V70 T5 which came with 18 inch Nebula wheels. I bought the car 2nd hand but the wheels were supplied from new as a factory-fitted option and appear on the original invoice for the car.

I have noticed that when turning tightly at low speed (not necessarily full lock but close) there is a scraping sound coming from the front wheels. It sounds like the wheels are rubbing against something under the car.

I spoke to my local Volvo specialist about it and was reassured that this is a nuance of the 18 inch wheels which are wider than the standard 17 inch alternatives. I was also reassured that there is a plate attached where the rubbing occurs and this prevents wear to the tyre.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I guess it might be true but it sounds like BS to me.

Regards
Tom

[Andrew]

You will probably find that your Tyres are too wide. are they 225 or above? if so on your next set of wheels try dropping to a 215 had to do this on my V70 now fine.

[d.tribe]

i may be wrong but i think that tyres rubbing anywhere on your car is an mot failure.

[arbee]

iirc the plate he mentions is possibly a restrictor on the amount of steering lock. can you see where it is rubbing?

[fischet]

Thanks for the quick response. I will check out the tyre width as that seems most likely.

The car passed its MOT a couple of months back so I expect the restrictor is to do with a steering lock limit rather than the rubber actually rubbing against the car - it just sounds like a grinding noise. I previously had an 850R which was fine and also seemed to have a better turning circle so this explanation makes sense.

Regards
Tom

[siamblue]

Please please do not put a 215 tyre on a 8J rim, I suspect you have the 225 40 18 tyres on your car, you might want to come down a profile if the rubbing annoys you but you will lose a bit of comfort on the bumps,

[Andrew]

What are the factory tyre size from Volvo for 8J rims? anyone know?

[muscas]

Simply fit a set of C70 steering lock stops to the wishbones, they cost about £3. Really easy to fit. Problem solved!

Also make sure there is lots of hardy grease on the stops as this makes the steering much quieter on full lock.

(The stock C70 must have a c**p turning circle)

[siamblue]

What are the factory tyre size from Volvo for 8J rims? anyone know?

235 for 8J
225 for 7.5J
215 for 7J
205 for 6.5J

[fischet]

Guys

Thanks for the discussion and suggestions.

Given that the 18 inch Nebula's are a factory-supplied option, does anyone else have this configuration and if so, are you experiencing the same problem?

Thanks
Tom

[blackwolf t5]

I have a 51 plate v70 t5 with 18X8 peg replicas & 225X40 tyres & no problems at all.

[TomS60]

My S60 has genuine 18" pegs with 235/40/18 tyres, and on full lock going slowly yeah they rub, but I have just learned to accept it now....they look good!!! lol......but having said that, my Dad's '03 S80 with 17" Arrakis alloys rub too on full lock!!!

[SaffronC70]

The turning circle on a C70 IS c**p



Chris

[GATHY]

gathys here to save the day wippeeeee

s60s and v70s suffer from this mostly on 18" and some do it on 17"s like mine

ive had 2 s60 that do it and must admit its abit annoying sometimes in carparks when your car sounds dodgy.

all it is is the tyre slightly catching the inner wheelwell on full lock it not a mot failure whatsoever.volvo obviously now about this issue and if you take your wheel off and look at the wheelarch liner youll notice them nice swedish folk have made a metal cover so your tyre doesnt rub the plastic archliner.
there is parts available from volvo lock limiters the stop the wheel before it get to the plate, but the turning circle is crap to start with,

when i bought my car it didnt rub but when i replaced the front tyres(with the same size/but diff brand) it does now

so you can live with it or you can get the bits from the dealers to stop it imoa its not worth the hassle

[aeroresh]

Am I right in thinking this is a newer shape V70?

If so I think there is supposed to be a rack limiter fitted when 18" wheels are put on. Tyres should be 235/40/18

Ask your dealer, they're not expensive. Having said that you may still experience a tiny bit of rubbing on full lock even with the rack limiter bushes on.

Also you may want to have your alignment checked cos if you've got too much toe-in on the wheels, this will cause rubbing too.

[GATHY]

Am I right in thinking this is a newer shape V70?

Also you may want to have your alignment checked cos if you've got too much toe-in on the wheels, this will cause rubbing too.

to add to that police v70s and s60 have slightly different toe in/out settings compared to a standard production model this probably will give the car better handling/cornering abilities at speed but would probably cause the tyres to wear abit quicker(according to vardis).
worth bearing in mind if you want the car to handle police spec