Volvo S80 -, Owner'S Manual

Page: 309 / 422

09 Wheels and tyres
09
307
New tyres
Tyres are perishable. After a few years they
begin to harden at the same time as the fric-
tion capacity/characteristics gradually deteri-
orate. For this reason, aim to get as fresh
tyres as possible when you replace them.
This is especially important with regard to
winter tyres. The last four digits in the
sequence mean the week and year of manu-
facture. This is the tyre's DOT marking
(Department of Transportation), and this is
stated with four digits, for example 1510. The
tyre in the figure was manufactured in week
15 of 2010.
Summer and winter tyres
When summer and winter wheels are
changed the wheels should be marked with
which side of the car they were mounted on,
for example L for left and R for right.
Wear and maintenance
Correct tyre pressure (p. 315) results in more
even wear. Driving style, tyre pressure, cli-
mate and road condition affect how quickly
your tyres age and wear. To avoid differences
in tread depth and to prevent wear patterns
arising, the front and rear wheels can be
switched with each other. A suitable distance
for the first change is approx. 5000 km and
then at 10000 km intervals. Volvo recom-
mends that you contact an authorised Volvo
workshop for checking if you are uncertain
about tread depth. If significant differences in
wear (> 1 mm difference in tread depth)
between tyres have already occurred, the
least worn tyres must always be placed on
the rear. Understeer is normally easier to cor-
rect than oversteer, and leads to the car con-
tinuing forwards in a straight line rather than
having the rear end skidding to one side,
resulting in possible complete loss of control
over the car. This is why it is important for the
rear wheels never to lose grip before the front
wheels.
Wheels should be stored lying down or hang-
ing up - and not standing up.
WARNING
A damaged tyre may lead to loss of control
over the car.
Related information
•
Tyres - dimensions (p. 310)
•
Tyres - speed ratings (p. 311)
•
Tyres - load index (p. 311)
•
Tyres - direction of rotation (p. 306)
•
Tyres - tread wear indicators (p. 308)