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Question:
When my family needed a large estate...
Answer:
There's a world of difference in
tyre ranges nowadays. Low-profile tyres are more
prone to aquaplaning and tramlining - following
irregularities in the road surface - produce far
more noise, particularly on harsher road
surfaces, and crash around heavily on bumpy
roads. As the tyres aren't as "tall", they also
give a harder ride because there's less sidewall
flex. On the plus side, they offer more grip in
the dry and they look good, which is why many
owners fit them.
The standard v70 wheel is 16in with either a
205/55 or 215/55 tyre, neither of which is
particularly low profile, so we must assume that
the original owner specified 17in wheels. When
this happens, the profile (height) of the tyre
has to be reduced to retain the correct rolling
radius so the speedometer still reads correctly.
The recommended tyre is 225/45, which means the
tyre could be as much as 20mm wider and 17mm
shallower. Also possible is that a previous
owner went overboard and chose 18in wheels for a
higher bling factor at the expense of comfort.
You can change back to a higher profile tyre, as
long as the overall height of the wheel and tyre
remain the same and the tyre is suitable for the
wheel width - this will be marked on the wheel
itself.
Try entering your car's details at a site
such as www.etyres.co.uk ...and see what they
suggest.
Though having more rubber on the road must by
definition increase the likelihood of a
puncture, you've been staggeringly unlucky with
that number of flats in such a short time.
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