Best Tires for the Volvo C30 1.8

Very good all season tires, with market emphasizes on summer performance. Michelin approach sacrifices a bit of winter behavior comparing to Goodyear or Nokian all-season, yet it is remarkable in terms of majority of the year performance. Don’t get me wrong though, it is by far not incompetent in winter conditions, in slight winter or when it just got a bit chilly with frozen tarmac it is just wonderful. Taking into account climate changes and the fact that in continental Europe in majority of places snow is becoming a rear anomaly rather than usual factor, Crossclimate+ is a great product. These tires are comfortable in terms of noise as well as absorbing vibrations (even despite most sizes are made in Extra Load spec) and this withstands the test of time (running them 4th year currently). They are not the most precise in terms of handling characteristics but it may be about the non-sporty size I’m using. Their winter performance is enough if you expect retaining maneuverability when a bit (even quiet a lot) of snow falls. On flat surfaces it doesn’t skid that much even in 15cm snow, breaking is also surprisingly good in such conditions. The actual difference between the proper winter tire and Crossclimate+ is easily noticeable when you try to start at an angled surface full of snow. In such conditions it requires a bit of a talent to continue a commute but it isn’t impossible. For causal, city driving it is definitely worth a try. Especially in smaller, less powerful cars.

After dubbing a lot between these tires or Vredestein Ultrac Satin, I chose the Maxxis. Reviews I read were pretty fine, good grip in wet and dry, a little bit higher wear, but a little bit ain't that bad at a price of €62 each, compared to €85 for Vredestein.

Today, after about 10,000kms I thought it was a good idea to check the wear. They've been on the rear axle all the time, so wear shouldn't be too bad. After all, I had Vredestein Sportrac5 before for 46,000km and they're still going strong at the front axle with another 30,000kms done (76,000 in total!). These have to be replaced now, so a good moment to check whether Maxxis is doing well.

Immediately upon checking the wear it seemed my tire pressure must have been too low. 1.5mm wear at the sides, 0.5 in the middle. But I checked, 2.5bar, as I always had before, and what Volvo advices. I set them to 3bars, but I don't think it will be comfortable..

So.. 1.5mm in 10,000km.. = 6mm in just 40,000km, and they have to be replaced... Just 40,000km on the rear axle.. that's bad. If my former Vredestein would've been on the rear all the time, they might have hit 100,000km.. and the price of Maxxis is certainly not more than half of Vredestein..



Grip in wet and dry is fine. They're pretty noisy, also a bad thing.
I won't buy these tires again, they wear out far too fast.

For the price of about €55 each it's a good tire.
In the wet the performance isn't that great, but it's OK. On roundabouts I had understeer several times, even at lower speeds.
However feedback is pretty good, you feel easily when the tires are on their limits and you need to slow down.

In dry conditions the tires are coping very well. Good grip, it all feels good.
In snow I've driven only once, and I didn't have a problem there.

Wear doesnt seem too bad, but I havent measured the exact wear yet.
The comfort seems to be better at first than it is now (After 10000km). The tires seem to have become more noisy.
At this price point I think these tires are unbeatable. I have had other winter tires before, Goodyear Ultragrip 8, those were more silent, better in the wet, but the price point is higher. Just like Vredestein Snowtrac 2's back in the days.
I've also had cheaper brands which were worse. So at this price point they;re unbeatable and safe enough

Got these on a set of secondhand rims+tires in 2015.
Were rubbish. Steering was suddenly extremely light compared to summer tires (same width), Sliding on roundabouts in dry and wet, and suddenly after 2 weeks the sidewall of one of them cracked.

I don't trust these anymore at all, dot code is from 2011.

These are winter tires (Ice plus and the walls), but just plain bad. The only advantages were low fuel economy and they were pretty silent.