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Wheel/Tire Size on 240

Ethanquin10

Ethanquin10

New member
Joined
Nov 24, 2018
Location
Chattanooga TN
Hello! Recently I picked up some alloy wheels from a 740 sedan and put them on my 1991 240 wagon.

The current tires are 205/65r15. I haven't driven with these wheels installed yet, but I am concerned the tires may be too big for a 240.

What is the recommended tire size for a 15 inch wheel? Also, semi-related, should I switch lugs because I went from the steel wheels to the alloy wheels? The wheels are Volvo original, I was told. (yes they fit) They came with the wheel center caps and the lugs from the 740.

https://imgur.com/a/VZCM0Vc
 
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740 used metric studs, M12x1.5. 240 uses 1/2x20tpi. Lugnuts not compatible.

205/65/15 is a bit tall, but should fit....might rub the rear fender lips, or lip...on one side. 205/60/15 would be closer to correct for a wagon. 195/60/15 was the stock size on the 15x6 Virgo wheel used on the 240 Turbo.

I don't mind 205/60 on a 7" wide wheel. I wouldn't put them on a 6" though, too squishy. I use 195/65/15 on 15x7 for snow tires, and they handle pretty well thanks to the wide wheel (relatively wide, for a 195 width).

Those look like they might be 7"? What is the offset? You might have rubbing at full lock on the front, but nothing to worry about. It usually hits the smooth inner fender area in front of the wheel, and can rub against the control arm behind the centerline of the hub, but I've never damaged a tire from that sort of rub, and it's only at full lock, so low speed (unless you happen to be drifting...I did shaft the letters off a 225/50/15 sidewall rubbing on the control arm).

The rear will rub when going up uneven driveways, but that's usually not going to damage the tire, either. You'll see half-circles of black marks above the upper rear shock bolt, on the flat inner fender / chassis.
 
One thing to note is that the original 195/60-15 is closer in size to a 205/60-15 by today's tire standards. No tire standards before 1990. Original 195/60-15 load rating was 91, today's 195/60-15 load rating is 87-88. 205/60-15 load rating is 91.
 
towerymt said:
740 used metric studs, M12x1.5. 240 uses 1/2x20tpi. Lugnuts not compatible.

205/65/15 is a bit tall, but should fit....might rub the rear fender lips, or lip...on one side. 205/60/15 would be closer to correct for a wagon. 195/60/15 was the stock size on the 15x6 Virgo wheel used on the 240 Turbo.

I don't mind 205/60 on a 7" wide wheel. I wouldn't put them on a 6" though, too squishy. I use 195/65/15 on 15x7 for snow tires, and they handle pretty well thanks to the wide wheel (relatively wide, for a 195 width).

Those look like they might be 7"? What is the offset? You might have rubbing at full lock on the front, but nothing to worry about. It usually hits the smooth inner fender area in front of the wheel, and can rub against the control arm behind the centerline of the hub, but I've never damaged a tire from that sort of rub, and it's only at full lock, so low speed (unless you happen to be drifting...I did shaft the letters off a 225/50/15 sidewall rubbing on the control arm).

The rear will rub when going up uneven driveways, but that's usually not going to damage the tire, either. You'll see half-circles of black marks above the upper rear shock bolt, on the flat inner fender / chassis.
Click to expand...

I have Euro-metric sized 215/60-15's mounted on 6 inch OE wheels on my 88 765. The tires fit, but could stand a wheel that is .25-.50 inch wider. I've learned to use Asian manufactured tires as they are a better fit on a European car.
 
towerymt said:
I don't mind 205/60 on a 7" wide wheel. I wouldn't put them on a 6" though, too squishy. I use 195/65/15 on 15x7 for snow tires, and they handle pretty well thanks to the wide wheel (relatively wide, for a 195 width).

Those look like they might be 7"? What is the offset? You might have rubbing at full lock on the front, but nothing to worry about. It usually hits the smooth inner fender area in front of the wheel, and can rub against the control arm behind the centerline of the hub, but I've never damaged a tire from that sort of rub, and it's only at full lock, so low speed (unless you happen to be drifting...I did shaft the letters off a 225/50/15 sidewall rubbing on the control arm).
Click to expand...

They are pretty wide. Gotta be 7". Offset is pretty much the same as the original wheels from what I have read about stock 740s. And I kinda like the sound of 195/65/15s.

So the steel lugs won't matter with my alloy wheels? I read someone was insisting on changing them. Just wondering why that would be.
 
I've run 206/60-15 for years with no issues.

A set of Gorilla lug nuts will make the nuts sit better in the wheels. I've also run the stock ones for a long time. The diameter of the lug nuts are a bit small and the nuts sit kinda far into the pocket, but they work.
 
Ethanquin10 said:
They are pretty wide. Gotta be 7". Offset is pretty much the same as the original wheels from what I have read about stock 740s. And I kinda like the sound of 195/65/15s.

So the steel lugs won't matter with my alloy wheels? I read someone was insisting on changing them. Just wondering why that would be.
Click to expand...



Volvo alloys have steel inserts or 'slugs' to make the stock 3/4" hex lug nuts work.

Many cheap [and expensive] aftermarket wheels do not have inserts and then you should use shoulder lugs with a wider wheel contact area built into the lug nut.
 
You can use the original steel lugnuts. I stopped using those long ago.

I prefer this type with the wider shoulder (first ebay auction I could find, this might not be the best price/quality/etc do your own search):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/301214652381

I also really like 240 Turbo lugnuts...the tall chrome ones. In the past I've used them on studs that could have benefited from a thread chaser. The turbo lugs seem to be good quality and cleaned up the studs. I think you can find these lugnuts on the later cars when alloys were used, like the '91 240 SE or the '93 Classic, but mostly they're coming from 80s Turbos and a lot of them are beat up by now. The chrome gets cracked near the ends leaving sharp edges and sometimes they rust so finding a nice set might cost you $$, but any dirty set you find will clean up with some 0000 steel wool.

There is also a metric equivalent that I have found on the 960 (and possibly others 7/9 series) with M12x1.5 threads. They are slightly shorter than the 1/2x20 240 Turbo lugnut, but otherwise look the same.
 
Turbo lug nuts are the best ones used on the 240 series. Mcgard is another very high quality lug nut maker. I've also used the Gorilla ones and they were fine but the chrome was not up to Mcgard or even Volvo turbo 240 lug nut standards.
 
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