Just curious to see if anyone else had problems with the 18" Mirzam rims on a 2006 C70. I took delivery of a C70 with the rims on 6/2006, and by 9/2007 (22,000 miles) had to replace all 4 rims because they were out of round with steering wheel shimmy. The 4 18" rims I replaced them with were found by the dealer to be out of round 2 months later at 24,000.

My driving is done between NYC and Long Island, and I put alot of miles on this vehicle, but was wondering if anyone else had this much difficulty with the 18" wheels on the C70?

BTW, I checked the tire pressure religiously (every other fill-up meant twice a month) on the first set because they are such low profile tires...and maintained them at the factory recommended 36 psi front and rear. The second set I maintained at 38psi cold tire pressure because the dealer said it would help protect the rims.

are you sure that there hasn't been any damage to the undercarriage to cause such a problem? I mean, you would have to be slamming the potholes on the LIE or the GCP to be getting 4 bent rims that soon.

I drive only on the GCP, and don't go speeding down the parkway, but to be honest the roads are rougher in Brooklyn but the speeds a lot slower. Checked the undercarriage and the alignment and no problems. Just the wheels. Thought it a bit extreme even though the tires are very low profile. I think the model is new enough I probably am at the upper mileage limit and just wondered if anyone else had noted anything similar.

I mean there isn't any damage that you know of to the control arms, tie rods, etc. Low profile or not, a year and something isn't enough time to dent 4 rims out of round.

I have also had problems with my 18" rims. Last week I had a flat tire and was told that this was because my rim was cracked. I was also told that I needed to replace all 4 tires because the tread had worn off, even though I have only had them for 20,000 miles. After replacing all 4 tires and fixing the rim (which cost $1300) I now have another flat tire, only a week later. I was told that I have ANOTHER cracked rim which damaged one of my brand new tires that will need to be replaced again. I am so frustrated by this. The tire dealer told me that because of the low profiles all it takes is a pot hole to crack a rim. I wish the dealer had clued me in on this, when he was pushing me on the 18" wheels. Add to this various other problems and a ton of factory recalls. I love the car but it has been so unreliable. It seems to me that Volvo shouldn't put rims on their cars that can't handle a measly pot hole.

you see, you have to look at it this way, you like your shoes to be flashy and expensive, the minute you slip on the dance floor, you blame the dance floor. the 18's that the dealer was pushing was him making money off of you. sell them. get the 17's. common sense dictates that the less of a sidewall, the less cushion. now, the question is, how do you cure this? get a taller tire. if you are running a 40 series tire, get the 45 or the 50. will it affect handling? of course, but your pothole bumps will be lessened. good luck, hope it helped in both of your situations.

That is actually the attitude that the dealer's Service Dept took about the whole matter. On the other hand, my view is that I paid $50,000 for a vehicle and it would be nice to have some wheels that could drive on the road as well. Truthfully I've learned far more about tires and wheels in the last 6 months than I could ever want to know. And I would generally agree with you that "Buyer Beware" applies...if we were talking about 2 tires in a year. I'm talking about 2 SETS of tires in a year. I can't help but wonder how much the fact that the car is 450 pounds heavier than any comparable model that Volvo makes and at 18" the wheels are the biggest that Volvo has ever put on a sedan plays into the equation. I don't think that buying a smaller set of wheels is an acceptable remedy at this point.

I did a Google search, and there aren't that many used C70's out there, but interestingly, there is a 2007 C70 identical to mine that is for sale at a dealer with 4 old school Volvo wheels on...I'm half tempted to Carfax the previous owner of record and see if he/she has an interesting story about the wheels as well.

The more I think about it, the analogy is a bit off too. I bought flashy and expensive shoes , and I didn't slip on the dance floor, I took one turn around the floor and the shoes fell apart. I'm not blaming the dance floor, I'm blaming the shoemaker. I expect shoes sold for dancing to actually last more than one dance.

you see, I hate really smart people. :grin: you are correct. and the assumption that the volvo is heavier by 450 pounds is nothing to sneeze at either. just think, when manufacturer of aftermarket rims makes a rim, he/she has to assume that the person who is buying them is a meathead, so they make them super strong. now you make a carbon fiber rim, or one out of magnesium, you are going to have a huge lawsuit on your hand. you just price them waaaay out of anybodies reach and make them exclusive. now you have volvo, whose parent company is Ford, is making 18's you think that they use 18's in the snow in Sweden. of course not, but here we do, so you get a casting made , ford maufactures it and we crack them. nothing we can do. we call and complain and hopefully someone will give a sh*t. Other than calling Volvo north america, I really can't see any solution. I now that buying a new set of rims is not a solution. and 50 large for a car is nothing to sneeze at. have you tried one of those rim/tire companies? maybe you can find a comparable set and sell the ones you have so as to not wreck them? this long haired greek is out of ideas, amazingly according to the mrs. let me brainstorm on this end.

Thanks for the support. Though technically I did try 17" rims after my first two Volvo sets tanked. I didn't want to spend $1,300 for the OEM Sadira rims, so I tried some ebay replica rims from OE Imports and 45 series GY Eagle F1...$500 for the rims and $760 for the tires in addition to the $3,000+ I had spent on the 18" tires and wheels previously.

The ride was so much smoother than the 18" wheels with only marginal loss of handling. Personally I like the cruising ride anyway since I don't travel at high speeds. The problem is that the aftermarket rims are crap and the fitment is poor...something I didn't realize until after I had mounted the tires. Who knew that a hub centering ring off by 2mm could make your car bounce.

That was just after the New Year and I was pretty fed up with Volvo and their rims. I did ask Volvo Customer Care to help and they told me what I could do with myself. So I asked a little more bluntly, and we are currently "negotiating" in the spirit of customer satisfaction. I'm not satisfied yet.

I'm here to report that the day after getting my car back I got another flat tire and had another cracked rim( this time on a different tire), even though I hadn't driven the car. It just seems strange that all of a sudden, right at 20,000 miles, my tires and rims are having so many problems. I had my car towed (for the third time in three weeks) back to the dealership, and after having the rim welded again, they said it can't be fixed and I need to buy a new rim at a hefty price tag. To address the comments by TheGreekMason, it's difficult to sell rims that are cracked and bent, + I wouldn't want to sell these things to anyone, because I wouldn't want anyone else to have to go through all the trouble they've caused me. So far I've been about a month w/out my Volvo and have spent 3 days stranded waiting on a tow truck. As for getting a taller tire, the computer in the C70 prevents you from doing this because it won't recognize the taller tire and it will set off warnings and alarms. I do appreciate your suggestions though, if only it were that easy. So basically I have the choice of replacing all my new tires and buying four new smaller rims or dealing with this problem for the rest of the time I have this car. The dealership in fact told me that there was "nothing I could do" to prevent the rims from cracking in the future. Bottom line is for anyone wanting to buy this car DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT get the 18" aluminum rims. They are an absolute NIGHTMARE!

when I had replied like the second to last time, when I had said to get comparable rims, I didn't mean replicas. I meant like a tirerack.com comparable rim. they sell them in sets with the tires. usually alot cheaper than the dealership and alot stronger since they were set up for aftermarket show car buyers. they are the carbon fiber crew that I had mentioned. these guys were marketing them before anyone else because the owner was sick of his rims getting smashed all the time. check them out if you can. I really feel for you. you are right about selling cracked rims, I had mis-read and didn't realize that you had been repairing them. sorry. hope this helps.

Actually I checked into Tirerack.com when I got the second set of 18" wheels and then again when I went with the 17" replicas. In both sizes Tirerack had an decent selection that started at $169 a wheel and went up, but they were all described as low pressure cast alloy (not carbon fiber). When I called tirerack the person I spoke to didn't feel that his wheels were any stronger than the OEM rims, he just said that the 17" size would be less resistent to damage. Although the guy at WheelsAmerica who did the original repair on my Mirzam rims said that the Volvo rims are notorious for being soft. I was turned off by the fact that I would have to use a hub centering ring for the tirerack rims, unfortunately the same was true of the replicas...they just didn't advertise it.

sorry, i type faster than I can explain myself. they offer carbon fiber also magnesium and the such. it was just a way to explain my meaning, which didn't go over very well. oh well, sorry about the mix up on my part.

This is a very disturbing thread -- we have the 08 with the 18" low profile tires.
I hope this is not what we have to look forward to.

Just curious how much the potholes have to do with this --
very rare, but not totally uncommon to come across a pothole in our daily travels.

We have a 4 year warranty, I believe. Not liking this potentiality.

Not sure, I live in NYC, so pot holes are a way of life, but I am quite careful to avoid them with my baby. And I can tell you for certain that on my second set of 18" wheels I drove the car around like I was walking on eggshells, and none of the wheels touched a pothole. My own unprofessional opinion is that it is a combination of the 18" wheels, weight of the car, and uneven roads in equal measure.

Either way, I would buy the car again, but my own opinion is that the 18" wheels are not worth the improvement in handling. The tire and wheel warranty should give you some reassurance, but it wasn't offered in 2006, and still isn't available in NY state because its treated as insurance and only a licensed insurance broker can sell it in NY...so I'm told.

Hi,

I not only have a Volvo 850 R T5 Wagon with low profile tires, I also own a wheel repair business.

Just to say this loud and clear: You HAVE TO run at least 40+ psi in 25/30/40/45 series low profile tires (not to exceed max. permitted cold air pressure) to avoid bending rims. NO disadvantages with quality tires, only advantages.

When I bought my Volvo (used), 3 out of 4 Volan rims were bent! Then I bought another different used Volvo rim set and also there three rims were bent! Needless to say, all are perfectly repaired now, no problem withthe ride quality. And, with the 42-44 psi air pressure I am running I have had NO problems bending rims. (I do check air pressure once a month and usually have to add 2-3 psi).

If you have a problem with a bent rim or wheel then contact me through www.WheelBenderMender.com . We can repair bent Volvo rims, BMW, Mercedes and many other car wheels, we also weld cracked aluminum rims. Savings are BIG $$$ for our customers. And, we have also the absolute best Wheel Balancing, a proprietary special process called "SuperBalance®"; it will give you an absolutely shake free ride which you have not even had from the factory, guaranteed.

Best Greetings,

Eric

eric@wheelbendermender.com

Just for future reference, where are you located?

UK based C70 owner with 18" Mirzam alloys.
Car is a march 2006, 405th off of the assembly line
2006 T5 - 22,000 miles: front tyres replaced after 12,000 miles, rears after 22,000

I have been driving now for some 35 years including 31 years in the Fire Service, in that time I have never buckled or split a rim of any description until :

I have experienced 3 buckled rims, 2 split rims on the above set up. I drive in the same style and the same roads I have always done, and even with taking particular care because of the damage I keep sustaining damage. Always on a front wheel.

The 18" rims and 235/40/18 tyres means there is very little cushion effect so every bump you hit is transmitted straight to the wheel.

The damage is always on the inside of the rim and looking at the wheel construction it is easy to see why.

tech data states the wheel offsets are unique to the C70 which seems to make it very difficult to find an alternative wheel, even if you could why should you have to consider a new set of wheels on a new car !

A UK Mirzam from Volvo is priced at £430 = $ 860 !.......without tyre. Love the car but it's going to have to go.

Hi,

I bought my C70 August of 2006 at Galpin Motors in Van Nuys, CA. Two of my 18" Mirzam rims went out of round and one of the rims was cracked on the interior in May of 2007. The car had 7900 miles on it. The rims are not available for inspection because the dealership lost them. Their was nothing else wrong with my C70.

While on vacation the other two original 18" Mirzam rims went out of round and one was cracked on the interior in February of 2008. The car had 17000 miles with nothing else wrong. I do have these rims. Bo