Good Morning All. I'm new to this list but have been on others for vairous other cars I own.

We have a 2005 XC90 2.5T AWD which has been very nice. Using a single all weather tire however in Idaho has not met my expectations (Nokians). They are good, but constant trips to ski where we often encounter deep unplwed snow, routine blixxards and months of glazed over roads exceed the tires capability. I am planning to purchase another set of wheels and some studded tires for exclusive winter weather. I currenlty have 17 inch rims and I understand 17 is the smallest that will fit. I would be interested in others recommendations.

Thansk very much.

I live in the Bavarian alps. - We too get a fair bit of snow. My US spec v50 came with 'mud and snow' tyres, but I bought (on the advice of a local mechanic) a set of pressed-steel wheels with European mud and snow tyres. (I'm using Polaris 2's, by Barum - http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/...reifen-de.html)

There seems to be a considerable difference. Not only is the tread pattern different, but the rubber from which the tyres is made is rather softer. I was told that if you use US mud and snow tyres (the OEM tyres on the car) then because the rubber is somewhat harder, they're not as effective.

Pure 'snow' tyres (even without studs) are speed-limited on dry roads, because the tread pattern leads to overheating and at speeds above about 60mph the treads may break up. My European mud and snow tyres are 'H' rated, so they're good up to 130mph. (I'm not going to drive that quickly on snow, but the Autobahns are usually snow-free.)

There's another advantage in having a second set of winter rims. - If the local authorities use salted grit on any of the roads, that will soon mess up your alloy wheels. - Pressed steel rims may not be pretty, but they're cheaper than alloys.

I am driving the V8 version with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 SUV studded winter tires with the 18" Atlantis alloy wheels in Finland. Having 15+ years of experience in extreme weather conditions (snow, ice, slush, combination of the above, winds, etc), I can say that the XC90, AWD with the Nokians is the best winter car I have driven so far.

Of course, the downside is that you can't drive really fast, but for us that is not an issue (winter-time speed limit is always 100km/h or about 60mph).

JP