[Ceepe]

I got a bubble in the 20 inch Pirelli tire last fall. There were no tires in stock. It seemed Volvo ordered enough of this very specific tire for production only. I ran a mismatched Pirelli (same size but different tread pattern), for a few weeks but it felt a little strange and I was concerned about damaging the motor, so I purchased the oem 19 inch wheels and continental tires.

It's a pretty wonky tire package on the car factoring load rating. Also, they decided on a staggered sizing which makes the rear tire have slightly less sidewall than the front in both the 19 and 20 configurations. It just looks off to me, and it doesn't appear clearance is an issue. I didn't want to run the squared winter setup that the dealers suggest is acceptable because the load rating is just under the recommendation when doing that.
Hopefully more tire and wheel options become available. I also dislike not having a spare. I generally buy a 5th wheel and secure it in the car somehow on vehicles that don't come with one. However the stagger makes it hard. The manual warns not to run the narrower front on the rear of the car. All in all the tire setups for this car are not ideal. At least until is there more available rubber, in either wheel size.

 

[JWG]

Crossclimate2's are a pretty sweet deal if you don't care so much about efficiency. Could save probably like $100 a year on tire changeovers, that's why I changed to CC2s on my ICE.

Here's a video comparing CC2s and the stock tires on a Mini EV: Stranded Again!? How Much More Range Can Tires Give You on an EV? - YouTube

They aren't the same rims but on the stock tire they had 14% more battery left at the distance it took to run empty riding with CC2s. Not super scientific but the CC2s are a pretty aggressive tread pattern.

Some Googling reveals you to be correct. Oof. I wonder what good EV tire will come out that can replace the OEM trash?

 

[Rousie13]

Some Googling reveals you to be correct. Oof. I wonder what good EV tire will come out that can replace the OEM trash?

Just curious….why do you call the OEM tires trash? I have absolutely no complaints about the Pirelli Scorpion Zero’s. I actually wanted the 22” wheels on my Rivian that came with the same tires, but ended up with the 21” wheels to get the truck faster.

 

[Greg S]

I got a bubble in the 20 inch Pirelli tire last fall. There were no tires in stock. It seemed Volvo ordered enough of this very specific tire for production only. I ran a mismatched Pirelli (same size but different tread pattern), for a few weeks but it felt a little strange and I was concerned about damaging the motor, so I purchased the oem 19 inch wheels and continental tires.

It's a pretty wonky tire package on the car factoring load rating. Also, they decided on a staggered sizing which makes the rear tire have slightly less sidewall than the front in both the 19 and 20 configurations. It just looks off to me, and it doesn't appear clearance is an issue. I didn't want to run the squared winter setup that the dealers suggest is acceptable because the load rating is just under the recommendation when doing that.
Hopefully more tire and wheel options become available. I also dislike not having a spare. I generally buy a 5th wheel and secure it in the car somehow on vehicles that don't come with one. However the stagger makes it hard. The manual warns not to run the narrower front on the rear of the car. All in all the tire setups for this car are not ideal. At least until is there more available rubber, in either wheel size.

Regarding your comment about the rear tire "have slightly less sidewall than the front", it's a pretty minute difference really. Yes, the aspect ratio is different (45 front and 40 rear for the 20s) but the sidewall depth is aspect ratio x width. The rears are wider, so in theory, the sidewall depth is nearly identical on front and rear tires. Based on the tire sizes, the tire sidewall height will be approximately:
20-inch wheels
Front 235x45=105.75 mm
Rear 255x40=102.0 mm (3.75 mm less than front)
19-inch wheels
Front 235x50=117.5 mm
Rear 255x45=114.75 mm (2.75 mm less than front)
I THINK that small difference would be very difficult to detect visually, but I could be wrong. Also the rear wheels are 1 inch (25.4 mm) wider than the fronts, and the tires are only 20 mm wider, so the rears will be "stretched" a bit more than fronts, which may also contribute to a slightly different appearance in the rear vs. front. Now that you mentioned this I'm going to have a closer look at mine. I hope I don't see something that I can't un-see LOL!

 

[JWG]

Just curious….why do you call the OEM tires trash? I have absolutely no complaints about the Pirelli Scorpion Zero’s. I actually wanted the 22” wheels on my Rivian that came with the same tires, but ended up with the 21” wheels to get the truck faster.

All of the reviews are very poor. Especially in snow. It's just likely to be a mediocre performer that gets good highway mileage and wears out in 15K miles, if my experience with OEM's from 2nd tier tire companies is any experience. My CX5 turbo came with junk Toyo A36. My 370Z with Potenza. My Z06 with Goodyear. My Acura with Gooyear. All "2nd tier" options. All underwhelming. I have zero faith that a Pirelli from Volvo is any different. I now just tell dealers to take off OEM tires and put good ones one...thing is, there IS no good tire for this car at present, stateside, that I am aware of. The tire is the only part of the car that should touch the road. Literally EVERY characteristic of the car's driving depends on the tire, from safety to enjoyment. If the tire is trash, nothing will be good. The tire is the most important part of the car, and I am extremely picky about it with zero shame.

 

[JWG]

Regarding your comment about the rear tire "have slightly less sidewall than the front", it's a pretty minute difference really. Yes, the aspect ratio is different (45 front and 40 rear for the 20s) but the sidewall depth is aspect ratio x width. The rears are wider, so in theory, the sidewall depth is nearly identical on front and rear tires. Based on the tire sizes, the tire sidewall height will be approximately:
20-inch wheels
Front 235x45=105.75 mm
Rear 255x40=102.0 mm (3.75 mm less than front)
19-inch wheels
Front 235x50=117.5 mm
Rear 255x45=114.75 mm (2.75 mm less than front)
I THINK that small difference would be very difficult to detect visually, but I could be wrong. Also the rear wheels are 1 inch (25.4 mm) wider than the fronts, and the tires are only 20 mm wider, so the rears will be "stretched" a bit more than fronts, which may also contribute to a slightly different appearance in the rear vs. front. Now that you mentioned this I'm going to have a closer look at mine. I hope I don't see something that I can't un-see LOL!

There is no difference. The front tires are not smaller in diameter than the rear tires, and since both rims are 20"...there is no need for complex math. Common sense dictates that this must be the case.

 

[Ceepe]

Of course there is a difference. You can see it with your eye. You can also compare it on a tire comparison site.

 

[improvius]

The diameters are slightly different. The fronts are larger than the rears.
Front diameter: 28.3"
Rear diameter: 28"
This is the same for both 19" and 20" OEM.

 

[JWG]

Sure wish North America could get some decent tires.

Scorpion All Season SF 2 - SUV Tyre | Pirelli

Pirelli Scorpion All Season SF 2: the new 3PMSF winter tire for SUVs.

www.pirelli.com

 

[JWG]

Of course there is a difference. You can see it with your eye. You can also compare it on a tire comparison site.

You are telling me that with your eye, just looking at the vehicle, you can see a 0.3" difference in overall diameter? One tire standing 0.15" taller than the other? My dude. That is a 1% difference in size. I'm going to go on ahead and say that I'll reserve judgement for when mine arrives. I have 20/10 vision and a ton of experience mounting and levelling rifle scopes and so forth, so I won't talk too much smack yet until I have a chance to eyeball it myself, but I remain doubtful.

 

[Ceepe]

yes, my eye can easily see the difference. I'm sure yours can too. When you get the car you will easily notice it. It's just as easy to see with 20 inch or 19 inch wheels. You can even see it in a photo.

 

[BigVikC40Dadda]

I've been keeping an eye out, and it looks like these just became available yesterday or today. Should be a big relief for anyone with the 20's.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?tireIndex=2&autoMake=Volvo&autoYear=2021&autoModel=XC40+Recharge&autoModClar=&frontWidth=235%2F&frontRatio=45&frontDiameter=20&frontSortCode=59855&rearWidth=255%2F&rearRatio=40&rearDiameter=20&rearSortCode=60049

Nice! Just bookmarked the link. These tires cannot be rotated for the C40 due to the size variation in the front and rear. Super helpful