V70 XC behavior at high(er) speed

[Batterietester864]

Hallo,

Please accept this message in english, my knowledge of your language is far to limited to write something undestandable (reading is no problem however).

I drive a 940 from 1992 and think about a new one.

The problem is Volvo doen't make rear wheel traction anymore and I fear lack of grip when I find myself with a fully loaded boot, uphill, on snow or gravel so that the front wheels are almost off the ground :-).

With my present car, the traction wheels have all the contact they need, good tires and/or chains is all you need.

To solve this possible "nightmare situation" I could buy a Cross Country.

Several reviewers report that the XC steers unsecure and starts to "float" at high(er) speed.

Is this true or is just some silly critic (after all, reviewers need to have some negative points). Can different tires bring a solution (I am not very fond of all season tires).

I thank you all in advance for the replies.

Sincerely,

Willy

[PS-Schnecke586]

VVSPY

 

Hi Willy,

why don´t you give it a second try at the

http://www.vvspy.com/frameset.php?bn=volvospy_newv70c70

forum? There are more XC - drivers in there. So they should know whether the car is stable or not. And what about an extended testdrive at higher speeds?

Funny, is how did you ever feel safe in a not heavily loaded car with rear wheel drive? Same arguments apply.

Are the road conditions in your area worse than in a Swedish Winter? I think the advantages of rear wheel traction are limited to - smaller turning area (Wendekreis)

- better handling for sportscars or fast drivers

- more comfartable suspension setting due to longer (Radstand) wheel to wheel distance

CU

BK

[oli]

i've read several reviews and never heard anything like that. what speed are you talking about when you focus on »high speed«? is it 130 km/h in belgium? if you want me to i can post some reviews that i collected from time to time.

regards,

oli

p.s.: let me ask you how you found this forum!?

[Batterietester864]

Hello again,

In Belgium max. speed is 120Km/h but I also drive in Germany (when going on holiday to Denmark for example) and my wife has a very heavy right foot so lets say I mean over 150Km/h.

Indeed, an empty car with rear wheel drive doen't have much pressure on the rear wheels, at least untill you accelerate, than the back end goes down and pressure on the rear wheels is established.

No, winters are not worse than in Sweden and I must admit it is perhaps just a feeling that a front wheel driven car will loose grip if fully loaded and uphill on "unstable ground".

But when pulling a caravan I must not think what will happen if I slide backwards (it happened to a friend of mine).

I will try the URL you mention, I thought it was a USA site, they don't drive fast enough there :-)

Sincerely,

Willy

[Batterietester864]

Sorry Oli, I forgot to answer in the previous reply.

I certainly like the forum, to me that German drivers are most actively interested in all aspects of their cars and brands. For instance, if I look for tests of tires, I search in German magazines first. In Belgium, such items as winter or snow tires are hardly an item, most people are simply not aware of the issue.

Moreover, the user base is very large in Germany, after all it is the biggest market in Europe (I also read German magazines of hi-fi products for example, simply because the tests of the equipment is very extended, thorough and unbiased).

Reviews (or URLS) would certainly be welcome, thanks in advance (I will disappear for a while though - holiday in the Belgian Ardennes - no snow yet :-)

So yes, I will stay (mostly just reading) at this forum.

Greetings,

Willy

[Standspurpirat671]

Zitat:

Original geschrieben von Willy VdW

... But when pulling a caravan ...

... and i thought this was mostly done by dutch people. it's a prejudice! i see. from which part of belgium do you come from (if i may ask you)? are you french or flamish? by the way: the biggest excident i ever had was in a back-wheel-driven car on ice. so i mostly drive front-wheel-cars!

[Ransom]

Re: VVSPY

 

Zitat:

(Radstand)

= wheelbase

 

Back to the first question. Which kind of tires you put on the XC70 does indeed play a great role. As I cannot remember of an XC70-owner in this forum, who could help you with his own experiences, I also would give you the hint to visit vvspy for example.

But never forget: especially on the XC70 the choice of the tires influences the braking behaviour and also the braking distance. Maybe it will be difficult to find the best solution, but I really doubt that any solution will make the XC70 an unsatisfying car.

[PS-Schnecke586]

Typo of the year!

 

Sorry, murcs, but I have to dwell a bit on your excident.

So longer I think about it the close I come to falling from my chair.

Must have been a very exciting experience this accident.

CU, and forgive me my "Klugscheißer"-ness.

BK

[oli]

vvspy.com is dominated by netherlands and belgium people... that's why i was wondering... ;-) but you're always welcome in here!

i attached a text file with reviews mostly from worldoffroad, a magazine testing offroad cars. i hope it can help... ;-)

regards,

oli

[Standspurpirat671]

thank you, bkhenkel. you are echt a clever shit. aber i will forgive you, natuerlich. it was sehr late yesterday night and i didn't ask mein online dictionary (http://dict.leo.org) for a better spelling. what an accident! but thank you fuer the freundlichen advice. you are responsible for the next guten joke =;^)

[Batterietester864]

Hello murcs,

Sorry it took a while (holiday).

About the caravan: I live near the Dutch border but I don't own a caravan (yet?). I do have to pull "weights on wheels" sometimes, therefore I mentioned the caravan :-).

I am Flemisch, the highest hills around here are speed-bumps :-)

But I travel to the Ardennes several times a year, and to be honest, it would be a shame to drive a Swedish (!) quality car and to have trouble in the snow.

There is a place I know of where a lot of cars have trouble getting uphill (you have to start at zero speed). Some don't make it because they are afraid to drive the car, but some by lack of grip, as I have mentioned before, of the front wheels (I once helped one up the hill by sitting on the front of the car). When I am at the foot of that hill, my car is fully loaded and towing. Sliding backwards is no option!

That is why I make a "bold" statement: there is no situation where a rear wheel driven car can't make it uphill and a front wheel driven car will make it (provided that the cars are fitted with the right "shoes", be it winter tires or chains ore whatever it takes).

I invite you to prove me wrong, it would make me feel a lot more confident about buying a FWD car.

Oli: thanks for the text file!

Thanks for all the useful replies as well!

Regards,

Willy