Steve B

That's one way to get them installed! Nice car.

Congratulations on your spiffy new garden hose reel. That's about what that rim is worth now. It's not even worth the gas it takes to take it to the salvage yard for scrap aluminum. The only reason I know this is that I have had the pleasure of making this particular transaction before. Yup, a garden hose reel.

The engine in the V70 AWD is described as a low pressure turbo. It was done specifically to keep the hp down and not stress the viscous drive coupling. I am sure Volvo did not want to ruin its reputation for longevity by producing a 300 hp wagon. You may notice a number of warnings about hopping up that particular pwr plant and it all pertains to the viscous drive coupling. That drive coupling is entirely dependent on relative tire circumferences. If the computer reads relative differences in circumferences it supplies power to the appropriate wheels to bring the reading back into tolerance. Uneven wear patterns on tires, different makes of tires among the set, or even short distances with the space saver can do quick and ugly damage to one of these units. A bad strut or shock at one of the corners would ruin a unit by trashing a tire much faster than the other three. If one tire goes bad, you buy a complete new set. I've taken nails thru sidewalls on 2 separate occasions and had to replace 2 complete sets but it's either that or 3 to 4 times that for the new coupling. But, it's also done its job just fine in the snow when called for.