Tyre dilemma in Volvo S60 D4: Downsize to 235/50 R17 or get 235/45 R18?

Gurgaon roads are simply too violent for these tyres to operate. Within 15 months of getting new tyres and 18,000 KM of running, I have damaged two tyres.

BHPian kmalhotra1901 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all:

I own a 2016 Volvo S60 D4 with R18, 245/40. I got new tyres last year, but I am facing many problems. Gurgaon roads are simply too violent for these tyres to operate.

Within 15 months of getting new tyres and 18,000 KM of running, I have damaged two tyres. First one was an exterior side wall pinch. Thankfully, the damage was only cosmetic in nature, which I got satisfactorily repaired. The other recent one (last week) was a full fledged pinch running through the side wall making the tyre useless.

I am wondering what options I have as I have only 2 years of ownership left?

Option 1 : I was contemplating downgrading to R17 and getting new 235/50 tyres. I have got a quote from a dealer of New R17 inch Momo RIMs and tyres, which is above 1.3L expense. The option is expensive as I will be selling the car next year.

Option 2 : I am thinking of squeezing in R18 with a profile of 235/45 which will give me additional margin on the sidewall from existing 245/40. What do you think?

Another option is to have brand new R18 245/40 tyres with some kind of unconditional warranty from the manufacturer, and rely on the manufacturer to honour the unconditional warranty. What do you think?

Here's what GTO had to say on this matter:

kmalhotra1901, check this thread out (18" wheels of my car are troublesome | Frequent tyre damages | EDIT: Moved to 17-inchers).

I'm a big proponent of downsizing rims when required. These R18 rims for sedans or R19s for SUVs are simply not for India. Looks yes, but other than that, too many headaches. I even wrote a full article on it (Tall tyres & regular wheels versus low-profile tyres & large wheels).

With the 10-year diesel ban in Delhi, you won't be able to retain the car for more than 1 - 2 years. Just drive more carefully and repair / replace tyres as needed. Don't waste time, effort & money on downsizing for such a short remaining ownership period.

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