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What tires do you have?

Started by Casey, 20 July 2011, 09:06 PM

Type17

The difference between the XAS, XWX, XVS and other three-letter names for Michelin tires seems to be the tread pattern, but also the XVS has a higher speed rating for faster cars.

There's a good bit of info in this Michelin PDF document Link
'76 350SE in Silver-Green

jbrasile

I did not know that the XWX actually existed in W speed rating! Incredible stuff at the time!

Great post Type17

Tks,

Joe

Type17

I also like the drawing of the W116 at the top of page 10 of the document ;)
'76 350SE in Silver-Green

Mesedesi

Cooper Lifeliner Classic 205/75/14"

Not so good tyres in wet weather. Very slippery. But when road is dry it is quite silence.

Just enought quality for me.

powerglide

Where do I start? Best tyres I ever had - years ago - were Michelin XAS.  All the Michelins I have had since have been really good, but that asymmetric tread pattern of the XAS has never been bettered. Next best is a toss-up between Bridgestone and Yokohama, but make sure you buy the high-speed rated product.  I have Hankooks (Korean maker now owned by Yokohama) on another car I have that runs a 300hp SBC, and they are also very good. Pirellis are not that good, but I would buy them before Continental, where I have had the belt disintegrate before they were half worn, and the agent would not replace clearly faulty tyres: goodbye! Second hand tyres: are you kidding?  We are talking about 2 tons of automotive excellence hurtling around a bend on a country blacktop at 70 mph on four palm size-footprints, so you want that to be as good as you can get. Put anything you like on a car to sell it, but if you want to drive your W116 like it should be driven, get Michelin, Bridgestone or Yokohama, and if you need to save a little money, Hankooks (HS rated) are OK.  All the others mentioned may be OK on a lighter car like an Audi or an Alfa Romeo, but if you have a heavy car like a W116 or something with 300 bhp under the bonnet, then go for M, B or Y.  My 350SE runs Michelin, my 280SE runs Yokohama, the 350 SBC runs Hankooks, and wifey's 323 runs Michelin on the front and a pair of the original Jap Dunlops on the rear.  But I'd love the XAS to come back.

Tyre companies change tread patterns and model names to keep you buying whole new sets when you might just need one or two.  And then there are the 'space-saver' unsafe spares that you get these days. Where did THAT idea come from? - certainly not from the consumer!  Next is the 'run-flat' tyre: and what the hell does that mean? I'll tell you: all that c**p leaves you somewhere near  West Wyalong, waiting for a truck to take your car back to Melbourne or Sydney, and if you have the family with you, add the cost of a hire car to get the whole shooting match home.  Friends, make sure you have 5 perfect rims running 5 identical good quality tyres, balanced perfectly, and all 4 wheels aligned optically, and you eliminate much unhappiness for not all that much money.

And the next topic could be a comment on those who try to save a little money on oil, fuel and coolant ...
Powerglide

Casey

#20
Quote from: powerglide on 29 July 2011, 09:57 AM
I have Hankooks (Korean maker now owned by Yokohama) on another car I have that runs a 300hp SBC, and they are also very good.

I have Hankooks currently.  They feel quite grippy, but they do squeal pretty easily and I get a lot of rubbing on the side if I corner hard.  They do seem to be pretty good tires though and I wouldn't hesitate recommending them to anyone who doesn't drive aggressively - I'll probably swap them onto the W123 300CD I'm picking up today once I get new tires for the W116 300SD.

QuoteSecond hand tyres: are you kidding?  We are talking about 2 tons of automotive excellence hurtling around a bend on a country blacktop at 70 mph on four palm size-footprints, so you want that to be as good as you can get.

My last car was a 1986 W124 300D.  I put secondhand tires on it.  They lost traction coming around a bend at 60-70mph on a wet road, and that's why I no longer have the W124.  Thankfully I was unscathed.

QuoteFriends, make sure you have 5 perfect rims running 5 identical good quality tyres, balanced perfectly, and all 4 wheels aligned optically, and you eliminate much unhappiness for not all that much money.

Agreed!  And then you can rotate the 5th tire in and out.

QuoteAnd the next topic could be a comment on those who try to save a little money on oil, fuel and coolant ...

I made the mistake of taking my W124 to a Jiffy Lube ONCE.  After maybe 2000 miles the engine was knocking and clattering and sounding so horribly bad that I thought I'd thrown a rod.  Changed oil with some good stuff and all was well.  I actually already started a thread a while back on oil, if you'd like to comment there I'd appreciate it too!

http://forum.w116.org/mechanicals/of-oil-and-diesel/

hans moleman

I installed the Pirelli's last night (215/60-r15) so we went for a trip up the interstate to see how they drove. The car drove great, took some high speed sweeping s-curves through Springfield that suprised me. Tires are quiet so far and seem to absorb any punishment the Mass roads have for them. I still have some shaking which annoys the hell out of me, I think my tire guy has a bad balancing machine the last set I got from him shook around 65mph also >:(, rebalanced 3 times too. I will try to post some pics if I can figure out how to.

carl888

Michelin XWX for me.  Sadly, I have never driven a W116 or series 1 W126 that drives as well with anything else.  They are just plain expensive unfortunately.  Though when the Pirelli P6000 in the 205/70-VR14 was still around that ran it close. 






Casey

#23
Quote from: carl888 on 04 August 2011, 09:39 AM
Michelin XWX for me.  Sadly, I have never driven a W116 or series 1 W126 that drives as well with anything else.  They are just plain expensive unfortunately.  Though when the Pirelli P6000 in the 205/70-VR14 was still around that ran it close.  

Very nice!  I'd be afraid to have those tires, for fear of coming out to my car and finding them gone!

P.S.  I see both your cars are the same color as mine.  Where did you find those mud flaps for the W116?

carl888

Joe, the XWX was originally "V" rated until the soft compound (100 tread wear index) update was released in about 2000.  Michelin kept the "VR-14" script on the sidewall for originlality reasons, adding a small "W" within a circle further around the sidewall for the updated speed rating.

Regards,

CJ.


Quote from: jbrasile on 27 July 2011, 03:56 PM
I did not know that the XWX actually existed in W speed rating! Incredible stuff at the time!

Great post Type17

Tks,

Joe

carl888

The W116 came with those mud flaps already fitted, I was going to remove the front ones, but they have kind of grown on me! 



Quote from: Raptelan on 04 August 2011, 10:08 AM
Quote from: carl888 on 04 August 2011, 09:39 AM
Michelin XWX for me.  Sadly, I have never driven a W116 or series 1 W126 that drives as well with anything else.  They are just plain expensive unfortunately.  Though when the Pirelli P6000 in the 205/70-VR14 was still around that ran it close.  

Very nice!  I'd be afraid to have those tires, for fear of coming out to my car and finding them gone!

P.S.  I see both your cars are the same color as mine.  Where did you find those mud flaps for the W116?

Casey

Quote from: carl888 on 04 August 2011, 06:16 PM
The W116 came with those mud flaps already fitted, I was going to remove the front ones, but they have kind of grown on me!

I'd quite like to find a set...

jbrasile


CraigS

Round ones, but sometimes square on the bottom ! :)
[url="http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/"]http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/[/url]

s class

Due to financial constraints my 280SE hasn't had anything but used tyres for about 7 years now.  Funny - thats about since I got married....  At the moment it has a set of 4 Bridgestone Turanza GR50 (my fave tyre) - that I got about 50% used.  Right now, some of them still have tread, others don't. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL