Greg its a good option however as at present there appears to be zero XWX tyre stock in Oz
G'day because unfortunatly Austrailia has been put on completely the opposite side of the world to the UK it does cost us more to ship so we can't swallow all the shipping costs like we do elsewhere. Also our Youngtimertires.com site is not yet up to speed for having complicated algorythms about discount codes and different shipping addresses we aren't able to arrange this web site to deal with you chaps on the other side of the world. Solution:- send me a private message tell me what you want and we will sort it out. that goes for any customer in deepest darkest New Guinea or any other country the Youngtimer tires site doesn't offer a country for. If you are interested in idiots pratting about with silly old cars have a look at our face book page https://www.facebook.com/longstonetyres Also her is a new advert we have been working on. Well it's a bit of fun isn't it Dougal Image Unavailable, Please Login
I just got my set of 4 new XWX's from Longstone. Amazed at how quickly they got to me (6 days from G.B to NY). They are now in storage awaiting the spring. It's 26 degrees here in NY today, and I'm wishing I could move to Florida. Anyway, having run Pirelli P4000 SuperTouring tires for the past 12 years (IMHO the best performance tire available for 14" rims, even though it is listed as a touring tire, and unfortunately no longer made) I was AMAZED at the tread depth on the XWX's. They look more like a mud/snow tire than a peformance tire. I have driven 2 cars with XWX's on them, and was not impressed with handling and grip (compared to my car), but was told they were well over 10 years old and hard as a rock. The Longstone XWX's I just got are of course brand new, and should theoretically be much better. But I can't get over just how much tread is on these tires. Guess I will just have to wait until April to see. Anyone care to share their experience with new XWX vs. a modern tire? Grip? Performance? off-road capability?
If you think they will get to old to use before you wear them out you could have them shaved. I think my Dino was more sure footed when the Michelins were half worn. Less tread depth = less squirm.
Has anyone bought a set of cheap 16" Superformance cromadora style wheels to use with a more modern winter or summer tyre for everyday use? I have seen them & they look excellent. I would imagine it would be much cheaper than buying a complete set of new XWX's. It would also greatly improve handling & may be a good alternative for those who actually drive their Dino's often.
I did for my GT4. While I haven't put many miles on them yet they seem to be of good quality (no balancing issues) my initial impressions are positive.
John Corbani had a lot of experience using 16" wheels on his Dino. His very first post, dated July 24, 2005, listed in Corbani's fashion as "Dino Saga 050724 _ Intro of car and driver, steering wheel, tires" (see Corbani's Corner - go to the Sticky and check Dave's (dm_n_stuff) Table of Sagas and Tillman's link lists first) mentions that he was using 205/55VR16 front, and 225/50VR16 rear, tires on his Dino. I drove his Dino shortly after his death, and the handling was amazing - better than any Dino I have ever driven, and that was with over 195,000 miles. He really had it dialed in, working with a local tire/wheel/alignment shop to set the correct offsets and center his Gotti 3-piece wheels with billet spacers, although as time wore on, the wheels themselves proved problematic from cracking (see Dino Saga 051009) - but I have been in contact with the actual manufacturer of the components that were supplied to Gotti, and they are able to provide correct, improved, and completed wheels with the correct offsets for a Dino.
Could you possibly post or pm me on the Gotti wheels? Id like to use some lower profile tires on a 16" wheel for everyday driving.
Gotti also has 15" rims that can be used with the Michelin TB series tire. I think it ends up being closer the original tire diameter as the TB is a lower profile tire. Gotti J55B.
I would suggest fitting lower profile tyres will absorb less vibration and shocks which is not good for the car. (let alone comfort) I would also suggest that the talk about a car with 16" wheels and 205/55R16 front and 225/50R16 rear was on a dramatically modified car; if it did actually HANDLE better. My suggestion would be that wider tyres gave you greater road holding in the dry and cut down on wheel spin and braking distance in a straight line in the dry. but all this at the expense of handling. Please bare in mind that there is a difference between handling and road holding. I would suggest that a car Ferrari developed (and of course heavily tested) will change its characteristics in having so much more rubber in contact with the road. A modern low profile 205/55 will have a wider foot print than a 205/70. (the 205 bit is the measurement of the fatest point of the tyre not the foot print). You can over tyre a car, and this is what Ferrari thought was right. Ferrari chose fit the same size tyre front and rear. This was not guess work. i would encourage avoiding is having a bigger tyre on the rear than on the front. This will make the car change it's balance a er toward understeer. you don't buy a classic Ferrari for understeer. why not buy a front wheel drive car. yes things are different on a race track. and yes if the rest of the car is dramatically modified things are different, but for road use it will handle at it's best the way it was designed with 205/70VR14 Michelin XWX I would suggest that if you are buying tyres that are much cheaper they are no longer a Michelin or a top quality brand. an inferior build quality and increased vibration and impacts from lower profile tyres would not be better for people that drive their Dino's often. (just my opinion. and if you are on a perfectly smooth race track where you go from hard on the throttle to hard on the brakes, and you have changed the geometry of your car. then fair enough change the tyres. but again you can still over tyre a car on the track)
I agree with everything you say except my experience has been that cheap tires have softer sidewalls and thus transmit less vibration and shocks. Also, I love cornering fast enough that you can feel the car change attitude as you increase and decrease throttle. Cheap tires have less grip, therefore that slipping occurs at lower speeds and can thus be enjoyed at safer speeds on public roads. As you say, if it were lap times that mattered it would be a different story, but for street use I actually prefer a cheaper tire.
the less structured side walls of cheapo tyres will effect the directional stability and give unpredictable handling which would have to be diminished with more tyre pressure. which detracts from the absorption of vibration. Yes cheaper tyres may brake away easily but what you want is predictable handling; no surprises. more modern tyres will have relatively wide footprint compared to an Michelin XWX which will tend more towards tracking. The car braking away more suddenly, and catching more suddenly; driving round a corner in a series of snatches. XWX suits a Dino. the XWX has rounded side walls which gives it a different shape meaning you have a well structured foot print that is not overly large, and therefore remains progressive but importantly stable and predictable. the only advantage with cheap tyres is that they are cheap. here is an example of predictable handling. I am in car 38 the little aluminium bodied thing. I am not however suggesting you move back to running 4.5" wide crossply tyres. we want the right tyre for the right car. i just thought you might like to see a film of very old cars doing massive skids. or is it just me [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwGyELi0ap0]VSCC Mallory Park 2009 - YouTube[/ame]
Carburettor or fuel injection. Michelin XWX or Nankang CX-668 Ferrari 246 or Nissan Micra Decisions, Decisions. Was that a tad on the catty side? no offence intended. my apologies.
