308 Michelin TRX or XWX

Since those TRX rims are metric (390mm) and not English (15.4inches)in diameter the only tires that will fit are the TRXs made by Cooper Tire now and a tire that used to be made by Avon. You have what is correct for the car in 1981. XWXs will not work on it. I imagine the italians did not update the owners manual to reflect the correct tire. Go figure.

 

on my stock rims it has ferrari embrossed on the rim,but then their on a 85qv and their 16" and tires are pirelli zr,p205/55 in the front,p225/50 in the back,I had michelin's on my 240z,they were xas,they may not make them any more,great for high speeds

 

The VR 14" tire was OEM for the earlier 308s, 1975-1979.

If you have the 390mm rims your tire choice will be very limited and expensive.

Coker will have them in US and Longstone Tyre in UK can also help....

Welcome!

 

At the time of introduction the 390mm was considered cutting edge and an improvement over the 14" Michelin XWX that rode on the 14" rim.

Only when it was overtaken in tire development history by the 16" rim technology did it become obsolete....

Goodyear is #1 in Racing.

 

That's indeed the rub with that wheel size, on a positive note so many have taken them off you should get replacement rims for a song!

Tangentally, the V rated 14" has become as rare.......Goodyear air freighted me some, from a European line and they came in COVERED in airline stickers. Pretty embaressing explaining at the local Goodyear store as the mounted them up....LOL!

Welcome to the site man.......

The wheel right after the 390mm, real Ferrari 16" 308 QV rims, are the permanent fix but they are expensive also. Hunt you local wrecking yards.........

 

Joseph, be sure to mention this website they offer us a minimal discount at Coker........

 

Do yourself a favor... Get a set of aftermarket 16" rims and tires to fit accordingly, and put the old rims away to sell with the car for "originality" someday. 16" tires are much cheaper (will make up the difference between the TRX and new rims) and over time you'll save a bundle. Plus, the 16" tires out there ride much better than those TRX which ride like truck tires, and handle a 100x better. Check out the wheels that Superformance is selling, they look really nice and reasonably priced, all things considered. MHO, YMMV.

 

I recently bit the bullet and did this on my 1981 GTSi and can say that it was the best move I made. I put on Goodyear F-1s that I got from Tire Rack and cannot believe the difference in performance. If I remember correctly, the TRX tires cost came close to the price of the wheels and the four Goodyears were about $500 total. You will have to replace the tires every few years even if you don't wear them out, so this will save a bundle in the long run.

 

Last week, I did the same thing you did, Carl. I mounted Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s on Superformance 16" wheels. I put them on my car and moved into the 21st Century.

(Thank you, Bubba!)

 

Yes, it is really a no-brainer: the ride quality and handling with the 16" rims makes a day/night difference.

The manual of my '82 Euro GTSi gives 3 tyre/rim options:

Standard 14" with XWX, 390mm with TRX or 16" with Pirelli P7.

One must not forget that the TRX's are 25 year old technology. They still make them, but there is no development, so you really ride on old stuff. I have 16" split-rim Compomotives with Bridgestones, technology of today. The car finally rides and handles the way I want it to.

Your 16" Superformance rims + new tyres will cost about the same as a set of 4 new TRX tyres. No need to sell a child, sorry to burst your bubble!

Happy motoring,

Jack V.

 

I agree with everyone here.

My '83 Mondial came with TRX tires and they gave the car very strange handling (probably due to age of the tires, hardening of the rubber, etc.) But going with aftermarket wheels (17" diameter) and modern rubber made a HUGE difference. Not only are the new tires grippier, but they're more comfortable than the old TRXs! And the cost of 5 wheels with tires (one for a spare) was the price of 2.5 TRX tires.

Look at T Rutlands (or their auction on eBay) for replica 16" wheels. I believe they're $1200 or $1400 for a set of 4. Add $600 for tires and you're spending about the same amount as for 4 TRX tires, but you'll be riding on modern tire technology that'll be stickier and more comfortable, and cheaper to replace later on down the road.

 

For the US spec 308 in 1981, there is a "North American Version" supplement for the owners manual (yours is probably missing). It states the 390 TRX tire and wheel as the standard equipment --- although the owners manual still lists the 14-inch setup as base (euro) equipment. The TRX's only went on the '80-'82 "i" cars (and, maybe a few of the early '83 QV's) --- following them, the Q-valves had 16-inch (regular bead) wheels. On some of the early cars from '80-'82, 14-inch wheels were fitted unless the original purchaser specified the TRX's as an option --- but almost all of these cars left the factory with the TRX package.

In its day, the TRX setup was superior in performance to the other tire sizes / technologies available for the 308. And, they were fitted on other performance marques such as BMW and Mercedes. With advances in tire sidewall designs, a modern, low profile, 16-inch tire on a standard 16-inch wheel is superior to the TRX design.

 

Barry,
Believe you have your new wheels in Gold?? If so would love to see pics please.

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

Yes, for track use. My way of acknowledging its racing heritage:
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Last time I checked, the TRX tires for the Mondial were only available from Coker (at over $400 each) but the ones for the 308 were still fairly easy to get. Even tirerack.com had them at a little over $200 each. If you buy them from Coker, be sure you get them through the fchatter who works for Coker...they give an fchatter discount. Do a search, I forget his screen name.

The 16" wheels are an improvement for sure.

Birdman

 

Looks very nice!

Maybe you need some tire warming blankets???

I'll check with AJ..........

 

'Mini Ferrari'...his name is Jerry....

 

They'll do better than the XWXs on the track next year.
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I'll need four, Bubba.

 

..and the crew, to plug them in..........take them off......LOL!

 

I can get some OR nurses to do that if I can't find a crew.

 

Looks great Barry! Nice to see you take her to the track..way to go

 

Thanks, Dave. That's what the ol' girl wanted to do in the worst way. Next year, I won't hold up the Carreras and F40s.