Every few years or so there are a bunch of postings about tires and wheels. I thought I would start a relatively fresh thread now. But first, a quick heads up - The Michelin XWX 205/70VR14 is now listed at Coker Tire and at Performance Tire and Automotive for $573.00 The VREDESTEIN TIRE SPRINT CLASSIC VR 205/70VR14 is now listed at Coker Tire and Performance Tire for $275.00 Who knows whether they actually have either of those in stock, or how old their stock is. Last time I ordered the XWXs from Coker I had to wait 19 months for Coker and Michelin to produce and deliver. I thought the prices for the XWXs were obscene back then, but now???? Now, here is another concern about those "blast from the past" 205/70VR 14s - no one at Coker or Michelin is willing (or able) to state on the record when (or if) their versions of these "antique/classic" tires actually have been tested in the last 15 or 20 years to their V rating. Think about that for a minute. They can't even verify if a specific tire was made using the exact same materials and the exact same manufacturing processes as were used when the tires had their speed ratings tested. Yes, I am aware that some of the catalogs for vintage tires claim that the were made using the same molds, but using the latest modern materials, but when you try to verify what exactly was done, no one will commit. Anyway, I have decided I am going to go the Corbani route and have some custom 16" wheels (7" wide fronts, 8" wide rears) made up with the correct offsets (yes, and properly adjusted for the wider wheels) and center hub diameters out of billet aluminum by an OEM supplier. You might not have noticed it, but check out your stock wheels - you will note that there is a stepped ledge center hole - that is because the grease bullet caps in the front and rear hubs are of different sizes so the stock wheels accomodate the diference so you can move the wheels to any position on the car and keep the centers secured. That is why aftermarket wheels, in addition to offset problems, do not fit or balance properly because of the hub center issues. An easy why to figure out comparable rolling diameters is to us a great little tool that has been posted up in this section every now and then, courtesy of those crazy Miata racers: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html The Miata tire calculator is very easy to use; For example, a 205/70-14 is a pretty close equivalent to a 205/55-16 and a 225/50-16. There are ton of great tires in the 16" sizes listed above. (Those sizes are slightly smaller in diameter then your stock Dino wheel and tire - so that when you are driving at an indicated 60 mph, you will actually be moving at about 59 mph). You can get V and Z rated all season tires if you want in those sizes. I drove John Corbani's Dino a few years ago, and it handled incredibly well - John really had it dialed in, even though his Gotti wheels were a very scary proposition because of cracks and other issues. John was on the verge of doing what I am going to do, but unfortunately he died before he could continue on with his research. John noted that he only had to make a minor clearance adjustment to the inner fender areas on the front of his car when the steering wheel was turned lock to lock. With respect to price, let's start with the tires first. On Tire Rack's website (searching only for H (130 mph) to Y (186 mph+), I found matched staggered sets of street tires as listed above ranging from a total of $328 FOR A SET OF 4 TIRES (in your choice of H or V rated sets) to $908 for a set of Bridgestone Potenza S-02 (Max Performance Summer) Z rated tires. The most expensive set was for a set of Yokohama ADVAN A048 (Track & Competition DOT tires. The average price for a matched staggered set of V or Z rated tires was about $500 to $600 - but there were many sets that would be in the mid-$400 range. Compare that to the prices of even the Vredesteins. With respect to the wheels, depending upon the final design and finish that I select, the price is expected to be about $500 to $600 per corner, from my OEM manufacturer. I know that many here are going to worry about ride stiffness. Well, with the exception of runflats, the tire manufacturers (acting independently of the improvements that suspension designers have made over the years) have generally figured out ways to allow lower profile tires ride smoother than what many of the old 70's era tires ever did, despite the profile differences. I will post more details in the future - it will take some time before I have a lot more information to share, but thought some of you might want to start thinking about what you will do when you are faced with replacing your tires. In my case, I will likely buy a set of Michelin XWXs to mount them on my original wheels, but I will routinely drive on my new set up. FINALLY, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEARCH CORBANI'S CORNER TO SEE WHAT HE WAS WORKING ON AND DEALING WITH - IT IS A GREAT SOURCE THAT PEOPLE NEW TO THE DINO SECTION SHOULD CHECK OUT - BUT PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POST IN CORBANI'S CORNER BECAUSE HIS SAGAS WERE INTENDED TO BE PRESERVED IN HIS MEMORY - IN FACT, DM AND SOME OF THE OTHER MODS INDICATED THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE LOCKED, BUT STILL A FEW PEOPLE HAVE POSTED IN THERE, BUT THAT IS ANOTHER MATTER TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE FUTURE. If you want to discuss or refer to something that John posted in one of his sagas, I suggest that you either start a new post and refer to one of John's sagas. Mark
I just received a set (5) of Michelin XWX 205/70VR14 from Longstone Tyres (UK) for $436 each with no charge for shipping to the US. Ordered May 8th, shipped same day.
Good day, +1 on Longstone! When I last ordered a set of XWX's (for my BB) a few years ago from Longstone the savings was almost 25% and that included free shipping from the UK to Canada! Cheers, Sam
HMB, Did you have to pay US customs duties or California state sale tax? It's been so long since I bought anything from overseas, but somewhere in the back of my mind is a recollection of having to pay these duties and taxes in the past. Thanks.
Thank you to all. Prior to reading your posts I had ordered a set of 4 XWXs at $573 per tire and with tax and shipping it came to over $2500. I had put the tires on hold so my mechanic wouldn't have to store them for long before I had a chance to take in my car. Luckily your posts came along and I was able to cancel my order. Longstone had the tires and with free shipping you all just saved me $850. One week from order to arrival. With the current price of Dinos and accessories maybe I can get myself a set of original valve stem caps with my savings. I did learn a few things: 1. Call your credit card company before you charge anything overseas. My credit card charge was denied at first because my card company thought it was a fraudulent charge. 2. On the Longstone website you have your choice of purchasing in Euros or Pounds. I saved $30 per tire by purchasing in Euros because of the current conversion rate, $410 instead of $440 per tire. 3. Read Ferrarichat. I had never heard of Longstone until this thread Thank you again.
Good luck with that! My Cromodora's have the .625 valve stem hole and I've been unable to find original stems for that size. I do have a set or two of original (or original looking) .435 size valve stems.
Great advice, guys. Thanks... I've been obsessing about replacing the tires on my non-Dino, and It seems like Longstone is an excellent option. In Euros, of course. Thanks!
Greyboxer - my date code is 4311, 43rd week of 2011. So even though I bought my tires after HMB, my tires were produced before his. HMB - I was trying to make a joke (and failed) about the valve stem caps costing 850 dollars which is the amount of money I saved by buying the tires from Longstone. But I appreciate your offer. Actually, I am using the original valve stems and valve stem caps. And last time I had the tires replaced I had them use the original weights. The tires on the car now are it's third set, date code 251. I figured it was about time to get new tires.
I had some new XWXs fitted on the Dino a few weeks ago,from my local tyre specialist here in Holland at a wholesale price , date-code begin 2012. Only the compound of the rubber looks softer and the country of production is Serbia, have not driven the car yet with the new tyres , so I do not know if they will be better to drive.
Mark, here's the way I went with wheels and tires back in the 1990s when I was doing a lot of track events with my Dino: Sixteen inch wheels made by Prime that mimic the classic BBS of the 70's w/ Yokohama A008 tires. Now I use the same wheels with Bridgestone 225/50/16 92W (RE750) for all driving. I put on the original wheels and XWXs for show only. I'm very pleased with the "street" wheels and tires . . . very comfortable, quiet ride and much improved traction. Photos attached. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
And, you'll definitely have a better tire than ANY version of the 205/70VR14s currently out there. The point of this thread originally wasn't about the pricing or availability of XWXs, but rather to point out that the tires are suspect - Michelin, Coker and Longstone don't offer any specific details about current construction and materials, nor are they willing to confirm when the last time was that the VR rating was tested (30+ years ago but now being built at different plants using different techniques and materials???) - and that much better and safer options are available. Sure, get a set of Michelin or Vredestein 205/70VR14s for show on your standard rims (Campys or Chromos), but for a better handling and safer Dino, different wheels and different tires are required.
Bumpty bump BUMP. Gosh, who would have known that there are many, many, many, numerous threads on tires within the 206/246 kingdom???
