XWX tire memory lane.

[lloyd]

Going through storage I recently "rediscovered" a set of Michelin XWX 195 X 70 X 14 tubeless "V rated" tires. I recall they were purchased new in the late 80's. They have since been donated to a poor Ferrari owner who is considering them because they are "period" correct.

For some reason, the "wear rating" went unnoticed. The curious thing is that two sidewalls indicate a "70" wear rating. The other's have wear ratings of of 130 and 150. I recall these ratings varied from manufacturer to manufacturer and were a loose indication of tread compound softness and/or stickiness.

While these tires had extremely low miles, I recall them not being all that special and moved on to larger rims and slightly wider tires. (I will say that I think the XWX's were superior to the same speed rated XAS asymentrical design. Why, I can't really remember other than possibly the XWX's seemed "stickier." Either way, the XWX's certainly wore quicker than any other tire I have ever owned.)

Anyone still running these tires? Were they somehow better or worse than I remember them?

TIA

 

[mark]

at least in oz these tyres have been available until quite recently (are?) - i have my eye on a car for sale that had a new set fitted 2 years ago (old stock perhaps?).

 

[Malc]

In their day they were good "state of the art" tyres, technology has moved on since then. You can still get these and other metric tyre sizes from Michelin new, but they cost a fortune and supply is patchy simply because they wait for enough orders to make a batch.

That said I would be wary of old new stock tyres as they begin to harden, plus the rubber elastomer compounds break down as the years go by, even when stored properly. (cool, dry and dark)
Malc

 

[velocewest]

In the US, you can buy most all of Michelin's discontinued models from Coker Tire. Unless you are looking for concours points, it's a lot of money spent for little return. Any modern tire will be better.