Michelin XAS Tires

[red57]

Based on a lot of great reviews here and other forums, I am all set to order a set of 180HR15 XAS tires but just learned they are a tube type tire and they don't recommend they to be run tubeless.

I don't have wire wheels, but rather aluminum wheels that are designed for tubeless tires with an inner safety bead. One of the benefits I have been used to is being able to run tubeless tires. I don't carry a spare, rather I have a puncture repair kit and small compressor like lots of new cars (and my small motor home) which saves a lot of boot space.

With tubes, if I had a flat, I would have to dismount the tire, repair the tube, and remount at the side of the road - not appealing to me. Whereas the puncture kit for tubeless is easy to do without dismounting - insert a plug and air it up and you are on your way.

How important is running a tube in these Michelins? Will I have to revert to carrying a spare? Or, is there a tubeless tire with a similar aspect and size (28.6" OD) I should consider?

I appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Editor_Reid]

I just got my new tires of the same make and model mounted and balanced two weeks ago. My Healey has solid wheels.

I provided tubes to the shop that mounted and balanced the tires, and when I got home I had a phone message from them saying that they forgot to use the tubes. I have not had any problem with them holding air, or in any other way.

I do carry a spare tire, a couple of spare tubes, and a can or two of fix-a-flat. I plan to continue to monitor tire pressure - which I've been good about anyway - and see how it goes.

 

[WHT]

I have these tires mounted with tubes on Dayton 72 spoke wheels (sealed to run without tubes). So far, the XAS tires have been great and maintain pressure extremely well.

I purchased them from Longstone Classic Tyres in the UK and they sent Michelin tubes with the tires. I would contact Longstone for information since they know more about these tires than most shops in the United States; and they have always proven to be knowledgeable and happy to provide technical assistance.

I believe their website may have a video that discusses the recommendation to run tubes with these tires.

​

 

[Dandare]

Has anyone used a fix a flat type product with a tubed tyre?

Danny

 

[Dandare]

Dave, should that tyre height be 26.8?

Danny

 

[HealeyRick]

This is from Coker Tires website
"Answer:
Yes, the Michelin XAS 165HR14 does require a tube regardless of the rim it is mounted on."

Great tires, worth the price of tubes. Love them on my Nasty Boy

 

[BoyRacer]

I bought a set of the 180 XAS Michelins 3 years ago. My rims are alloy and I used the tubes that came with the tires from Longstone. Initially I pressurized them to around 32 psi. I was very unhappy with the vague feel in the steering and assumed I had made a mistake in tire choice. After lowering the pressure to 29 psi the change was dramatic. I am now very pleased with these tires. They fill the wheel well just right and there's more ground clearance over the smaller tires. However, my Healey is just under 2100 lbs. A stock Healey is 300 lbs heavier (mostly in the front end) so 32 psi may be OK for your car.

I use a stock Healey steel wheel as a spare mounted with a little donut style tire (T125/80D15 - 60 psi). It takes up a lot less space in the trunk then a regular Healey spare.

 

[red57]

First of all, Thanks Danny for the catch - I had a senior dyslexic moment, my brain was thinking 26.8 and my fingers typed 28.6 .

I called Longstone Tyres in England this morning and chatted with a fellow who said they are definitely a tube type tire and I asked if they could be run tubeless and he said no - they may not hold air well. He also said they sell lots of them for Healeys and confirmed there are no other 15" Michelin tires available with 26.8 diameter eg. 175/70 x 15 are 24.6.

I did find that Vredestein sprint classic 185VR15 are 26.97 but are slightly wider that the Michelins (and a whole lot cheaper)

Not yet sure which way to go - the review on the Michelins are so good that I may have to use tubes.....

Thanks Richard for the mini doughnut idea - will research that angle, have to find a stock steel wheel.....

Thanks for all the input.

 

[WHT]

One thing you might care about is the profile of the tire.

I have used Vredestein tires on my wife's MG TD and they are nice tires for the price. However, their tread is more blocky than was used in the day (we replaced them with Michelin 165 XAS tires which proved to be a good upgrade with its Borrani wheels).

The rounded tread profile on the XAS is better suited to the Austin-Healey suspension and other older British cars, and improves road handling compared with most tires available today.

 

[Michael Oritt]

One thing you might care about is the profile of the tire.

I have used Vredestein tires on my wife's MG TD and they are nice tires for the price. However, their tread is more blocky than was used in the day (we replaced them with Michelin 165 XAS tires which proved to be a good upgrade with its Borrani wheels).

The rounded tread profile on the XAS is better suited to the Austin-Healey suspension and other older British cars, and improves road handling compared with most tires available today.

I have been running 180 XAS's on my 100 for three or four years and I think they are a wonderful tire. They replaced a set of 175 XzX's and give better performance in both wet and dry. Their relatively tall aspect graces the car's lines and nicely fill the wheel wells.

Re WHT's comment that the XAS is well suited to our Healeys and other LBC's: While I do not disagree I think it a bit ironic that an asymmetric tire specifically developed for EU cars with highly sophisticated IRS suspensions such as Citroens, BMW's etc. should work well in our solid axle/carriage spring-equipped vehicles.

BTW I have always used tubes on my car's 60-spoke wire wheels and feel it is less likely that one tube develops a leak versus 60 spoke nipples, etc. I have only had one flat in about 80K miles of driving, that being at Conclave in Akron about 20 years ago: Reid and I had just set out on the rallye when a tube blew and it took two days and several hours of searching for a replacement in what was once the tire capital of the US!

 

[WHT]

Small World.

I grew up in Akron and my Dad worked at Goodyear for 45 years. He used to test new tire designs on our family car and I still remember him installing some of the first "run flat" tire prototypes in the early 60's that were actually a tire within a tire.

Goodyear had a program in Akron where you could work a 1/2-day shift as a senior in high school. This allowed me to buy my first car (a 10 year old 1957 Porsche Speedster for $1000) and I met several German tire engineers who were my Dad's friends and worked in the Goodyear Racing Department; and actively raced 356A Porsches. They helped me with parts and rebuilding the engine in my car to Super 90+ specs.

Goodyear, at that time, did not produce a good street tire for the 356A Porsche (Bluestreaks were too large and heavy). And, if your car did not have Goodyear tires, you had to park at the far end of the massive parking lot near Market Street and walk even if closer parking was available.

Lastly, Dad came home one day upset that Corporate had let a large group of Japanese engineers go through the factory and tire shop. They took pictures of everything they could see; and the rest is history as they say.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I'll bet the Japanese engineers were upset when their Corporate let a bunch of Chinese engineers tour the factory and take pictures.

Side note: When my father acquired the 1919 Seagrave pumper he restored the local FD had replaced the original wheels and tires with pneumatics. Somehow, he found some original wood spokers, repaired them, and sent them back to Akron. A company there--I don't know their name--had the original molds for the solid rubber 'tires,' with 'Goodyear' plainly visible.

Before and after:

 

[Michael Oritt]

Very impressive!

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Thanks Michael. After posting this a long dormant synapse fired and I recalled Dad might have sent the wheels to Dayton, not Akron, to be 're-tired.' IIRC, both cities were home to the once-thriving American tire industry.

 

[Editor_Reid]

Kinda makes restoration of a little car look like a pretty simple project in comparison.

 

[WHT]

"I'll bet the Japanese engineers were upset when their Corporate let a bunch of Chinese engineers tour the factory and take pictures."

What goes around comes around. The Chinese are more protective (smarter than us?), but its manufacturing has been stagnating for a number of years and is now in decline. They are now losing manufacturing at a good pace to Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Mexico and Brazil.

I met several fairly high-up Chinese officials at a dinner 7 years ago. They said they were trying to shift their economy away from manufacturing because of regional competition and severe pollution.

BTW, your Dad's restoration is amazing!

 

[Bob_Spidell]

It sure is. It took 15 years through two rounds of cancer treatment (we also restored our BN2 during that time). The FD has moved it from their oldest station to their admin building, where it's mostly used for photo shoots (but I heard they had it out in our Graffiti Days parade a couple years ago). If you have a Facebook account you can find it in the Modesto Fire Department's 'photos' section.

Dad meticulously researched its history, but one of the previous FD chiefs was furious because it had been repainted red before his tenure, and that's how he remembered it, but maroon is indeed the original color.

 

[red57]

Thought I'd offer a follow up. I sure appreciate all the comments and advise given. I have decided to give the XASs a try and have ordered a set (including tubes) from Longstone (best deal because of their free shipping). Unfortunately, I'm still waiting on my interior kit from Skinner so it may be a while before I get to drive it with the new shoes on . I will report my impressions then.

Thanks to all,
Dave

 

[WHT]

Hi Dave,

I am installing our Skinner leather/wool interior now and believe you will be more than happy with it.

For the carpet, I lined the base of the tub with KoolMat and we used a 1/4-inch closed cell foam for carpet underlayment instead of jute. The closed cell foam is used as underlayment for boat deck carpeting and it will not absorb water when wet and also handles heat well.

Glued the foam underlayment to the Silicone side of several vertical KoolMat pieces first (such as sills and the bulkhead gearbox tunnel opening) with silicone adhesive and weights to hold in place until bonded; and it worked very well. Then, we used high heat Weldwood Landau Top & Trim Contact Cement to attach the fiberglass side of the KoolMat to the tub metal.

The KoolMat is completely waterproof when sealed (like a shower pan). And, other than the four vertical flooring pieces, all of the foam underlayment is removable as is the carpet.

Regards, Bill

 

[equiprx]

Based on a lot of great reviews here and other forums, I am all set to order a set of 180HR15 XAS tires but just learned they are a tube type tire and they don't recommend they to be run tubeless.

I don't have wire wheels, but rather aluminum wheels that are designed for tubeless tires with an inner safety bead. One of the benefits I have been used to is being able to run tubeless tires. I don't carry a spare, rather I have a puncture repair kit and small compressor like lots of new cars (and my small motor home) which saves a lot of boot space.

With tubes, if I had a flat, I would have to dismount the tire, repair the tube, and remount at the side of the road - not appealing to me. Whereas the puncture kit for tubeless is easy to do without dismounting - insert a plug and air it up and you are on your way.

How important is running a tube in these Michelins? Will I have to revert to carrying a spare? Or, is there a tubeless tire with a similar aspect and size (28.6" OD) I should consider?

I appreciate any thoughts.

As a side note:
I posted this today in the General Tech category.

I have never felt the need to switch to Nitrogen to fill my tires.
Guess I'm lucky, rarely have to top up and never get nails in my tires.
I'm aware of the advantages ie. N is a larger molecule so less likely to lose pressure.
Also N doesn't gather moisture like normal air.
The reason I bring it up, Is I just got a replacement for my Subaru.
It's a 2005 Toyota Highlander with new Michelins that are filled with Nitrogen.
The car also has the tire pressure warning system.
Do we need to pay a tire store to put Nitrogen in them?