XKE tires

[Miles]

I am going to start looking for a set of tires for my series II. Any opinions good or otherwise that I could be made aware of before I get started?

 

[Gene]

In my opinion, no substitute for Pirelli's. When I recently replaced my tires, Tire Rack had very good prices on Pirelli Z rated. Since mine is a Series III, sizes would be different.

Gene

 

[bbbbailey]

Check Tire Rack's comparative Survey and Customer's comments for Dunlop Sport 5000. Handling, dry/wet, noise, all very good. And often recommended by one E type owner to another.

Bob

 

[koolkat]

On my '68 OTS E Type I just mounted a set of 215x65x15 P6000. I had to remove the bumper stops & brackets, not an easy job put one that had to be done. I've got these tyres mounted on orginal 5.5" wheels, would like to have a set of 6" wheels, maybe Santa will bring a set. Just be sure that who ever does the job understands balancing and unless you have the wheel sealent on the inside rim to protect the the tube you will need the "wheel rubberband" installed to protect the tube from the spoke nipples, a 16" band is available and will work.
Mike Goodwin & KoolKat

 

[Lee]

My '70 Series II has Dunlop SP40 A/S whitewalls, size P205/65R15; they perform well for the kind of driving I do (rarely above 75 mph, no racing or other competition) ride comfortably, produce low road noise, look more or less original (all late Series II E's were delivered with Dunlop whitewall tires), and were relatively inexpensive. They are a bit wide for the wheels but they don't interfere with the body or suspension, and their aspect ratio is such that the speedometer is as accurate as it was originally (within 3 or 4 percent of "true").

 

[Basil]

Does anyone know if it is possible to put tubeless tires on an EType (with wire wheels)?

Basil

 

[Lee]

I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember where) that there's a proprietary process for mounting tubeless tires on wire wheels. It involves sealing the ends of the spokes with a urethane compound (something like windshield sealant)that remains somewhat flexible after it sets up. The other problem area might be the valve stem hole, unless a regular tubeless tire valve stem would seal it properly. My tire supplier told me that sealing around the sidewall bead wouldn't be a problem.

It would seem that the only advantages to tubeless tires would be avoidance of the relatively minor cost of the tubes and the very slight advantage in unspring weight.
My Series II has tubeless tires but with tubes added...as I assume virtually all E's do.

 

[John Loftus]

Basil,

Several wire wheel specialists I've spoken with (Hendrix and Valley Wire Wheel) recommend against going tubeless. They say when the wheel needs retrueing it will unseal the spoke nipples. Hendrix recommends retruing/rebalancing at 3k and 15K. British Wire Wheel claims their wire wheels never need to be retrued. I was tempted to go tubeless but let the majority opinion (in my little survey) prevail and stayed with the tubes.

Cheers,
John

 

[bbbbailey]

-Basil: British Wire Wheel, at request, supplies
their wires with a sealant which allows tubeless
tires to run on E types. Mine and many others do
so without problems.
-Bob

 

[Dave Smith]

to Miles,

I have been owned and driven E types since 1964.
1963 E type open two seater. BRG with biscuit
and 1963 E type coupe BRG with biscuit. Also had a 1954 xk120 until I retired. I miss it of course.
Never part with a car you have owned for over 20 years.
Still love and drive the 3.8 E rdstr every day that I do not have it apart working on something.

In my opinion the best tire for a series 1 E type is as follows:

Michelin 195/70 vr 15 XWX

They may be obtained from Coker Tire 800-251-6336
and will cost approx. 4230.00 each plus shipping.

If you have any E type questions contact me at
zephyr27@gte.net

Dave Smith

 

[Basil]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dave Smith:
to Miles,

will cost approx. 4230.00 each plus shipping.

If you have any E type questions contact me at
zephyr27@gte.net

Dave Smith<hr></blockquote>

Yikes! I'm selling my Etype! hehe...

 

[Dave Smith]

ok correction of typo

It is $230.00 each plus shipping.

Dave

 

[calmone]

i had a 74 e type with wire wheels and ran tubeless without any problems. well, none with the tyres. when the car threw a main bearing at 20,000 miles, well THAT was a different story!

 

[Jeb]

IMHO there's no reason to try and run wire wheels tubeless. Tubes aren't that hard to get, they don't cost that much and the risks of developing a leak on a wheel other than the Dayton bolt-ons that are designed to be tubeless from the outset aren't worth it.

That said, check The Tire Rack for various tires.

I've used tires as large as 205-70-15 on Series II Es without having to remove any stops and slightly smaller ones such as 195-70s or 205-65s will work just fine.

Jeb