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Let me be honest. My car is "standing" on 20 year old Generals that can take 40psi but I don't trust them at all. No sidewall lumps/delamination etc. Not perished but I'm throwing them out as dangerous on age alone (were stored powdered out of UV). Front tyres squelch in low speed cornering. At present I'm running zero camber & castor & 3 mm toe in. I will try and achieve some castor & negative camber later. I'm not running fast on them. Approx 60mph max.
Will be fitting 185 VR 15 Michelin XVS or 185 HR 15 Michelin XVS-P. Probably save a few bucks & fit the HR's. I don't need a speed rating in excess of 130mph. Both look identical. I like Michelin tyres period & they have nice large rim protectors.
General
185 HR 15 Michelin XVS-P
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Jan 19, 2022 at 07:05 AM.
I chose the Universal's because they were considerably less expensive than the Michelin's and I figured I'd age them out before wearing them out. I agree though, Michelin's are usually very good.
The Universals's are a copy of the Dunlop SP Sport tread pattern, so it looks authentic.
I run 38 in the front and 40 in the back but I am constantly having passengers in the back whilst doing weddings. If the fronts drop down to 34/36 I get tyre squeal in multi storey carparks. Average speed is 30 or below and occasionally I might get up to 60/70 mph on a dual carriageway.
I have the Universal Vintage tire 185's and it says max 32 psi on the sidewall, so that's where I run them.
Gregory has them on his Mk2. Everybody I know with the Universals is happy. They look like the Dunlop SP Sport Aquajet which is a bonus. I cant get them here without buying a set of wheels. CUSTOMS ~ we can't import tyres alone. They have to be mounted. To protect local tyre industry ~ mainly Continental that have a huge plant here but also the usual suspects. None makes a 185X15 locally.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Jan 19, 2022 at 06:44 AM.
I assume you can buy the Michelins locally then? The only other thing I could think of it drive across the border to another country and get tyres mounted. After a look at the map though, that would be a major expedition, and probably not something you want to do in an old Jaguar.
In 2014, it was close to impossible to find decent tyres of the correct rating and size for a V12 series 3 XJ and the sidewalls of the ones on my Daimler were developing cracks. The choices were van tyres or racing tyres, all of which looked wrong and were wrong. In the end, a fitter that I know tracked down a set of Pirelli P4000s in Italy. They cost a fortune, are a not outstanding for grip, but are correct. Now, seven years later, they've covered less than 2000 miles. They still look OK, but according to a lot of advice they're about past it. However, they haven't done many miles and they've been exposed to only a few hours of daylight. I'm going to check them regularly for cracks, but keep using them. In the future, I may change wheel size to widen the tyre options.
I wouldn't do any serious driving on the 40-year old Avons on my MK2, even though they also look fine. To be fair to them, they've done way better than the van tyres that preceded them. They developed cracks in the tread and huge bubbles in less than a year of not particularly heavy use, while I really thrashed the Avons for a few years before the car went into retirement.
Overall, my tyre policy is to buy them where you can. Never go below the correct speed and weight rating even if that means changing rim size. Don't take age advice too seriously if your car spends most of its life garaged and you never run the tyres under inflated. Inspect them frequently, especially after they are five or six years old. Keep the tyre pressure at what Jaguar suggest for high performance, heavy load use or a couple of psi more.
Last edited by Peter3442; Jan 20, 2022 at 03:32 AM.
I have an X Type and I have Michelin X-Ice tyres on it for the winter. I just looked at them and they say Made in Thailand. Not the first place I would think of to make winter tyres!
