Hello all,

I apologize if this has been talked to death before, a cursory search didn't return any recent results on tire size threads for the XJ-S that I could see.

I just got my XJS running again (many thanks to superchargedTR6 and the others that helped, all of that is in a different thread). The short story is the car has been sitting on the same tires for many years (6 on the fronts, more like 10 on the rears) and I'd like to get an entirely new set of shoes for it before I put it back on the road.

I have been looking at sizes, and was hoping to get some feedback in terms of sizes/brands that work.

I have aftermarket wheels, 70 spoke I believe. I haven't counted in a while. Here's a picture:



At any rate, the tires that are on them now are 215/70R15s. I have looked in this size and can get Goodyear Comfortred Touring tires. I have these on my sedan and I like them, but I don't want to get those just because I'm comfortable with them. If there's a better size/tire/etc. then I want to do it right.

I read the tire section of Kirby Palm's XJS book and they mention a few sizes. The BF Goodrich Radial T/A is available in allall here sizes, and I wondered if anyone had any experience with that one. Not sure if I'm too crazy about the raised white letters though.

The sizes mentioned are 225/60r15, 235/60r15, and 215/65r15. The 235 is the widest of the three, about .75" wider than stock. The diameter is a little larger as well. The 215 is the same width as stock but a little smaller diameter... etc. They're all about the same.

In the 235's I can get a set of Perelli P600s (the only summer tire that I have found on this set of sizes), which I like the thought of, but I don't want to get it if it will be a bad idea since it's over twice as expensive at $276 a tire and I will mostly be cruising in this car.

Any thoughts/discussion would be appreciated. Just looking for ideas and useful feedback.

Thanks!

Collins

 

If you are interested in a performance-oriented tire your choices are virtually nil if you stick with 15" wheels. If you're more interested in cruising and moderate driving then almost any of them will do.

I've had numerous sets of BF Goodrich tires and have been pleased with all of them. BFG makes a variety of 'models' for different purposes but, AFAIK, all the 15" offerings are in the standard "T/A" range. Good quality tire, nothing wrong with it....but not a 'performance' tire, either.

How wide are your wheels? If they're 6" wide then 225 and 235 tires are pushing the limits a bit. They'll fit....but it's not an ideal fit.

Cheers
DD

 

Went to the garage and got a picture:



Checked the spare too, they're Dayton 70 spokes. I measured and rim to rim it's 8.5" wide.

Thanks for the thoughts, if the BFG isn't anything special I would probably go with the Goodyears based on my experience with them and the lack of white lettering on the side. That doesn't thrill me about the BFG.

Anyone have experience with the Pirellis? Or any performance tire at all on a 15" rim for that matter? I like these wheels and would like to keep them, so I'm stuck with a 15" tire.

 

I'm going through the same thing. I like the classic look of the 215 70 15. The only V-rated tire I can find is Vredestein Sprint Classic at $351/tire on vulcantire.com. I don't think I'm ready to spend that much and will probably settle for the General ALTIMAX RT43 (T-SPEED RATED) on tire rack. Awesome ratings.

Worth a look.

 

Im sure you noticed that a bolt is missing.....LOL

 

I do indeed. The short story is that there was another owner between when my parents (the original owners) sold the car and when I bought it back from him 6 years later. The only thing he did with the car was park it out in the field to let the paint fade, let it rust a little more, replace the front tires with some crap ones to let it sit (presumably because the others went flat) and (apparently) break off a few wheel studs! My failed patch job on the ignition harness was still under the hood from where I had tried to fix it previously before the car was sold.

bhamilton, That's good to know that there's an option in the 215/70r15 size, I thought that I had to go with the wider Pirellis to get where I wanted to go with the speed rating. I looked at the generals on Tire Rack as well and was a little surprised with the ratings. I've put nothing but Goodyear tires on my cars to date and the comfortreds that I have on my sedan have lasted me for at least 60K now and are still going strong, so I'd be hard pressed to steer away from them unless it was for more performance. That's probably what I'll end up going with unless someone here has had experience with those Pirelli tires; I don't want to take a shot in the dark for $1,100 in tires if I don't have to!

 

I could be wrong but all the white letter tires I ever looked at are only white letter on one side so turn that side in, no one would know any different