73tiiDavidPA Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Tyres... yes with the "y" because they came from Longstone in the UK. Amazed at how quickly they arrived. I ordered them last Sunday evening, they processed the order on Monday, and they arrived in SC) today, on Saturday. All for about $125 less then Coker (who didn't have them in stock anyway). 165HR 13 Michelin XAS FF 5 tyres, complete with tubes. Can't wait to get them mounted. For some reason the wife didn't get that excited, I guess she likes the Amazon Prime deliveries better... (lol) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray_ Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Well I think that's cool. Tubes required, eh? Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulTWinterton Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 I wondered who'd be the first to ask about tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalOwner Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 The XAS were standard issue on my '74tii and (as best I recall) tubes were required. Cheers, Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray_ Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 5 minutes ago, PaulTWinterton said: I wondered who'd be the first to ask about tubes. What did I win? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lengrep Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Longstone has great service. Free shipping, too! Better than Coker. The tires are actually marked “tubeless” on the sidewalls. And work just fine without tubes. You will LOVE the handling. Just watch your tire pressure and make sure the alignment is done or the rubber will melt off those pricey shoes. Sadly, no longer manufactured in France. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Self Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 When '02s were new, XAS's were the tire to have performance-wise--they were even good in the snow. The ones that came on my '69 were tube type, but by the time I went to replace 'em, they were tubeless. Used 'em for many years until 185/70 x13 tires became common, so switched to those wider, "low profile" 70 series tires. After the XAS's, the next hot tire for an '02 was a Phoenix Stahlflex--anyone remember them? mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simeon Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 I always thought that the need for a tube came with the wheel and not the tyre. Basically because the wheel wouldn't be air tight. Would be happy to be schooled on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conserv Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 (edited) 11 hours ago, Lengrep said: .....The tires are actually marked “tubeless” on the sidewalls. And work just fine without tubes.... Sadly, no longer manufactured in France.... Wow! Two interesting pieces of information! Perhaps they are somehow related? ? Up until as recently as two years ago, XAS were still manufactured in France, and only the tube type version had been available since some time in the 1980's, when production of the XAS shifted from (a.) the standard Michelin production lines, to (b.) Michelin's specialty vintage group, now called Michelin Classic. Frankly, the tube type thing was easily the worst part of modern XAS's, as tire stores seem to view installing tubes as a lost art. The loss of the French pedigree is a bit sad after 50+ years of French production, but I'm thrilled to see the return of the tubeless XAS. (I would never bother to install a tube in a tire marked "tubeless" unless it had a non-repairable leak!) The XAS was introduced in 1965, only in a tube type version. And new '02's appear to have consistently arrived with tube type versions. But, at least beginning in the mid-to-late 1970's, you could also, in the aftermarket, purchase a tubeless version, which I generally preferred even then! Viva La XAS! Regards, Steve Edited October 22, 2017 by Conserv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conserv Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, Simeon said: I always thought that the need for a tube came with the wheel and not the tyre. Basically because the wheel wouldn't be air tight. Would be happy to be schooled on this. Simeon, I can't school you on this, but various tires, such as the XAS, came in both tube and tubeless versions, so the rim wasn't at play in those instances. Separately, countries more concerned about automotive integrity and safety than the U.S. -- I'm thinking Germany, for instance, and its TUV inspections -- had standards that mandated tubes when the design of the rims was deemed inadequate from a safety perspective. My best period example is the H2 (a.k.a., double hump) rating that many '02 rims have, but some, such as CMR steelies (Alpina steelies and Borrani steelies before ca. 1979) lack. These two "humps," one near the outer lip and another near the inner lip, helped prevent a tire from "breaking its bead" under hard cornering or other severe circumstances. Thus, the TUV mandated a tube for rims without double humps -- besides "no hump" rims, some rims had a single hump ("H" without the "2"). Wire rims, of course, are the major example of rims that couldn't reliably hold air. Best regards, Steve Edited October 22, 2017 by Conserv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conserv Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 10 hours ago, mike said: When '02s were new, XAS's were the tire to have performance-wise--they were even good in the snow. The ones that came on my '69 were tube type, but by the time I went to replace 'em, they were tubeless. Used 'em for many years until 185/70 x13 tires became common, so switched to those wider, "low profile" 70 series tires. After the XAS's, the next hot tire for an '02 was a Phoenix Stahlflex--anyone remember them? mike I certainly remember the (German) Phoenix tires, Mike, although I more commonly saw them on Mercedes than on BMW's. Best regards, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73tiiDavidPA Posted October 22, 2017 Author Share Posted October 22, 2017 11 hours ago, Lengrep said: The tires are actually marked “tubeless” on the sidewalls. And work just fine without tubes. You will LOVE the handling. Just watch your tire pressure and make sure the alignment is done or the rubber will melt off those pricey shoes. Sadly, no longer manufactured in France. Definitely Tube Type, and definitely made in France. I did ask the nice folks at Longstone, and they replied these were in fact tube tires. Appears if I'm reading this correctly, they were made in July 2017 - the 0717 marking in the 6th photo. Previous to purchasing these from Longstone, I did inquire with Coker who said they were out of stock. I also checked with a Coker distributor in SC, who quoted something outrageous. The SC tire guy did say he'd mount them if I got them, and that he has a grey hair grizzled old tire guy who knows how to do it. I don't want to take them to a shop with some young whipper snapper who looks at a set of tires with tubes like its a furniture set from Ikea and is looking for the instructions... (read humor). I'm also a little leery in that they will be mounted on a set of original alloys that came with my car. Boy I wish that BMW never re-manufactured these rims. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimk Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 11 hours ago, mike said: the next hot tire for an '02 was a Phoenix Stahlflex--anyone remember them? Had a set on Rial rims. Always 55mph shimmied. Bought as a tire/wheel set from Tire Rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmac Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 You will love those XAS', that FF (Formula France) compound is super (super) soft....not DD material. Very sticky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Self Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, Conserv said: I always thought that the need for a tube came with the wheel and not the tyre. Basically because the wheel wouldn't be air tight. Would be happy to be schooled on this. Tube type tires are really necessary on wire wheels, as they simply do not hold air--not with all those spokes poking through the rim. And to keep the spokes from poking holes in the tube, wire wheels have essentially a big rubber band that fits into the rim on the inside, covering the spoke ends. In addition to wire wheels, certain early cast wheels (especially "real" magnesium wheels) were kinda porous, and would allow air to leak out over a period of several weeks, so most folks used tubes in 'em. And finally, vintage cars from the 20s and 30s that have wood-spoked wheels also require both tubes and those inner bands used on wire wheels, for the same two reasons. Wheel & tire history for today... mike PS--even back in the 70s, some of the Michelin XAS tires I bought were made in Northern Ireland Edited October 22, 2017 by mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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