Michelspin

[365 GT 2+2]

Note to self: Go easy on the Queen's accelerator in driving rain storms while commuting (with carpool people in the back seats). The Michellins don't exactly grab the road - they sort of spin around corners...Tom - you warned me. What are the options? Pirelli P4000?

[tyang]

ANY modern touring tire has got to have better wet weather traction than the 40 year old tire design of XWXs!

Can other Queen owners confirm, 215-70-15s are the size?

Tom

[8339]

From the information I have the original tire size was a 205/70 15. 215s will fit without any problem. I am fitting a set 205s Vredesteins to a Quenn mom but only for show purposes. I will tell one of my customers has an early 308 GTB and runs track event with the Vredesteins with good results.

Richard Garre
Radcliffe Motorcar Co.

[250GT]

Hello Michaelspin, you re problem are NOT the tires: two grown up and a fueltank full.
Brings your car out of balance to much waight on the back. Your car is not alight foot
I drive an 250gt with 145 liter of fuel in the back
And can not drive nicely without lim. slipp. diff.
especially in rain and snow the back fades away when accelarating in a curve( which make fun)
I am not known with your car a 365 2+2.
Did they have this not as a standard equipment?( slipp diff)

ciao
Cornelis

[mdempsey]

I'll go with the tires. The modern P4000 tires made my car drive like a different beast. Note that it will be harder and harder to find the P4000's as time goes by. Try a big on line place like teh tirerack.

[365 GT 2+2]

I think the theory re: weight distribution is a fair one and I am sure that has something to do with it. But it's not necessarily only when there are passengers in the rear seats. I think it's probably a combination of a few things, including weight, shocks, suspension, etc. as there are probably a few things I need to address outside of the tires - not to mention my driving. I am thinking along the lines of Dempsey (and he would know since he too drives his car often and for long distances). It's just that those P4000's don't look quite right to my eye. But it's a matter of balancing performance and safety over a look I suppose.

P.S. I keep setting off car alarms in the garage I park in every morning when I rumble by...

[TOMKIZER]

I can't justify the cost of two sets of tires and rims, one for "show" and one for "go". I did something stupid last summer when I drove 2400 km round trip to Toronto on a set of beautiful, low mileage, but 23 year-old Michelin XWXs. I did at least keep it at or below the speed limit. The rubber is so old and hard that the car is squirrelly as hell in curves. It's in storage now but in when it comes out, I'm going to install Vredestein Sprint Classic 205/70VR15 tires. They're of the correct "look", good for high speed and according to Tom Yang's comments after his drive of 250 GTE #3553 in Florida:

"It was my first time driving Gary's GTE, and she felt great. The engine started right up and settled into a nice idle. The Vredestein tires felt great on this car, and had great road manners. They gave the car the right stance, filled in the wheel wells nicely, and really complimented the GTE's handling characteristics."

With their reasonable price of about $200 U.S. each, that's good enough for me.

Tom Kizer