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Re: Tire questions - Turbosteel vs. XAS

To: Awgertoo@aol.com
Subject: Re: Tire questions - Turbosteel vs. XAS
From: Andrew K <andyslistmail@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 08:36:00 -0700
Michael,

Thanks for the feedback! The question of whether a tire is "hard or  
soft" is an interesting one, and I assume refers to the ride quality  
and not the rubber quality of the tread.  But please correct me on  
this if I am wrong. Several people have told me that the Avons are  
hard tires, which makes me assume ride quality, because the rubber on  
the treads is really quite soft on the ones I bought this year for  
another classic car (185x16 tires, no XAS in that size). For that  
larger car (3200 lbs) I found the Michelin X was a lovely tire going  
straight, but a disaster in hard cornering, and the Avon Turbosteel  
worked much MUCH better in cornering.

But the XAS sounds like a great tire, and I want to give my Healey  
every advantage I can, while still staying with a Vintage style in as  
close a size to correct as possible. If anyone else wants to weigh in  
on either of these tires I would love to hear about it before I make  
a final decision.

Thanks -- Andrew

'63 BJ7


On Jan 25, 2006, at 2:08 PM, Awgertoo@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 1/25/2006 2:27:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
> andyslistmail@gmail.com writes:
> Can anyone shed some light on these two tires when used for spirited
> winding road driving? Grip? Breaks free progressively or all at once?
> Side-wall flex during cornering? Rain performance? Etc?
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Andy--
>
> When I could not find any Michelin 175 ZX's I was thinking about  
> the XAS in 165 because it had almost the same height but in the end  
> ran across a set of ZX's at Alan Hendrix' shop.
>
> The XAS was a very popular tire on high-performance sedans (BMw's,  
> etc) back in the 70's and 80's--I had them and definitely liked  
> them on a 535.  I have heard that they are considered to be a bit  
> on the hard side and they are certainly pricey but they do have an  
> agressive-looking tread pattern and I hope you'll keep the list  
> informed of what you find out and what is your ultimate decision  
> and experience.  Always nice to have alternatives....
>
> Best--Michael Oritt, 100 Le Mans




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