Tires

[jaguar&mg]

I am about to buy new tyres in the UK. 4 x 185VR16 ... but what make?

[Glyn Ruck]

16" ? You can't go far wrong with Michelin. XVS or XVS-P

[jaguar&mg]

Thanks Glyn. Am I mistaken going for 16” ? It’s what I thought worked best with the spoked wheels.....

[Glyn Ruck]

The S Type uses 15 inch wheels. Only the very old XK's used 16"

[Orlando St.R]

I have the Dunlop SP Sport Aquajet at the moment. Excellent on the rare occasions I have been caught in the rain. Sidewalls are a little soft.

Pirelli Cinturatos are also good.

But, for some reason, Michelin XVS-P are cheaper than both of these at Longstone Tyres and Vintage Tyres at the moment, so I would probably go for those if I were buying now.

I would steer clear of the various van tyres on the market in this size.

[Glyn Ruck]

I think the 185 VR 15 Dunlop SP Sport Aquajet looks particularly good on these cars as it harks back to the SP41 & legendary SP73.

[Orlando St.R]

I think the 185 VR 15 Dunlop SP Sport Aquajet looks particularly good on these cars as it harks back to the SP41 & legendary SP73.

+1 to that!

[Glyn Ruck]

What Longstone & many UK scribes seem to refer to as the Dunlop SP Sport was Manufactured in South Africa & other locations as the Dunlop SP73. Dunlop, that opened their first SA Plant in 1935 made a big song & dance that the tyres had been specifically designed for the XJ6.

From day one Series 1 XJ6's produced in SA came fitted with the Dunlop SP73. These 205/70's looked huge by tyre standards at the time & I even ran them on the back of my Berry Mini T beach buggy. Slightly deflated they were great on sand. Of course they gave the XJ6 prodigious grip in all conditions.

Funnily enough the only period ad I can find features a Porsche.

19f40527db869404328ffff703a388dd.jpg (103.32 KiB) Viewed 2979 times

dunlopaquajeter7020570r15_1_1.png (958.23 KiB) Viewed 2979 times

[Orlando St.R]

Nice post, Glyn. It probably goes without saying that UK-manufactured XJ6 and E-type Series Three were also fitted with the SP Sport 205/70.

Of course, if you wanted to be absolutely period correct for our cars, the only tyre still being manufactured in the correct size that was available in 1965 is the Pirelli.

I remember when my dad acquired my car in 1970 at 13,000 miles, it was fitted with Michelin X, no longer made in 185VR15. (Amazingly perceptive of the 10-year-old me)! It seems highly unlikely the Michelins were fitted at the factory, so I guess they must have been replacements. Which says that the first set of tyres didn't last long if they were replaced by 13k!

I also found these SP Sport Aquajet adverts:

sp sport ad stag.jpg (269.14 KiB) Viewed 2971 times

sp sport ad jensen.jpg (217.79 KiB) Viewed 2971 times

sp sport e type.jpg (209.81 KiB) Viewed 2971 times

[Glyn Ruck]

Yes great! ~ I was specifically looking for ads that called them SP73's as I believed my memory could not be that bad having fitted them to a number of vehicles & our next door neighbour at the time had an early Series 1 XJ6.

I would love to know the history behind the differing nomenclature on different markets.