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What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

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60TR3A

60TR3A

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What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

I have 195/SR65/15 Sumitomo tires on my 15" X 5.5" wheels and I am considering buying a set of used Michelin XZX tires as they were what I lusted after back in the '60s when I owned by first TR3A. They are listed as size "165X15". Are they wide enough to fit a 5.5"-width wheel? I really don't understand 165 versus 195, 205, etc., so if any of you readers can explain it to me, I'd be much obliged.

Thanks,

Jeff
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

You can run 165's on 5.5" rims - at least I do and have no problem at all. I think you need to be careful though and check the manufacture date on those XZX's though - if its 5 years more, be very careful - 10 years or more, forget about it!
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

TR4nut said:
You can run 165's on 5.5" rims - at least I do and have no problem at all. I think you need to be careful though and check the manufacture date on those XZX's though - if its 5 years more, be very careful - 10 years or more, forget about it!
Click to expand...

Uh oh. They are listed as "Set of 4 Michelin XZX 165-15 Vintage Tires in Good Cond" but no mention of date of mfr. A close examination of the photos show what appear to be healthy-looking tires w/o telltale signs of drying or age, but who knows? The seller states, "If you want period correct tires on a budget these are for you, I wouldn't go cross country on them, but they'll get you to the show and back, and most importantly, look correct in doing so."

From the sound of it, they are more than 10 years old, but unless I am mistaken, the rubber on my car at present is older than 10 years, too.

I'm the high bidder at the moment and the auction ends in 3 hours or so. I'm at $75 + $75 for freight. So it's not going to break the bank but if the tires are unsafe to ride on...
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

I believe the last of the 165/15 XZXs were made around late 2000 (other than the Coker remakes).
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

I wish I had a photo of what the old tire did to my Stag, but all I have is this:

shreddedtire.jpg


On the Stag, the steel belts came loose and started acting like a giant flap wheel. They not only flayed the paint off the fender, but ate away part of the fender itself! And all in the time it took me to pull over to the side of the freeway.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

When I was a kid with my first car, a '60 TR3A, I had Michelin X tires that had gotten bald and rather than give them up I had them recapped, something one did back in the day when one didn't have much money and couldn't afford to buy new radials (they were radically new back in 1964 and the thought of buying bias-ply tires was abhorrent to me and I preferred to have recaps than to buy new bias-ply tires). I was driving up the causeway to Miami Beach to my job at about 55 MPH when the right rear tire blew and steel cables wrapped around the fender support and sucked the fender right in. I was able to pull over and untangle the mess and change the tire but I know first-hand what bad tires can do!

A friend had a beautifully-restored big Healey about 15 years ago and was doing about 60 when one of his tires blew and he thinks the car flipped completely head over heals but landed right side up. He was so shaken that he immediately sold the car.

So, after giving this all due consideration, if my bid is the winner I'll just pay the $75 I've bid and tell them to keep the tires and resell them to someone else and save the extra $75 in freight (unless I can get the to let me out of the deal w/o getting negative feedback), but I'm not buying any used tires!

TANSTAAFL and if it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn't, so $150 for a set of nice-looking XZX's might be fine for a trailer queen but not for a DD.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

Phew! I got outbid at the very end by some other fool. I'm buying some new tires, period. I should pay more attention to my own signature.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

61TR3A said:
Phew! I got outbid at the very end by some other fool. I'm buying some new tires, period. I should pay more attention to my own signature.
Click to expand...

Secret to a long and healthy life: always spend more than you can afford on tires, brakes, and your wife's birthday.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

Glad you 'lost'. I took off a set of 2001 XZXs in 2010 that looked about like those (which were June 1997 BTW). I put them out for our semi-annual heavy trash pickup (they allow up to 5 tires 2X per year) but someone cruising the neighborhood ended up with them.

I wouldn't have had the nerve (or lack of conscience) to sell them on eBay.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

165 SR15, isn't that a VW Bug tire?
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

kellysguy said:
165 SR15, isn't that a VW Bug tire?
Click to expand...
It might be but it was also the OEM size tire that came on TR3As.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

kellysguy said:
165 SR15, isn't that a VW Bug tire?
Click to expand...

Ironic isn't it... that the tire size for the most popular car of the 20th century is no longer available from most manufacturers?
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

Geo Hahn said:
Ironic isn't it... that the tire size for the most popular car of the 20th century is no longer available from most manufacturers?
Click to expand...
Yeah. Normally you wouldn't expect that to happen until the next century. Oh wait ...
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

Geo Hahn said:
I believe the last of the 165/15 XZXs were made around late 2000 (other than the Coker remakes).
Click to expand...

There is a vendor on eBay offering new 165/15 XZX Michelins made in France, but I wonder if they are old stock or Coker remakes? Hmm. Maybe I should tread lightly if that's the case. I've searched and he is the only one offering that size and there are a few other vendors offering smaller sizes so it could very well be old "new" stock and maybe I should steer clear of them, as well. After all, if 10 year old tires are unsafe, wouldn't 10 year old new tires also be unsafe?
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

Geo Hahn said:
I believe the last of the 165/15 XZXs were made around late 2000 (other than the Coker remakes).
Click to expand...
I just posed the question to the eBay vendor who is offering these "new" tires but no matter what he answers, I doubt it'll be the truth (unless he admits that they are old "new" stock). Even brand new tires that have been sitting in a warehouse for 11+ years have got to have dried out by now and certainly aren't worth $189 a copy (plus freight). The Vredesteins are starting to look better and better...

Besides the Vredestein 185/15, are there any others in the 185 or 195 profile that look like period correct tires the way the XZXs and Vredesteins look that you can recommend? I'm planning on mounting them on 15"X5" 72-spoke chrome Dayton wire wheels with knock-off spinners and don't want low-profile, modern-looking tires. There are plenty of those available for half the money of the Vredesteins and a third of the old/new XZXs, but they won't look right on wires, IMO. Suggestions?
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

The vendor calls these "factory fresh" in his eBay listing and talks about a "5-year tire damage warranty" but whose warranty? His or Michelin's? I smell a rat because WTF is a "tire damage warranty"? I'll post his reply to my questions to him when he responds but in case anyone's interested, here is the eBay listing:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/165SR15-M...=item43a564912b

Unless he's very persuasive, I've pretty much made up my mind not to waste my money on these iffy Michelins. Only if I see an actual Michelin warranty would I consider buying them.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

France (and the rest of Europe) still has a lot of cars on the road that take 165-15, so the story is at least plausible.
 
Re: What Size Tire is Ideal for a 15" X 5.5" Wheel?

Well, if truly interested and there is any doubt, he could show you a pic of the date code on the sidewall (or is that only found on tires destined for the American market?).
 
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