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| photo source; bethanyhillplace.org |
Basic vehicle registration fees have risen over the last few years to 137.00, and by happy coincidence, many of my cars become due as the year draws to a close.
I have written about my Smog Test drama that I went through last year with my two Jags. Now I've got this year off, all I have to do is pay the fees (!) and I'm good. In fact, I once again visited the Smog Hut to have the 2007 Mustang smogged. No drama this time.
It was the only vehicle that needed a smog test this year. The fees were already paid to avoid being tardy but getting a hold of the car from my Daughter so I can take it to the shop takes a bit of planning. As anyone with adult kids knows, they have a busy life of their own and trying to coordinate a plan of action takes a bit of doing.
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The wheels on the Jag go round and round...
Now that the XJS is running again, I have to replace those old worn tires.
The suspension of the car is better than it was, but I'll have to keep a close eye on the wear patterns to avoid having the tire worn excessively on the inner edge. I'll even see if I can have an alignment performed.
I remember "back in the Day" when 15 inch wheels were the top of the line. Most American intermediate models and even some full size cars used 14 inch wheels. Thirteen inch rolling gear was found under "compacts" like the Dodge Dart and Ford Falcon. I once owned a '66 Mustang that ran five lug 13 inch wheels.
Fast forward to Today and the 15 inch wheel is now seen as a quaint hold over from the past. There are replacement tires available in corresponding sizes of course, but there are not many "popularly priced" performance type tires available. The XJS was originally equipped with high performance tires commensurate with it's very high performance capabilities.
Of course it's highly unlikely that I will ever drive my XJS anywhere near it's potential top speed of over 150 mph.
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| 235/60/R15 Found on many an old Chevelle or GTO. |
Even a casual survey of the market looking for replacements for American muscle cars reveals that many lower priced RWL (raised white letter) tires only carry an S speed rating, which is the lowest rating. Luckily the Internet makes it easy to search through the different tire manufacturers' offerings and find something that should work.
There are suitable high performance tires available from Michelin and Pirelli. They are the actual specified replacements for the OEM tire using the factory wheels. Very pricey. Of course I'm not the only one with this problem.
I'd like to welcome Rhett, the producer of the blog "My Jaguar Experience" back to the active Internet community. His latest post concerned his search for replacement rubber for his XJS.
High Cost.
Rhett related that the replacement Michelin XWX tires cost around 400 dollars a piece. If I recall correctly, these tires were used on the Mercedes 6.9 SEL sedan also, a real autobahn burner.
Rhett ended up choosing the Pirelli replacement tire. It was a bit less in price, but he didn't share exactly what the cost was. But I'm sure that it was pretty substantial.
I congratulate Rhett on his choice. Equipping your car with the appropriate tires maintains the authenticity. It also is a dramatic statement that you are serious and committed about maintaining your vehicle properly.
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| The elusive Ohtsu 225/60/R15 |
The Ohtsu FP7000 tire has been discussed on the Jaguar forums as a low cost, readily available replacement tire. It is "H" speed rated up 130 mph. which is more than adequate in my view. The tires retail for around 75.00 which seems reasonable. I did a lot of research on the web and read a lot of user reviews. I've found that tire reviews are often all over the place. Some love them and claim they are the best tires around. Many, fewer fortunately, berate them as pieces of junk. It makes it difficult to make an informed decision. The biggest indicator in my eyes is that there is no mileage guarantee at all. This doesn't instantly disqualify it as an unsuitable candidate. It just means that extended life was traded off for other priorities. But with so many contrasting reviews, how could I know how good it might be?
Luckily, in this case there was an extended review posted on the Jaguar forums entitled, "A budget tire journal." The poster concluded that the tires were adequate over a wide range of circumstances and conditions. The poster did admit however that he later replaced them with a more expensive set. I would hate to show up at some snooty "cars and coffee" event with el cheapo tires adorning my machine. The horror!
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| 225/60/R15 Cooper CS5 Ulta Touring tire. |
The salesperson at my local tire store, Wheel Works, advised me that the Ohtsu tires would have to be special ordered. I asked him about the General Altimax and he remarked that I had done my research. He then asked me if I had considered the Cooper Ultra Touring. He then advised me that there was a sale coming up this weekend and he could get me a good deal. I had done some internet research on both tires. Again, the results were inconclusive.
At Pep Boys even with the Ohtsu marked down from 74.99 to 67.49, by the time all the taxes, disposal fees, road hazard, balancing, and valve stems were added up, the total cost would be 479.15. Wheel Works total price added up to 483.00. For an "H" rated tire that carries a 70,000 mile warranty. I have dealt with this tire store for over twenty years with good results so I decided to go with the Coopers.
I chose to remove the wheels myself and bring them to the dealer loose. I don't want to leave my car at a very crowded and busy installer with very few available parking spaces. That would mean that the techs would have to jockey my car around several times to accommodate the other patrons. I don't want my XJS to be started, stopped, and run for such short intervals.
I jacked the car up in the garage and squeezed myself around to the right side and removed those wheels. Things were going good until I tried to remove the left rear which decide that it didn't want to part company with the hub. I previously had to do do a little wrestling to remove the right rear.
These wheels are hub concentric which means that they fit snugly onto a round protrusion on the hub that centers the wheel. The hub is steel while the wheel is aluminium and the corrosion that has built up over time has "welded" the wheel to the hub. It's a good bet that the wheels hadn't been removed for ten years or so.
I sprayed some Kroil into the lug openings and behind the wheel, and let it set overnight. This morning I broke out my dead blow hammer and a length of 2 x 4. I crawled around under the car until I could reach the back of the wheel and carefully placed the end of the 2 x 4 against the inside of the wheel. I repeatedly struck the end of the wood. I rotated the tire to distribute the encouragement around the circumference of the hub. After a few strikes I noted the the wheel was beginning to slowly move off the hub. Success! I'll clean off the mating surfaces with a wire brush and spread some grease on the joint before I remount the wheels.
The rear tire's tread looks almost new, but checking the build codes reveals that the newest one is already ten years old. The tires always made a lot of screeching sounds going around turns, even when I increased the air pressure. We'll see if the new tires eliminate that.
I considered buying just a couple of used tires to keep costs down. However I think it's time to put some real effort in getting the XJS squared away and suitable for daily use. I need to have a clean slate to evaluate the car's behavior.
Five hundred dollars is not pocket change but it only works out to 125.00 a tire, not too bad. I remember twenty five years back when I had my Seville STS, a set of tires would run close to a grand!
Am I embarrassed that I'm putting cheap tires on my XJS? I'm the same guy that has admitting putting used tires on my XJ6, so the answer is no!
My goal is to improve the car as best I can, I've got to work within the boundaries of my available resources.
Sometime in the future I hope to be able to upgrade to a larger diameter wheel from a later model XJS or XJ6. Until then I'll just have to work with what I have.
Nothing new about that.
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