Hello I am in the midst of getting my dream car delivered and I know I need new tires. My questions are for every day driving and great handling in dry weather

what tire sizes and brands are recommended?

Has anyone tried a 16 inch rim with low profile tire?

What tire size originally came with this car

73 XKE Roadster

Submitted by NE52-32043 on Mon, 11/29/2004 - 16:52

Actually, from a reliability point of view, the solid rims are better. The wire wheels were on option, I believe, on the Ser. III cars, at least the 2+2's (usually see the wires more on the OTS, not the 2+2). Wire wheels tend to flex more in hard cornering, and are prone to leaks. Also, older wires require tubes, while the steel wheels do not.

To me, the big difference is visual. The wires really look great on all of the E-types (though I prefer the rim laced wheels over the center laced ones shown above. My personal opinion). Unfortunately, to change from your steel wheels to wires and knock-off's you need to change the hubs on all four wheels. Some companies do make "bolt-on" wire wheels, but they do not look as good as the knock-off wheels, IMHO.

Steve Weinstein
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS

Submitted by schaeffler@mac.com on Fri, 11/26/2004 - 16:09

Hello Bryan

I'm using on my E-Type (1967, 2+2, wir wheels) the following tires:

Pirelli P-4000 -> 205/70 R15 with tubes (because they are wire wheels)

In my opinion, the Pirelli P-4000 has the best touring comfort and the have a mittle to longer life.

----------------------
see you on the road again

Daniel

Submitted by NE52-32043 on Wed, 11/24/2004 - 13:30

First, there are no dumb questions. So feel free to ask away. That's what we're here for.

As for tires, does you car have the solid steel rims or the wire wheels? The steel rims were tubeless. I believe that the wires that Jaguar used as original were tube type. That might make a difference in what you do. A very worthwhile upgrade is to go with the tubeless wire wheels, like the ones from Dayton (NAYYY). I put them on my '70 FHC and they are great.

I had a '72 XKE 2+2 for a number of years, and I really liked the Pirelli P4000, 205/70ZR15 tires, on the original steel rims. I also have those on my '70 FHC, and will probably put them on my '69 OTS. They are a very affordable tire, give a good ride quality, and held up well for me. I also had a set of Yokohama AVID AVS tires, 225/60ZR15's that I used on the '72 for track and autocross. They were okay for that purpose, but I much preferred the Pirellis for regular street driving.

You can certainly go to a 16" rim on these cars. Just watch out for the tire size combinations to avoid making contact with the wheel wells. And be sure that if you go low profile, the overall diameter does not reduce your ground clearance too much. Note however, that if you intend to slalom the car and you put 16" rims on, you will put yourself into Street Prepared class. All Series 3 E-types had 15" rims.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS