Michelin XZY 7.50 R16's
 

Having 5 Michelin XZY 7.50 by 16 tyres and chasing another for a second spare I ran into a few problems getting hold of any. The one place that could provide one quoted £185.

Sombody tipped me off that L.W Vass have a stock of them - and at only £75+vat for a new one, £55 + vat for slightly worn, they are a bargain, so thought I'd pass that info on.

http://www.vass.co.uk/

Bloomin good tyres as well! i'm "building" up a set on 1 ton rims at the moment, and the vehicles i've driven with them performed very well (side slope grip is awesome on them too.... i drove a 110 station wagon at the LR factory a few years back wiht them on)


Good info on Vass's though Witham-Sw also sell their tyres off, but i don't know how much they charge.

Try Anchor supplies.

£45.00 for lightly-worn or £200 for a set of five (on rims)!

The Anchor ones I looked at in both their shop and Billing stand were quite worn and some of the sidewalls were showing signs of ageing, as well as a few of the steel wheels looking rough. Inspect them before buying I would suggest.

If so that's cheeky, as they're described on the website as having 'excellent tread'. Caveat emptor, I suppose.

Think I'm going to bite the bullet and get a new set of BFG MT's.

I have had quite a few tyres off Vass and they have always been good and as described. the price is good and they'll fit them for you, or even give them to you on rims! the guys that do the tyres are pretty sound and know their stuff.

On the subject of XZY's 7.50 16's - what is the correct psi to run them at on a loaded landy, both on and off road? I have them quite hard at the moment, but think the front at least should be less than they are.

Does anybody know what Michelin suggest?

I'll try and check the military ones this week, they are written on the sides of the vehicles. 45 and 35 springs to mind but I'll try and find out for you.

Cheers - I think most tyres have different recommendations depending on the weight carried and terrain they travel on.

Core (non wolf) military 110's are 48psi rear and 28 psi front. Wolf's with the really good G90's ate 60psi rear!!!! i bet the give some good grip then.... :-)

personally I think the G90s are rubbish!! they slide around a lot and although they self clean well, don't offer a very reassuring grip.

I agree. i had a set on my 90, ran them for a few months and sold them on. total rubbish! they had pretty good side slope grip, but up in Wales off roading they were pants.

Officially the pressures are 28/48 psi. But in my experience in desert heat 48 psi is too high, particularly if you are using tubes. Better about 40/42 psi. Without a load you can run at 35psi in the UK for a smoother (!) ride.

Thanks Andrew,

Isn't there different official pressures for loaded/unloaded & on/off road?

Taken from one of my military handbooks:

"normal road pressures:

TUL (which is truck, Utility Light = 300Tdi wolf 90)
front 28psi (2bar) rear 42psi (3bar)

TUM (truck utility medium = 300Tdi 110 wolf)
front 32psi (2.2bar) rear 60psi (4.1bar)

battlefield ambulance (300tdi 130" big body!)
front 40psi (2.8bar) rear 65psi (4.6bar)!!!"

then:

"Emergency soft, emergency soft pressures should only be used in extreme conditions where extra floatation is required. max speed 25mph (40kph). return to road pressures ASAP"

unladen:
front 16psi (1.1 bar)
(don't know what rear should be, there is a misprint in my paperwork!)

laden:
front 16psi (1.1 bar)
rear 28psi (1.9 bar)

Cheers - does using tubes make a difference?

There is a big difference between 60psi that you state and Andrews 48psi!

I'm on a 110 with tubes on standard landy rims etc

Is that for the XZY though, as the ambies run G90s

Clarification - based on experience 80,000 miles XZY.

XZY's with tubes, 500 kg load, high temps 38 Deg +

Tarmac road / good or rough piste - FR28 RR42 (1.8 / 2.2 BAR)

Desert sand / general desert conditions (not generally soft) 1.5 / 1.8 BAR

Soft Sand 1.0 / 1.2 * Keep speed to 40 MPH max, avoid sharp turns.

Soft sand combined with dune ascents 0.8 / 1.0 BAR * MAX 40MPH, avoid sharp turns.

The XZY is a super rugged tyre, originally designed for building site use , I have never had a problem in 4 trips and daily UK use, but tubes (I use Michelin Airstop - the correct type for the tyre) are vulnerable to high temps generated by low pressures/friction combined with high ambients.

Military handbook pressures probably refer to temperate Europe.

Always check pressures in the heat of the day in the desert, the opposite of what you should do in the UK. The tyres heat up as they do in the UK but more so due to the higher ambients, heavy loads and the friction from sand, and what starts out as 1 BAR at dawn can be 1.4 BAR half an hour later.

XZY's are rugged but being skinny, not the best tyre for soft sand, particularly with a big load, so minimize weight. Wider BFG A/T's are definitely better in sand, but no so durable in the long term. I wish Michelin made a wider XZY, would probably be too heavy, even the 7.50's are very heavy tyres. When worn XZY's can be 'interesting' on wet roads, particularly if it hasn't rained for a while with a lot of rubbery/grease deposits on the road. You get used to them though.

Hope this helps,

Andrew.

you won't get the same elongated footprint with the BFG though, and thats what really matters. skinny is also a lot better in mud if you are going near any. it also puts less strain on your steering and bearings than big wide tyres that the vehicle wasn't designed for. 7.50s are also available more or less anywhere, or a close metric equivalent.

I would always also advocate 2 spares. I had 3 when I went to russia and ended up coming home with no useable spare (not michelins that time!) and in africa recently both me and my mate ripped a sidewall each, so we were glad of the security of an extra spare.

that time I used continental sand tyres from Vass (£40 each) which were excelent in the sand.
I am paying them a visit in a week or 2 to get XZYs as using them in the army has persuaded me that for variable use they are the best, and I have used BFG MT and AT michelin XCL and various others as well, both wide and slim.

Sorry.... all those pressures were for G90's (for the wolf 90/110 and 130)...

not sure how they compare to XCL/XZL's.... i've got the figures somewhere, i'll dig them out.

ok, straight from the side of a miltary 110! rears 48, fronts 28. the difference to allow for the fact presumably that military 110s are frequently heavilly loaded.

The G90 is basically a truck tyre, hence the higher pressures (esp with the weight of the ambie)

Presumably you may need 60 psi in an ambulance body or heavily loaded 110, preferably in a tubeless format. The sidewall of the XZY states that max load is 1.5 ton or something at 65 psi (per tyre). Personally I wouldn't want to use tubes at those pressures in high temps, your experience might be otherwise.

The latest version of the XZY is called an XZY* and can be run tubed or tubeless (say so on the sidewall). Apparently Vass has some of the older type, possibly ordinary XZY. Don't know what they've got for sure, I'm off to Bedford this saturday to see.

Andrew.

If anyone wants my old XZY's (4 @ 80,000 miles and 2 unevenly worn but deep treaded spares - neglected to rotate the tyres) they are available in Crowborough East Sussex in about 10 days with 5.5 rims and tubes - £5 each. May be useful as spares if nothing else.

Mine!
 

Hi Andrew,

I could take those off your hands .......

Cheers

Ollie

Hi Andrew

if Cornish Deity does not want, or whatever for any reason then let me know and I will take them

Cornish Deity: if you don't want/need all I will take whatever you don't want/need

Thanks

Chris

Nope - I'm up for them.
 

Hi There Andrew,

I tried replying to your mail, but it got bounced back with the domain eurobell.co.uk retired.

I'm up for them, and can pick them up one weekend.

Chris,

Might be a couple of spares, let me chat to Andrew and I'll post here.

Sorry, forgot my email was not updated which it now is.

Andrew.

Sent a PM
 

Hi Andrew - have sent you a PM as you have private emails turned off. My email address and phone nr are there so we can continue ..... :)

Went to Vass today and bought 5 brand new XZY's on tubeless rims (70 +VAT)which happear to be 130 HCPU rims unless I'm mistaken. Part number is ANR 1534. From my researches I did not know that 6.5 plain steel rims were available as tubeless. The only 6.5 rim I can find ANR 1534PM is a 1 ton tube type. Can anyone throw any light on 6.5 rims ???

Also apparently it has a band around the rim to stop punctured or low pressured tyres coming off the rim. Don't know if it works in the desert at 1 bar, or should it be binned - any ideas?

Andrew.

Found out that the tubeless rim (see previous reply) has a band inside to keep the tyre on called a ...tyron. Apparently it's a genuine LR part no RRC 100000. Anyone know anything about these? I'm told you can drive at low pressure with them...?

Andrew.

Andrew,

Re. Tyron, have a look at this: http://tinyurl.com/y8vp6p

run-flat? NOT!
 

Ok so the Tyron fills the well in the rim, stopping the bead falling into it on one side and coming off the rim in the other.
It's quite clear that the Tyron doesn't stop the bead from coming out of its seat which is the greatest concern for low pressure driving. It just stops the tyre from coming off the rim and hitting other traffic.
If you go far enough on a flat tyre to unseat a bead (puncture at motorway speeds for ex.), your tyre is pretty much dead anyway. The Tyron seems only to ensure that you don't have to go looking for your tyre on the side of the road.
Real run-flats have a loadbearing band higher than the rim edges, consequently, they're a bugger to install unless you've got a demountable rim like the Humvee.

IMHO the tyron doesn't have any advantages for low pressure driving.
happy trails
Luke

So the tyron band has no advantages in low pressure driving - but does it have any disadvantages for low pressure driving?. Should I consider binning the things or will they just sit there undeterred by low pressure and deforming tyres scraping over the sand.

Andrew.

tyres ? which way now ?
 

Ok I have a dil I am running an iveco 35-10 4x4 (ex RAF).
Currently equiped with the Michelin XZY 7.50 R16 tyres on 'split rim' style rims.
I have 2 tyres which need replacing now.
Planning trip to Mongolia (via Turkey) next year (yes was originally going this year but alas plans forced to change ! !)

I have following questions :

The XZY has apparently been replaced by the XPC (which i assume is as good) but is this preferable to the BF G 235/85 ? (i get conflicting info but people seem to be saying BFG better) ????

Are 'split rims' a pain in arse to change in the field ? should i look to replace the rims with more conventional ? (and if so then any ideas where from ? ) ????

Is it acceptable to replace just the 2 rear tyres? i.e. put couple of BFG's on rear and keep XZY's on front until they need replacing (approx 5 or 6000kms) (I am being told to replace all 4 now - but expensive !) ????

Also, lastly, I need advice on reasonable compressor to buy (and from ?) bearing in mind i will invariablly be deflating and reflating a great deal !!!! ????

Many thanks guys.

Phil.

I have a set of 5 XZYs and 110 rims sitting in my garage that I'd like shot of. 1 at 10mm tread remaining, 2 at 9mm and 2 at 4mm. I'm in Bristol so let me know if you're interested.


IME the "Truckair" is very slow and the T-max compressor we took with us bust its bigend (for want of a better way of putting it:biggrin: ) after pretty minimal use and was unrepairable. Thankfully it happened where we could borrow another compressor:eek3:

I had two truckairs in africa, both failed within a few days, always carry a manual pump just in case, we had 1 per vehicle (2) and managed to break both of those as well!!
a word on the XZ, according to the guy at vass the blocks can pull away from the tyre base, he reckons the XCL (XL) is better, although that is a more aggressive mud tyre. they supplied me with some michelin XS copy sand tyres by continental which were excellent and cost only £40 each, and that may include the rims if you need them.
landcruiser H60
landy 101 ambie/camper
morris minor 1000 traveller!
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Captain-Mog...3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm

billh - can you deliver ?
 

Hi BILLH

Thanks for offer of those wheels and tyres. Yes I would like them, But, alas no longer in UK, on the road and currently in Romania on way to Turkey.

I'm sure somebody wants them though. RoamingYak was originally looking for some.

phil.

btw - thanks for info on compressors too.

How much are you looking for, for the wheels?

Michelin XZY
 

My Defender 90 has been running on Michelin LTX 245/75R16 tires, on and offroad with no problems for the last 6 or 7 years, +/- 60000kms.
Off road driving is mainly desert stuff, sand and rocks. The car is well loaded though.
I need to change my tires, and was advised to look for the Michelin XZY, which are very difficult to find, specially in Egypt! Having had a good experience with the mounted tires, I could go for the same, although I would like to upgrade to see if there is a difference.
Advice anybody?

A bit more info on those wheels/tyres from Vass - I had a set about four years ago, think I paid £25 quid per wheel/tyre then!

I was told they were taken from the Northern Ireland armoured land rovers, before they were adapted with G90's, painted sand and shipped out to Iraq.
They had the run flat bands to stop the tyres falling off the rim if they got shot out so they could keep going - and presumably to stop the tyre disappearing down the road if someone turned too tightly with all that armour on.
They are long wheel base rims - again used because of the weight of the trucks.
Great tyres, last f o o o o r e v v v v e r !!! on those rims though they are bloody heavy.
Tyres aren't very good in mud, don't think I drove them in sand but I've heard very good reports about them, particularly how resistant to punctures they are.

Always ran mine 30 front/40 back and adapted a bit if I was carrying weight.


EDIT - Bloody hell - just noticed how old this thread is - I was thinking it was a bit odd that Vass were still flogging those tyres!

VASS still selling
 

I spoke with VASS about a month ago and they are still selling. The price was the same, but delivery had gone up 20 quid from when this thread started. Don't buy the last 6 though, they're mine .