Tire Question

[Arch8]

Hello;

I hope you guys can help and give me some good advice. I have just gotten my first project vehicle, an original 1968 M-715 with winch. It has just a tick under 17K miles and the tires are stamped 6-67. They just don't get much more original than that I suppose.

On e-bay there is a guy who is REALLY trying to sell some tires that I'm considering. They're XLs with 95% tread. My first question, what is the comfort zone as far as the age of the tire goes? Passenger tires shouldn't be shelved for more than four years (or so I've been told) and the XLs were made some time in the 90s. I know that tractor tires can take a beating and four years is pretty much a fart in the wind.

Thank you in advance for any information that you can provide.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...null&viewitem=

[Binford]

I hear a lot of that too. While I would suspect your 1967 tires might be ready to be replaced, I am not buying into this expiration date concept for tires. I think it has more to do with the tire manufacturers wanting to sell more tires than anything else. (Though safety probably plays a role too--some minivan running around 4 years with under-inflated tires will have damaged/weakened tires.) When I recently had the 14-year-old tires pulled off my CJ-5 rims, I was going to have the tire shop guy pitch them. But then asked if I should, being that they're so old. He confirmed what I'd long suspected. He said they look fine. No obvious signs of damage and none that I knew of, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with them. So I kept them to give to a friend of mine.

As for the XLs, I think they're a very good tire. One of our members here hates them. Another had one pretty much fall apart on him out in the hot desert running it with about 0psi, which made the other member hate them even more!

But the general consensus here seems to be that the Michelin XLs, if lacking any obvious cracking or other defects, is a perfectly fine tire and fits very, very well on our stock split rims and on our M715s.

You won't want the run-flats. They add about 60 lbs to each tire. If the seller will pull them out for you, I'd have him do so! I'd pay him up to what shipping for 240 lbs would cost! It'd be worth it because they're a PITA to deal with, requiring an engine hoist and some chain.

You won't need the wheels either--just more weight. He doesn't say they come with, but I'd ask that he remove those too.

Lastly, $650 is a very good price. That's about what I paid (run-flats removed).

Hope that helps!

Welcome to the Zone, Arch8!

[Barrman]

I will second everything written above. I have a set of XZL tires on my M715 and they are great. I got mine used in 2006. The 5th tire sat in my horse barn for the last two years. I finally got around to putting a tube in it and mounting it on a rim. It works just as good as the other four. Drove almost 200 miles today on it at 54 mph most of the way.

[randyscycle]

I think that military tires are fine as long as stated above, they aren't cracked, bulged,or show any other signs of odd wear. I wouldn't take a chance on something I planned on driving at 70 on the freeway for hours on end however, but at lower speeds and less use than say a passenger car, I wouldn't have a problem. I have seen older tires separate and come apart under hard use if they were very old, even when they appeared OK.

The main reason for not using old tires in my experience is that the rubber tends to harden over time and become less tractive. This is especially so in motorcycle tires and we won't sell or install anything over 2 years old period. They lose their ability to "stick" to the road. Of course, this is more critical on two rather than four wheels, but just the same it is an issue.

[Arch8]

My gut feeling was the same as what you guys are telling me but it's nice to hear it from someone else other than the voices in my head. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

The only other thing that I can think to ask at this point is that you guys truck lots of parts. Any favorites (ie, cheap)?

[Binford]

The only other thing that I can think to ask at this point is that you guys truck lots of parts. Any favorites (ie, cheap)?

We "truck lots of parts?" Not sure I understand what you're saying....

[Pineyguy]

Before you buy those tires, check the classifieds- Broncoholic is selling the same tires. I'm buying a set of 5. I'd bet you'll get a better deael from him, especially if you take the tire/rim/run-flat. He's a nice guy to deal with, he's out at work though, so you might not get a hold of him by pm until the end of the month.

[Binford]

Pineyguy, do you know if Broncoholic's pending deal went through? Last I'd heard he only had 2 tires left, so I didn't refer Arch8 to that thread. It'd be great if there were still a set of tires left, Arch8 being so much closer. That doesn't seem to happen very often for those poor guys out in Florida!

[Pineyguy]

Well, when I talked to him on the phone before he left, he said that he had alot of interest, but no money from anyone but me and another guy from the board. I think money talks and if you're ready to pay, he'll sell. If Arch8 is in a rush, maybe ebay's the way to go, but I think for the money, it'd be worth trying to talk to broncoholic- he gave me a good deal. If I talk talk to him I'll ask him if he has more sets left.

[Pineyguy]

From broncoholic:

"Tell your friend I have 5 sets with 3 sets supposedly sold when I get home but nobody has been kind enough to put a deposit like you did. I would be glad to sell to him. I think I can sell two sets of 5 and the rest will have to be sets of 4."