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Michelin Collections UK Distributors For Classic & Vintage Tyres Jaguar XK Tyres
Jaguar XK on Borrani Wheels and 185 VR 16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 Tyres
Classic Jaguar XK 1948–1961
- The best crossply XK120, XK140 and XK150 tyres is the 6.00-16 PIRELLI STELLA BIANCA.
- Longstone Tyres' recommendation for the best road tyre for the Jaguar XK120, XK140 and XK150 is the 185 VR 16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67.
- The 185 VR 16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 is a 1952 period radial tyre that makes these cars better suited to modern roads while maintaining the correct diameter and not making the steering too heavy.
- The 185 SR 16 Michelin X is also an excellent 1949 tyre for a steady XK driver with only an S speed rating.
- The original equipment crossply tyre for all Jaguar XK120 until 1954, was a Dunlop Fort B5 in the 600 - 16 size, which is no longer in production.
- The 1951 XK120 SE tyres were the Dunlop B5 and the factory racing versions of XK120 in period fitted Dunlop Racing R1.
This short film about XK Jaguar tyres was made before the reintroduction of the 6.00-16 PIRELLI STELLA BIANCA tyre.
- The Pirelli Stella Bianca is the only tyre available that was an option throughout the production of the XK120, Michelin X 1949, Pirelli Cinturato 1952.
- The OE jaguar XK140 tyres were also the Dunlop B5 which were also the original XK140 SE tyres through till 1957.
- The only period tyres currently manufactured for the 1954 XK140 are the PIRELLI STELLA BIANCA, PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CA67 and Michelin X.
- The current Dunlop Racing R5 was not produced until 1958, the XK140 factory racing tyre would have been the Dunlop Racing R1, not in production. Privateers such as Biondetti fitted Pirelli Stella Bianca, Stelvio or Cinturato.
- In 1957 initial XK150 Jag road tyres were again initially the Dunlop B5, until 1959 when Dunlop introduced the 600H16 Dunlop RS5 which is also no longer manufactured.
- Again the only period tyres through out the production of all the XK cars that are still made are; Michelin X, Pirelli Cinturato and Stella Bianca and for the last of the XK150 the 6.00 x 16 R5 Dunlop Racing and the 600 H 16 Avon Turbospeed; both came out in 1958.
- Many XK drivers like to stick with crossply tyres, and Pirelli’s 6.00-16 PIRELLI STELLA BIANCA is the best crossply Jaguar XK tyre.
- Michelin make the 6.00 R 16 Michelin Pilote X which is an excellent high performance radial tyre that looks like a period racing tyre.
1949 Jaguar XK120 Brochure Sketch
- The best innertube for an XK on wire wheels is the reinforced Michelin 16 F RET. All wire wheels require innertubes.
- XK models that didn't run wire wheels instead fitted a standard tube-type wheel. Innertubes are required on these wheels as well.
- For the classic XK Jaguar, our recommended tyre pressure for radial 185 VR 16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 tyres is 30psi front and 36psi rear, see below for more detailed Jaguar XK tyre pressure information.
- Click this link for more information on Jaguar XK Borrani Wire Wheels.
- Longstone's own Dougal Cawley was featured in Jaguar World Magazine, click the link to see our Jaguar World Magazine Longstone Tyres Article.
The earlier Jaguar XK120 had spats on the rear wheel arches. Because of the spats some radial tyres don't fit on the XK120. However, because the PIRELLI CINTURATO ™; is a period-correct classic tire, it will fit within the spats of an XK120.
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Recommend Inner Tubes for Jaguar XK
Alternative Tyres for Jaguar XK
Obsolete Tyres
These historical tyres are discontinued
Jaguar XK Fitted with Michelin 600WR16 Pilote X Tyres
XK Jaguar History
During World War 2 the Jaguar design team led by Sir William Lyons set to work on a brand new double overhead cam engine. As it neared completion, it became obvious that a worthy successor to the SS100, powered by the new 160-bhp engine, would be possible. The decision to build a sports car to house the engine was given the go-ahead.
Less than 2 months later, in October 1948, the Jaguar XK120 was unveiled at the Earls Court Motor Show. The car was an instant success, with the public and press alike hardly able to comprehend the availability of a 120mph sports car that was civilised at all speeds and cost only £998!
The Jaguar XK 120 evolved throughout its life with the advent, in 1954, of the XK 140 with 190 bhp and (small) backseat, and the final incarnation in 1957, the XK 150, with disc brakes and a 210 bhp engine option. Production of all Jaguar XK120, XK140, and XK150 variants, dropheads, roadsters, and fixed heads ceased in the 1960s.
Article by Philip Porter from the XK Gazette
"Get a Grip" by Philip Porter. This article originally appeared in the September 2013 Issue 192 of the XK Gazette.
Tyres are something that many of us probably rather take for granted yet can make a massive difference to a car in terms of handling, road holding, wet weather behaviour, and comfort. I am no expert, but I acquired a set of PIRELLI CINTURATO™ about two or three years ago and fitted them to my XK120 Fixed Head.
Frankly, I think they are superb.For a start, they have a good period look but more to the point they give me a great confidence when I am pressing on, and I do like to drive XK's as they were designed to be driven, and that is not slowly!
I think they are at their most impressive in the wet. As we all know, the XK is a pretty heavy car, certainly by modern standards, and when the car breaks away that weight has a certain momentum. However, I find the CINTURATO™s have a very high level of grip and when they do break away, it is all very undramatic and controllable. Having said all that, they are not cheap - but then, quality rarely is. They need to be good for the price, but I enjoy the car so much on these tyres that I feel it is worth the investment.
They are, after all, the only contact the car has with the road.
The ride is also good and thankfully, I do not seem to be wearing them out, which the old wallet is relieved about.
On the matter of price, the CINTURATO™s were considered incredibly expensive when they first became available in the 1950s, but they are actually cheaper now than they were 20 years ago, whereas some other makes have nearly doubled in price and caught them up.
Today, we are in the very fortunate position of having a wide range of choices when it comes to the tyres for XKs. I can remember when there were hardly any 16in tyres produced and CINTURATO™s were seemingly rationed. I can recall conversations with specialist suppliers back in the '70s, and maybe into the '80s, along the lines of, "I have just managed to acquire a few Pirelli's; I could let you have four". You moved fast or they were gone. From memory, they only made a batch every so often.
In those days, I used to rely on Avon Turbospeeds of the period, which was more affordable but, being cross plies, didn't last long if you indulged in motoring sideways.
It is a debatable subject to what degree you want to improve a classic car's road-holding by fitting wider and wider modern rubber. The greater the adhesion, the greater the loads you are putting through all the associated mechanical parts including steering, suspension, mountings and all sorts. We need to bear in mind, the basic XK design goes back 65 years.
Furthermore, do we want our XKs to drive like modern cars? Surely not; surely the character, personality and fun is that we are enjoying the best sports car of the 1950s. I am certainly not arguing against upgrading, and each to his own, but an XK, in my opinion, would look wrong on massive boots and would lose much of its charm if it drove as though on rails. I always remember a splendid comment from a reader in a letter to 'The Motor' magazine when I was a child. Referring to a Lotus Elan, he wrote, "Anyone can drive a tram!".
As I said earlier, I am no expert but I know a man who is. Rather like the Michelin Man, though not in girth, Dougal Cawley is surrounded by, and immersed, in tyres. He runs Longstone Tyres and is a total enthusiast. I asked him to talk us through some of the tyres available today.
"Presently the Michelin X is the cheapest radial tyre I sell for an XK. The X and the CINTURATO ™ are the only genuine period radial tyres for an XK. The X will last longer than Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper. If you punish yourself by looking at cars for sale in a 1970 edition of 'Motor Sport', you will notice the Michelin X tyre was often used as a big selling feature. However, today the Michelin X is not the best tyre for sporting use. On a road, that honour goes to the CINTURATO ™ as it is more progressive.
Avon TurboSteel: this tyre was new in the '80s as a high-speed tyre in the right size for an XK, because there pretty much wasn't anything else. They are quite a bit smaller in diameter and the footprint is very wide, which gives them lots of grip and they are very good on the track.
Jaguar, I know, did have a close relationship with Dunlop, and I like to think that two of the leading companies in the automotive world at that time were British: Jaguar and Dunlop. I would suggest that it was a little bit the other way around as well. Between them, they did so much testing. But I also believe that that excellence was with crossply tyres. Today I would suggest that if you want to stick to crossply tyres, then it would be the original 600H16 Dunlop RS5.
Michelin Pilote X 600WR16: ultimate grip, highest speed rating, looks like an Englebert racing tyre of the '50s and '60s. Excellent road/race tyre. Not as progressive as the CINTURATO ™, but for very high-speed road use, they are excellent and the best for the track.
I think the PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ 185 VR 16 CA67 is the best XK road tyre. It is still a genuine PIRELLI CINTURATO ™. It is made by PIRELLI. It has the same tread pattern and sidewall design, and the carcass has the same dimensions and shape to maintain the original handling as well as appearance - a more modern design would have a wider contact point, which is not good for classics on the road. It also makes heavy steering even heavier.
Today, tyre manufacturers are not allowed to use some of the chemicals and materials that were used back in the '50s, '60s and '70s when these tyres were current. The CINTURATO ™ lives up to modern standards of tyre manufacturing and is made using modern compounds but in a way that keeps the XK handling the way it should. The 185 VR 16 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ was original equipment on the 250GT Ferrari, Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Maserati 3500GT and Mistral."
So there we have it from Dougal, not forgetting Vredesteins and Blockley's. I look forward to trying some of the other tyres on the market but, meanwhile, am very happy with my Michelin Xs on my 120 OTS and the terrific CINTURATO™s on the FHC. Given the current rate of progress with my 140 DHC restoration, it is going to be a year or three before I have to make a decision on tyres, but the great thing today is that we have such a wide choice compared with 20/30 years ago.
Philip Porter
It is worth noting that Philip wrote this article before Pirelli had reintroduced the 6.00-16 PIRELLI STELLA BIANCA; which we would suggest is the best cross ply road tyre ever made
Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe
Jaguar XK120 Tyres
Hi, I am looking for four tyres for my 1952 XK120 with rear spats. What options do I have? Regards Tim Bach
Hi Tim
Probably the best way to find the best tyres for an XK120 would be to watch my XK film.
We have also done a web page about XK tyres too. The XK120, XK140 & XK150 all fit the same tyres.
I would say the 185VR16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 would be by far the best tyre for your car. It is a genuine period sports car tyre and will fit inside your spats and handle beautifully.
The other option worth considering is the 185 SR 16 Michelin X. Again a nice period tyre that will definitely fit inside your spats and will be lovely at lower speeds, but it only has an S speed rating so isn't really a sports car tire.
The PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ is the best tyre option. It is a period sports car tyre. Designed to complement the chassis of a car like your Jaguar, and at the same time, the Cinturato will fit inside the spats of an early XK120, where many of the other radial tyres in this size will be too wide.
When these cars came out they fitted a 600H16 Crossply Dunlop. Dunlop is not currently making any historic road tires. Although for some time now people have preferred to drive XK Jags on radial tyres there is now a period crossply tyre that is ideal for these cars and up to the challenges of our modern roads. So if you want to run your XK120 on crossply tyres the 6.00-16 PIRELLI STELLA BIANCA is excellent.
For me; Jaguar XK120 with spats; 185VR16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67.
Jaguar XK120 Radiator Refill
Can the XK120 steel wheels be fitted with tubeless tires?
Hi Mr Clark
Although the standard original equipment tyre, the 600H16 Dunlop RS5 was described as a tubeless tire, we would recommend fitting innertubes to an XK120. In fact, we would encourage people to fit innertubes to all XK Jaguars be it an XK120, XK140 or XK150. Whether it is fitted with pressed steel wheels, wire wheels or even the modern wire wheels that sometimes claim to be tubeless wire wheels, we would still encourage you to fit tubes with any XK120.
Soon after tubeless tyres were developed the wheel manufacturers changed the profile of the rim by adding the "humps" as seen in the picture below. These might also be called the safety rib, and their intention is to make sure that if a tyre becomes slightly deflated, it doesn't slip off the rim. I don't believe your wheels have these safety ribs on an XK120, so I would encourage you to fit an innertube. 16F is the correct size tube for a Jaguar XK on 6.00-16 or 185 R16 tyres, and the best innertube maker, by far, is Michelin. We recommend Michelin tubes whenever possible, as we have found them to be of the highest quality with the lowest chances of fault.
Jaguar XK120 Wheel Hump
For originality; Jaguar fitted the 600H16 Dunlop RS5 crossply tyre to the XK120, XK140 & XK150. Currently, Dunlop is not making any historic road tires. And there seems to be no plan to do so in the near future. I believe that if on the later cars you wanted to fit a radial tire with a period look, Jaguar would fit 185VR16 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™. This tyre is still available and is also a tubeless tire, but again we would suggest fitting tubes, due to the original wheels being tube-type wheels. We say "if in any doubt, fit an innertube".
Jaguar XK140 Racing Car
Jaguar XK140 Tyres
I have an XK 140 roadster currently fitted with Michelin tyres. How does the Michelin 185 SR 16 compare with the 195 VR 16 PIRELLI and the Michelin 600 WR 16 Pilote X tyres and what are their speed ratings?
Out of the road tires available for an XK140; I would suggest that the 185SR16 Michelin X and the 185VR16 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 would be the nicest tires to drive on. This is because they will give lovely light handling due to a thin tread pattern. Personally, I would fit the PIRELLI CINTURATO ™;, because it has a more progressive sports car carcass. The other good thing about these two genuine period tires is they have the correct dimensions, which fits the car perfectly and a period tread pattern that is right for the era.
The X 6.00 R 16 Michelin Pilote X is the next top option. If I were going racing or really pressing on with an XK140 then I would fit the Pilote X; because of its extraordinary levels of grip, However, the only drawback with this tyre is it will make the steering of your XK140 a little heavier. But it is another brilliant option for a Jaguar XK140.
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The 185SR16 Michelin X, is smack bang period, nice and light, only an S speed rating, not really a sports car tyre but lovely and currently a real bargain.
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PIRELLI CINTURATO ™; gives the best balance of everything. Perfect size, genuine period tyre, great grip, nice and progressive, and looks good. If I had an XK140 I would fit the CINTURATO ™;.
- The Pilote X offers fantastic grip, but might make your steering a little heavier, but again, an excellent tyre.
I also believe that if you asked Jaguar to fit radial tyres to your XK140, then Jaguar would fit PIRELLI CINTURATO ™;.
There are other tires in this size, none of which I would even consider. They are all either the wrong shape and size or too modern. Even if you are buying just on price, you won't find a tire that is much cheaper than the 185SR16 Michelin X, which is currently an incredible deal for a tire in this size from arguably one of the world's best tire manufacturers.
Reply:
Many thanks for your help. The tyres arrived and thank you for such helpful and prompt service. George Lamberty
Jaguar XK150 at Longstone HQ
Jaguar XK150 Tyres
I have an XK 140 roadster currently fitted with Michelin tyres. How does the Michelin 185 SR 16 compare with the 195 VR 16 PIRELLI and the Michelin 600 WR 16 Pilote X tyres, and what are their speed ratings?
Out of the road tires that are available for an XK140, I would suggest that the 185SR16 Michelin X and the 185 VR 16 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CA67 would be the nicest tires to drive on. This is because they will have lovely, light handling due to the thin tread pattern. Personally, I would fit the PIRELLI CINTURATO ™, because it has a more progressive sports car carcass. The other good thing about these two genuine period tires is that they have the correct dimensions, which fit the car perfectly and a period tread pattern that is right for the era.
The X 6.00 R 16 Michelin Pilote X is the next top option. If I were going racing or really pressing on with an XK140, then I would fit the Pilote X because of its extraordinary levels of grip, However, the only drawback with this tyre is that it will make the steering of your XK140 a little heavier. But it is another brilliant option for a Jaguar XK140.
PIRELLI meanwhile say 28 psi front and 32 psi rear for their PIRELLI CINTURATO ™; on a Jaguar XK150.
You could run your Michelin tyres at the lower PIRELLI recommendations for steady road use, as the Pilote X is a relatively large tyre for that size and so it would be safe. However, because we use so many dual carriageways today, we drive at relatively high speeds. Longstone would run them at a slightly higher pressure if you wanted to improve your car's directional stability. We would suggest 30 psi front and 36 psi rear for fast road use.
Michelin also experiments with pressures as high as 44 psi front and 50 psi rear for racing. However, that is again for their Michelin X, not the Pilote X.
It isn't an easy question, but 30 psi front & 36 psi rear is Longstone's best estimate. However, if the ride is a little harsh, drop the pressure a bit, though we would not suggest going below 28 & 32 psi.
If it understeers, increase the front tyre pressure in relation to the back, and vice versa for oversteering.
Jaguar XK Borrani Wire Wheels
Borrani wheels are available for your Jaguar XK 120 and Jaguar XK 120 Sport. As agents for the iconic Ruote Borrani Milano company, we are able to supply all wheels from their extensive range.
If your Borrani wheels require rebuilding, then please contact us at sales@borrani.co.uk
Wire wheels made by Ruote Borrani Milano are, without doubt, the best wire wheels available. Borrani wheels utilise aluminium rims, steel spokes and steel wheel centres.
Click the link for Jaguar XK 120 Borrani wheels.
Click the link for Jaguar XK 120 Sport Borrani wheels.
Wheels made by Borrani are available in the following styles:
- Painted silver finish, as per the racing wheels of the period
- Polished and chrome finish, highly polished rim, chrome spokes & wheel centre
- Painted finish with polished outer edge
