WTB: two michelin XMLs

[Alxj64]

Looking for two close to new or new Michelin XMLs. I am having a heck of a time tracking down two new ones to go with the two I have already.

[Gordon Maney]

Send me an ad for the Power Wagon Advertiser magazine, must include phone number, up to 100 words free.

http://www.powerwagonadvertiser.com/placead.html

[danlen]

XMLs

Those are hard to find. Every once in a while they pop up on ebay. There is, of course, that guy down in L.A. who has them listed for $375 each, 85% tread. He is willing to bargain, but...
I hear there is a new tire coming out of China in a few months--9x16--looks about the same, $275 ea.
If you want to go fast, tho, these may be too small.
Problem with the XMLs, and all the old Michelin Military, is that they are past the safe use date.

[Alxj64]

Ehh, 9x16 is too small for what I am doing. I am running an OD transmission with 4.56 gears and a motor that makes peak torque at 1600 rpm so I am building around a 38" dia tire. I've found a few of them, but just need to pony up and pull the trigger.

As for service date, with these tires being overbuilt, and a load rating of 5k+ lbs each, I am not too worried about running them at 25% load capacity at 110% of design speed with only 4 or 5 years of life on them. The two I have already were stored indoors, out of UV and look and even smell as new as the day they came out of the mold. Finding two more similar is proving the greater task. Its just a shame because I have a really nice set of R16 wheels that fit my application perfectly, but there is a huge void in regards to a nice radial tire for a 16" diameter wheel. Seems the industry has moved on to an R17 already. Options are slim and limited to the 39.5" or 41" Interco IROK, which I already dislike as a tire in the 4wd world. Beyond that, nothing much for the R16 in a Radial. If I went to a 17" wheel however I would be looking at the 39" Radial BFG Krawler KX or the MTR Kevlar in the 38"x14"R17.

But I really don't want to have to get rid of these wheels that I already have to buy a set of 17" that would look halfway correct.

[Alxj64]

Found the tyres... But in the future, unless Michelin starts producing these again... I have a feeling I'll be looking for a new set of wheels to run more modern R17 radials on.

[Desoto61]

That had crossed my mind; what's going to happen when those wear out if they are this hard to find now?

But that thought has been common of late. Originally I had looked at the possability of power seats and windows, but if I really intend to keep this truck long term (and I do) then those are more liability then benefit, as fixing a 3 year old power seat in 15 years will be practically impossible.

For the same reason my desire is to have my centers mounted in a set of new rims vice buying a set of MRW or similar custom rims, but I also found that 17s seem like the right size for the best tire selection right now.

[Alxj64]

Trailworthy fabrication is getting ready to make available two piece 17" steel wheels, and I am pretty certain those guys would make just about any center you want.

Additionally the company Stazworks will make all sorts of custom wheels. They are the ones that build the wheels for the Legacy trucks that are running the 41" and 43" Continental MPT series of tires, even though the folks I've talked to running those tires on F550s all agree that they are rough as heck. Also a 41" is too much for my Carryall but you might be able to get away with it running it on your FFPW.

I'm preparing myself for in a few years to end up ditching the wheels I have and going with a 17" flavor or who knows what they may have evolved into.

Power windows and power seat problems 15 years down the road on a daily driver, I'd imagine you'll have sufficient time at that point to have come up with a repair plan, parts, or who knows. Good and bad thing about the automotive hobby are the speeds at which new things get developed.. sad side to it is that just as quickly old functional things are abandoned for ideas.

[Desoto61]

Yea and in 15 years it may be time to look at replacing them anyway, but the original window mechanisms and most mechanical seat adjusters can be repaired with fairly straight forward capabilities. But there is still time to work through all that. I'm still trying to find a set of seats I want to use.

Legacy doesn't usually re-use the stock axles, they use something more modern IIRC. I don't think I want to go anywhere near that big anyway. I don't have a major problem with many of the custom wheels but I do have to agree with others that the flat cut centers loose some of the attitude of the BUDD rims, which is why I would love to have my centers re-rimed. But again, I'm a long way from being worried about that. There are a lot of other expensive purchases between here and there.