[jwarner]

hello all and thanks for the help
I am considering goodyear eagle RSA tires at 225/70/15 front and 235/70/15 for the rear.
the wheels are 7.5x15 and 9x15
my question is: the original xwx's were 215 front and 225 rear---is it ok to go the extra width?
other bb owners have--the car needs all the handling/braking it can get.

the xwx's are frighteningly hard and slippery.
thanks
john

 

[Andrew]

Now for the tire question. Its very fitting. As you pointed out others have also done this. If the rear end is lose and you are experiencing some over-steer then wider rear tires should help with more grip. As far as the front I don't see any problems either. I'm guessing that the extra width will still fit on both the front and rear wheels? If you have a R&T or a Car & Driver I would look in the back for TireRacks number. They will know the answer and be able to offer advice. They are real nice people and gave me a tour of their new warehouse a few months ago. 888-541-1771 is the number. The staff is trained in both a classroom and on a track they have next to the warehouse. Let us know what happens.

 

[captmoore]

I don't know about putting tires of that size on the car. Rember that the side wall of a XWX V-rated tire is very stiff, you can all most sit on them. When I was unable to find any V-rated 215 70 I put two H-rated on the frount of my 78 BB and they would roll so much off center in hard corners they hit. How are the side-wall of the goodyear's ? and will the tire stay on center in turns?
Bob

 

[jwarner]

512

bob

the goodyear rsa is a VR rated tire for 150mph

is this the tire you had?

is a vr sidewall strong enough?

thanks
john

 

[captmoore]

I had a set XWX's VR on the car when I had problem with one of my frount tires and the only tires I could find at the time were two Pirelli's that were the same size as the XWX 215/70-15 but were HR raited. We were at Mid Ohio and I was on the track the day before with the VR's and had no problems. I cut a tire going back to the hotel that night and the only tires I could find were the HR. When I went back out on the track Sat. I heared the left tire hitting in turn one and right hitting in the hear-pin, I made one lap and up the pressure, it was better but not what I wanted to hear at a 100 mph. What I'am trying say is when you are on the breaks in a turn is there room for a bigger tire.

Bob

 

[jwarner]

512bb stuff

bob-thanks
re: tires-the michelins are the only tires that will fit and I will stick with them.

do you know what the little suitcase is for under the front hood?
it strapped with a belt near the right headlight.

I need to find one to complete my resto.

is the silver gas cap with the round yellow cavallino emblem found only on the later cars?

thanks for the help

john

 

[dougal]

Hi

Yes the side walls of the XWX are quite stiff. this is because they are for a sports car that is designed to handle extremly well. you can use them for road use but they can also withstand track use and they are speed rated to 170mph.

Try these films about tyre fitment
Ferrari 365 Berlinetta Boxter - YouTube
Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxter - YouTube

 

[tazandjan]

Dougal- That thread is 10 years old. I bet he found tires a while back.

 

[Neopolitano]

Hi

Yes the side walls of the XWX are quite stiff. this is because they are for a sports car that is designed to handle extremly well. you can use them for road use but they can also withstand track use and they are speed rated to 170mph.

Try these films about tyre fitment
Ferrari 365 Berlinetta Boxter - YouTube
Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxter - YouTube

Thanks for bringing this subject up. I have recently refinished the original wheels for my BB.
So XWX's it is w/ 215/70 VR 15s up front and 225/70 VR 15s in the rear.

 

[EcurieArgyll]

Thanks for bringing this subject up. I have recently refinished the original wheels for my BB.
So XWX's it is w/ 215/70 VR 15s up front and 225/70 VR 15s in the rear.

I have a BB with recently purchased XWXs and am very happy with them.

Steve - can I ask how you had the wheels refinished? Did you get them painted or powder coated?

My wheels (and spinners) need refinished and I plan to get it done later in the year.

John

 

[Leonetti]

I have a BB with recently purchased XWXs and am very happy with them.

How recently? I've been waiting for 240/55/VR415 for the 512bbi for over a year. Are there any other source besides Coker & Longstone? I'm not about to take the boxer very far on the 1993 build date tires on her now.

Thanks, Mike

 

[Brian]

I have a BB with recently purchased XWXs and am very happy with them.

How recently? I've been waiting for 240/55/VR415 for the 512bbi for over a year. Are there any other source besides Coker & Longstone? I'm not about to take the boxer very far on the 1993 build date tires on her now.

Thanks, Mike

The BB does not use the metric TRX tires, only the BBi.


You should really consider getting some non TRX wheels because that situation is not going to get much better. TRX tires were only an average tire on their very best day anyway. I saw a set of 5 star wheels on Ebay the other day and another choice is to get them from Carobu Engineering. They are making a pretty nice set for the BBi.

 

[Leonetti]

Looks like the change over would likely approach the 8K mark. Plus the readjustment of the the suspension....just not in the cards.
Is there anyone out there that would like to sell 2 or 4 their post 2000 build 240/55 VR 415 TRX? This would at least give me a safer drive for a while. Attached is a photo of mine. 20th. month of 1993.

 

[Neopolitano]

I have a BB with recently purchased XWXs and am very happy with them.

Steve - can I ask how you had the wheels refinished? Did you get them painted or powder coated?

My wheels (and spinners) need refinished and I plan to get it done later in the year.

John

John.........I had the wheels stripped, sanded and filled where where necessary. They were primed with zinc chromate before being color painted then clear coated. This is pretty much standard procedure. I never did think about powder coating, but guess I could have had them finished in this more durable coating.

When you pull off the trim rings you will be lucky to not bend or mark them up. They are press fitted on the hubs and don't come off easily. Fortunately the 15" trim rings are available at a few suppliers. Mine came from EuroSpares in the UK. Can't same the same about the 14" size. I looked high and low for trims for my GTC and could not find any new. I had to refurbish the best of the 7 that I had.

On the knockoffs one of the issues is the loss of definition of the "horse" in the center. Grinding and rechroming often makes the image lose its sharpness and it becomes a bit muddled.

Good luck with the process!!

 

[EcurieArgyll]

Thanks Steve

I've used both Eurospares and Superformance recently, so I will have no hesitation in using them if I end up butchering the trim rings as seems likely.

FLED6 and Monaco to go first though. Here's hoping the finishing of the alloys is my greatest concern when I come back !

John

 

[EcurieArgyll]

Ok, so, the car has been off the road for 15 months getting a top end engine rebuild and gearbox rebuild amongst other things.
Finally I am back around to this!
I was thinking of saving my original star wheels with recent XWXs and buying some spare wheels, perhaps with more modern tyres, for this season's motoring.
What's the latest thinking and/or experience?

 

[212Export]

Ok, so, the car has been off the road for 15 months getting a top end engine rebuild and gearbox rebuild amongst other things.
Finally I am back around to this!
I was thinking of saving my original star wheels with recent XWXs and buying some spare wheels, perhaps with more modern tyres, for this season's motoring.
What's the latest thinking and/or experience?

John, I'm very happy for you that the BBB (Berlinetta Boxer Beauty) is ready again to be enjoyed in fullest quality.
Regarding the wheels question, I'm a "originality" defender, Kind like "if you want be that fast, get a modern Ferrari. ;-)
Will you take the BBB in May?

 

[EcurieArgyll]

I know, I know. I had more or less come to the same conclusion about 2 minutes after posting, but someone had planted the thought in my head, so I couldn't help but trawl through the forums again.
My mechanic phoned me yesterday and was gushing superlatives about how great the car is, how fast it is, how great it sounds etc. Really looking forward to getting my hands on it.
I am planning to take it in May. I hope to have sold the 348 by then, so the Boxer will have to be working well or she'll look a whole lot like a white E-Type on FLED X

 

[JazzyO]

Hi John,

I don't know about you, but in 30,000 kms in the GTC & 365BB, I have never craved other tyres. You have lower limits in the corners, but that just adds to the fun in my book.

The biggest issue I have with other tyres on the BB is that I have never seen any that look any good. Low profile just looks horrible in the BB's arches, IMHO. And unless you have other rims machined, you will have some serious grounding issues. The BB is too low for modern European roads as it is, with sleeping policemen and what not.

And one thing that is underestimated terribly, is how the highwall tyres help with suspension. Boxers tend to be horrible on lower profile, the suspension was not designed for that. The 365BB was lovely, a really comfortable ride on the XWX's.

It's a shame I won't see and hear the car in May. Sounds like she's up for a FLED!


Onno

 

[Boxer]

I would definitely stay with the XWX's. Low profile more modern tyres will just mess up the ride and handling.