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Michelin XZL 900 r16

Julian

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2012
Messages
694
Does anybody have experience of them, I know they are difficult to find, but are they worth hunting for :roll:

Also I am pretty sure I will need to find some 7" wide rims for them or perhaps 6.5 steel rims, does anybody know what the standard offset is for the 100 series rims is?
I also understand gearing will need to be sorted

Thanks
 
I think the offset is stamped on the inside of the wheels so it you have an unmounted one have a look. I think it's 65 but double check.
 
Hi Julian

Well, they work extremely well in the sand, aren't bad in mud or snow - worse than a Simex, probably similar to an MT, will increase your ground clearance and they are tough.

On the downside they're heavy, hard to get hold of, can be very expensive and will put increased loading on your wheel bearings, swivels and CVs. This is what they look like on an 80:

dscf0024.jpg


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It's probably worth searching bush taxi and the other German forums if you want to see them on a 100.

You will want a 6.5" or 7" rim. Getting the offset right could be tricky; kingpin inclination means you'd ideally decrease offset to compensate for the extra height however this brings other problems with wheel-arch clearance and increased load on the wheel bearings. We ended up using hilux rims with 30mm spacers to reproduce the stock zero offset on an 80. In an ideal world we'd find a nice strong zero-offset 16x7 alloy at a reasonable price (the tricky bit) as spacers are a pain and the steel Hilux rims are quite heavy. Can't help you much on 100 series rims, but I know some of the lower spec 'General Area' cars came with narrow rims, so there may be an OEM solution.

Balancing these was a challenge. Conventional rim weights just didn't work, so we ended up going for Dyna-bead style 'dynamic balancing' using airsoft pellets in one set and stainless steel ball bearings in the other both of which seemed to work, though the airsoft pellets do gradually turn to dust.

Hope this helps,
Toby
1990 HDJ80
1994 HDJ80
 
those pictured are the more recent metric ones, 255/100r16 rather than the 9.00, hence the split down the middle block. diameter is over 36", so they're pretty big for their size and as said, pretty heavy. their construction is very robust ,hence the weight and they are pretty stiff.

If your looking for some, Vass is a good bet for second hand, are other surplus dealers. new, they cost quite a lot. i wanted them for a long time, but now, i think i'd need a pretty specific reason for getting them.

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/michelin/ here's a bit more about them.
 
Toby, thanks for your response
Quick question, do you think they are much heavier than your average 315 75 16?
 
Hi Julian,

I'd think they would be heavier, but I'm not sure how much... Could probably weigh one and let you know, but not until next week.

Callum, yes those pictured are the later version. For reasons best known to themselves, Michelin gave them a dual 255/100R16 and 9.00 x 16 designation - it's there on the sidewall. They actually measure about 36.5" so judging by the info you linked to, they're a similar diameter to the old version, but probably a bit wider. Unless you're dead set on optimising the car for dune driving and are willing to get into re-gearing and bodylifts you'd probably be better off with a smaller diameter tyre. They make dune driving almost too easy - the limitation became where the guide's car could get to on it's 31" road tyres ;)

Ian and I only ended up adapting the cars to use these tyres after he tracked down a VERY good deal on a batch of ten. Not sure what we'll do when they wear out as its unlikely to be repeated :think:

All the best,
Toby
 
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