A story of steel and rubber
Traction to the ground goes through
the wheels: rims and rubbers
Tires are of the utmost importance on a car, and even
more on a car driven out of the road. Through the very
narrow surface that binds the car to the ground goes the
whole power of the engine, hence the traction which
allows the car to move as it should. Quite a challenge
when the car must not only tackle dry and wet road, but
in addition of that, dry and wet various terrains.
Tires have known dramatic improvements in the last
decades. Their thread patterns, based on an always
improving knowledge curve since the first lightweight
4x4 were produced after WW2, improved to become designs
offering the best possible grip for each desired
application.
On the other hand, safety becoming a criteria of
choice, the materials, structure and production quality
moved to the highest standards.
Finally, reliability of the tires produced today has
nothing to do with the 60's tubed tires, very prone to
punctures, since the tubeless was brought to the public.
1963-1994 Avon Traction Mileage (in
6.00x16)
Genuine cross-ply tires : standard
since 1948
The tire thread has a central pattern which is supposed to make the road drive, both on dry and wet, acceptable. On the sides, a quite aggressive design for serious off-road.
According to AVON's website: "Rugged shoulder buttresses ensure even traction, whilst the central ribs in the tread pattern enable good directional control whilst on the road. Fitted as original equipment to Land Rovers, this tyre offers the ultimate combination of authenticity and performance for these vehicles."
Made available in 7.00x16 and 6.00X16 sizes, it is the smaller 6.00 that was generally mounted on the short wheelbase 88" Land Rovers.
The Avon Traction Mileage is EXEMPT from the EU tyre labeling because it is designed to be fitted only to vehicles registered for the first time before 1 October 1990.
Today, this tyre is exclusively available via Vintage Tyre Supplies at high prices (£264 the bit), but it allows "showroom" restorations to display the perfect exact tyre.
(pictures from the web: not the actual car but identical to Victoria in the 60-70's. credits: see below)
1994-2000 Michelin X M+S (205 R 16)
Light truck tires: not any sexy, but
working all fine
- Those are the little tires that were on Victoria
when purchased in 1996. Unfortunately, we don't have
much pictures, as at that time digital photography
didn't exist...
Note that the spare tire sitting on the bonnet is still
an AVON, most probably showing cracks that are 30 years
old.
- (picture: around 1996, France.)
1994-2010 SAT Firestone (750x16)
The bigger, the better ?
Searching for a tire which would look more purposeful, but not too costly, Victoria ended with a set of SAT. Tube type, of course, they were absolutely great off road, even is the carcass was so rigid that it did not allow to use the full thread potential.
But on the road...
Above 60km/h you couldn't hear the noise of engine, so loud they were. The handling was scary in the wet and frightening in the cold.
A positive side effect was that the 750x16 size increased the top speed but unfortunately the time to get to it as well ! And the poor 180,000 km old engine was in great struggle to keep in speed on the slightest slope, as the big tire diameter caused a reduction of the end torque applied to the road...
2010-2012 MICHELIN XPC (750R16) tubeless
Willing to get back to something
more road friendly
M+S (snows) rated, long lasting, handling at its best... what a change in comparison to the SAT !
The only drawback: rims painted in a flashy modern white paint, while a Limestone would have been more adequate.
2012-2013 FEDIMA Fronteira (750R16)
On red steel rims, out of a 109SW...
Tubeless capable, but mounted on old Series LWB rims, they had to be on tubes. The two reasons to have those installed were that they were available around and the willingness to try these ugly tires (the thread pattern look much too modern on a Series Land Rover) on their ugly fading red rims.
Is this what you call the "rat look" ?
The Michelin XPC were soon back in place.
2013-2022 MICHELIN XPC (750R16) tubeless
Back to these good
rubbers
M+S (snows) rated, long lasting, handling at its best... what a change in comparison to the SAT !
The only drawback: rims painted in a flashy modern white paint, while a Limestone would have been a perfect match.
2022-... DUNLOP SP
Qualifier TG21 (750R16)
Searching for a good
name, nice pattern, matching the Series look
The rugged tread pattern and reinforced side-wall protector rib of this tyre protect against cuts and punctures on uneven off-road terrains, while delivering supreme ride comfort on highway roads.
Mounted on Series rims, they are currently using with tubes.
