MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Anybody bought tires from Longstone?

And had them shipped to the USA? Did you have to pay a customs fee? If so how much?

Thanks
L E D LaVerne

LaVerne, I bought a set of tires through Tire Rack which were imported from Holland and I don't remember any customs fee. They came through customs in Canada. It did take a couple months to get them as they were held up in customs. PJ
PJ Jennings

Thanks Paul, Vredestien I'm guessing? I was looking at a set of 5 Michelins and tubes. About 400 bucks less than through Coker but I imagine there would be some tariffs that may well offset that.
L E D LaVerne

I bought 5 Michelin xzx and 5 Michelin tubes from Longstone. I ordered via their website on Jan 2, 2017. The tires (tyres?) arrived in two shipments a day apart. All were on my door step by Jan 11. Shipping was free. No duty or taxes. Total price was $575.75 US for tires and tubes. My local tire shop charged $75 to mount and "road force balance" all 5.

B Mooney

No duty? Amazing... guess I know where I will be ordering mine from.

Thanks a bunch.
L E D LaVerne

B MOONEY,
That is a great price for Mich tires,,almost too good to be true!!, Look on the side wall of the tires,, please tell me where they were made..and when they were made...

Thanks,
Steve
SPW Wincze

Made in Serbia. 40th week of 2016.
It does seem too good to be true. The exchange rate was good at the time and they had a special price for 5 tires. Right now they are offering 5 xzx 165sr15 for $537.50.
B Mooney

Just to clarify. My price was $498.75 for the 5 tires and another $75 for the 5 tubes. Total of $573.75.
Their current price for 5 is up $7.75 per tire.

B Mooney

627.50 right now for 5 tires and 6 Michelin tubes


Over a thousand bucks from Coker.
L E D LaVerne

Sooo how does one confirm that these are real michelin tires and real michelin construction throughout and not just a tire with the michelin tread pattern ??

Steve
SPW Wincze

I don't know but I'll let you know after they show up.
L E D LaVerne

I posted this question some time ago on the TR3 forum. All the responses I got for them were positive. I read somewhere that they had bought the original Michelin molds, and were now manufacturing them.
I intended to buy a set for my TR3, but was having a problem with not being able to have my order show up on there end. I tried several times, and it showed up on my credit card, but they never received the order on there end. They were very helpful, but I finally gave up and ordered Vredsteins from Summet Racing. I like them fine, but would have preferred the Michelins like I have on my TD.

Gary
g parker

I have used Longstone Tyres 4 times over the last 5 years and they have been great every time. 2 sets of 5 Michelin ZX's for my TD and a friends MGA, Michelin X's for my TC with 16inch wires and a set of 19" Dunlop B5 Cross plys for my concours TC.

The tyres (tires) are the genuine article they have the same stock as Vintage Tyres in UK but they are always cheaper.
A lot of guys in TC Owners Club here in Perth Western Australia use them. We have never a problem with quality or service. Duty on the other hand our government likes its pound of flesh, so regrettably we do pay duty, sounds like you are little more fortunate in US.

Cheers from Perth WA

Ed Floate

TD0260 , TC9549 & TC2576
EH Floate

Gary,
That is exactly what i mean,, A company buys the MOLD from Michelin and then applies it to their inferior tire carcass.
I dont know how to tell the difference. Any ideas ?

Steve
SPW Wincze

I investigated these tires last year and what I found was that these tires are still made by Michelin at a plant in Serbia. That may have changed in the last year but the set we bought for Bill's TF through Coker were labled as being made in Serbia. Could these be Chinese knock off's? Maybe but I doubt it. I can't verify these any better than I could if they came through Coker.

L E D LaVerne

Longstone are a reputable outfit, if the tyres say Michelin they are Michelin tyres.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I am looking to buy 5 new tires, and would appreciate someone providing the email address for Longstone Tires. Thank you.

George
George Raham

See longstonetyres.co.uk
Dave H
Dave Hill

Its my understanding that Coker bought the moulds and the rights to produce certain Michelin X tire asizes ... in particular the 550 X R15 and the 575 X R15.

I have been in most tire plants in the US and Canada and making wire-based belts is a VERY complicated process. It involves loading dozens of spools of stainless wire in the 'creel room' and individually feeding the wires through a series of combs, 'till they are the desired width; and are then laid into the warm rubber carcass fabric layer, immediately followed by a layer of tread rubber over it. Position of the wires is critical, as is the thickness of each layer; and the same for the temperature of each layer and especially the creel wire.

All this takes place on a machine called a calendar which is large and difficult to control. Temperature and pressure control is critical, as you don't want a tire coming apart because one layer didn't stick to another layer! For more info Google "Calendar Tire Manufacturing".

Each tire is hand-made from the fabric described above. Frankly, I wouldn't pay for this technology, especially when Kevlar-based belts are at least equal, They are lighter and easier to make because the Kevlar belt is pre-made to size on a loom and laid in without the need for a complicated creel room; all resulting in a less-expensive tire. One more advantage of Kevlar is that is doesn't get as hot as a tire with a stainless steel belt.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué
Gord Clark

I bought an enclosed trailer a while back from a co. in South Carolina, the 5 tires on it were made in China, the treads were so uneven I scrapped them and bought 5 new 6 ply Firestone tires made especially for trailers. I don't know where they were made, but they are a nice tire and are holding up well with about 15,000 miles on them now. My flat bead car hauler is in need of new tires and I'm going to see if I can get the same tires for it. Just sayin. PJ
PJ Jennings

Just ordered 4 Michelin 165SR15 xzx tires and tubes from Longstone. Expect delivery in about a week. Delivered price was $523.80 Local Michelin dealer couldn't come anywhere near the price. Bud
Bud Krueger

Mine came through the USPO after arriving in town via UPS... one of those weird arrangements. It added an extra two days on the delivery.
L E D LaVerne

My Michelin XZX tyres are made in France, and this is molded into the sidewall. A retired U.K. Michelin employee once told me that it's classic car tyres are made at a specialist factory in France, because of the small numbers made, so that information seems to stack up.
N D Wallace

I've been to the specialist factory of Michelin in France and it's very nice to see how the tires are made.
I don't know if the X's are made there too.
Willem van der Veer

I have a winter home in AZ and a home in BC and am into what is a nine year marathon restoration of my 54 TF #3006. As a result of working on the project in both the US and Canada and having bought parts from much of the world I found that getting parts into the US is much easier. If under $850 US not duties or taxes if you use the USPS. If you use a Common Carrier you with be charged a "clearance " fee and some of the transportation costs can be awful. Bring stuff into Canada also via mail only and identify that the parts are for a classic car over 25 years old. If you use a Courier they WILL charge you a custom clearance fee that can be more than the part is worth.... Canada Post just $5 to do the same!
Best regards
Rod Murray
Rodney G Murray

My 4 xzx's arrived at NY Customs on 9/9. Thanks to Harvey and Irma they are somewhere unknown at the moment. Delivery was scheduled here for today. Things could be a lot worse. We had Tropical Storm Warnings. Only loss was ComCast for about 12 hours. Bud
Bud Krueger

Tires cleared customs at 3:14 this morning. Bud
Bud Krueger

Michelin bought Tigar Tyres in Serbia back in the early 2000s. Since then they have invested millions and built a new plant there. They are now making various Michelin product ranges, including it seems XZX and XAS tyres.
Dave H
Dave Hill

Tires showed up on my doorstep this morning. Three have date codes 2317, other says 2217 (~first week of June of this year). Made in Serbia. Tubes are Michelin, made in Italy. They are multi-sized: 145+155+165+175+180-15; 155+175+185/70-15; 5.00+5.60-15. Last time I bought multi-sized radial tubes was from Moss. I thru them out because they were oversized in 165-15 tires. These seem to be a better fit.

I placed the order on September 5th, ten days ago. Harvey and Irma added 3 days to the delivery. Now to get them installed and balanced. The Kumos that I'm replacing were made in China in 2000. Bud
Bud Krueger

I've bought from Longstone in the past. Good service and quick shipping. I don't recall the shipping fees but delivered to my door the tires I purchased cost less than I could get them locally for.
Steve Simmons

There were no shipping fees on my order. (Nor sales taxes.) Local Michelin dealer couldn't touch the price. He did quite well on the dismount/mount/balance. $45/tire. Only one around with an adapter to handle a TD wheel on his balancer. Bud
Bud Krueger

I paid about $18/tire for fitting and balancing, provided my own wire wheel balancing adapter that I bought in the UK.

They are nicely balanced too.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

There must have been shipping charges. No way they could afford to ship tires across the Pacific for free! They probably just merged them into the price of the tires.

Hmmm... $45 seems really high for mounting and balancing one tire. My local shop does it for $20-25, just a bit more than Peter's shop.
Steve Simmons

Steve, the tires flew from England to NYC. No shipping charges on the bill. Keep in mind that I drove into the tire shop. They removed the wheels, removed the old tires/tubes, installed the new tires/tubes, balanced the wheels and reinstalled the wheels. Having this done by a Michelin dealer was like coming into a restaurant and asking them to cook a steak that you brought in with you. They are the only shop around here with an adapter to handle TD wheels. Balancing is $20/wheel. Bud
Bud Krueger

I did bring my wheels without the car, so that could account for some of the cost difference.

Just curious, why do TD wheels require a special adapter? Are they different than other stamped steel wheels?
Steve Simmons

Common wheel balancers locate the center of the wheel by inserting a cone into the center opening of the wheel. The opening on TD wheels is slight smaller than the smallest adapter on most balancers.
BTW, there's also a $5/tire recycling fee. Bud
Bud Krueger

Gotcha. The stamped wheels on MGA and MGB fit on the balance machine fine. I've never owned a TD so haven't run into that problem.

Tire recycling was included in my shop's charges for mounting and balancing. I guess your area is just a bit more expensive for that job than Pete's and mine.
Steve Simmons

This thread was discussed between 30/05/2017 and 21/09/2017

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG TD TF 1500 BBS now