Over 60 years old, are Michelin 125 X tyres really great as some would have you believe? Or do the soft sidewalls and minimal footprint lead you to use a more modern, squarer section and wider tyre, such as a Toyo?

Ignore the initial cost - a previous tyre post dealt with price, availability and 'look'. Here we could discuss roadholding, handling, safety, grip, breakway in the dry/wet/on a changing surface etc. In the real world, not on a specially-prepared car on a race track!

Why are old Citroëns the only front engine, front wheel drive car I know of (but Panhards may have been the same) which have a front tyre pressure significantly lower than the rear, and which require no pumping up when fully laden over unladen?

Rather than saying 'my car goes fine on brand x ', compare how your car has driven on Michs compared with others. And why your tyre of choice is what it is - not 'I have a new set of Toyos because they are the cheapest'.

Personally speaking, I like the Michelin X for its low aerodynamic drag, low rolling resistance and its ability to alter the amount of tread gripping the road according to how you drive. What about you?

Currently 2 Michelin, 2 Unroyal, 1 Firestone (spare). Uniroyals on front, give good grip in the cold and wet, last well. Have tried all tyre pressures, 20/26 works best. Weird. Oolong, not sure what you mean when you say tread alters to grip the road. And surely all 125 tyres have same drag through the air? But yes, given the choice, new Mich all round.

I havent had a 2cv on michelin x, as I've been into 4x4s ect. but I have now got a 2wd 2cv on nangkangs, nangkangs dont do it its like driving on ice.

Handling wise, I can only compare firestone to michelin. I got the firestones due to cost in 1993 (£28 v £35!!). The grip on firestones is nowhere near as good as on michelin - the car would easily drift on roundabouts when pressing on a little. Also I only got about 25000miles out of the front pair.
I think the ride was slightly firmer, but this was probably only marginal and could have been imagination as well.

Since then I've only bought michelins (last pair 4 years ago on new wheels from ecas at £140 for the two), although this could well change given the current price of rubber! I will be interested to hear what other recommendations people have.

I put 22psi in the front and 28psi in the rear (about 2 higher than spec. although this is only measured on my old pen-style plunger type thing) and it corners brilliantly.

Richard, I once compared a Firestone off the rim with a Michelin and the sidewall was about 3 times thicker, so I don't think you were imagining a firmer ride. I think Firestones are harder on kingpins because of this. The only pair of Firestones I ever had was a bad experience, lethal in the wet and they lasted no time. Not much rubber actually on the road, they seemed to be all gaps between the tread!

I met someone with the current breed of Chinese tyres on, he said they were ok but economy was down and they didn't last as well either.

The 2CV is the cleverest car I've ever owned, and I've had a few. Various Audis, Alfa-Romeos and old Saabs, with an old 356 in the garage too! It's a shame to dumb down the fine engineering with Ford-style quality, tyres are way more important than most realise, just consider you have four palm-sized patches holding your car on the road when rounding a wet bend with an HGV coming the other way!

Tim,
this might be of interest...
< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N06/3623348348/ >

Mind you, unless you're doing the mileage to use up the Michelin's tread, they may last too long for their ( and their owner's ) good.

I've got a Dyane here for fettling after its run to the Czech W.M. and one of the Michelins on the front has lots of tread but sidewalls which are badly crazed.
I'll be checking the others closely before he collects the car to drive home and advise accordingly.

ken

Oh dear, here we may go again. SOFTER VS STIFFER. This time its tires, I wonder what will be next. The Michelin tires are soft compound tires with very skinny side walls. Perfect for driving around streets, long lasting, prepared to say near 100.000 km. Other tires, shall remain nameless are not soft compound with thicker walls which makes them stiffer (not bad for raiding) but don’t last as long. Also consider the rubber mix, quantity and quality. Love Michelin for sealed road nothing comes close. You get want you pay for. Quality and price goes hand in hand

Maybe Michelins last so long, sidewalls have time to deteriorate? Good tyres have saved my skin more than once, even though a 2CV isn't a fast car I'm always going faster than 99% of other motorists, unless on an empty motorway!

I'm no 2CV expert, but I have heard it said the car was designed around the tyre. I feel the softer wall and rounder section are especially important on the back, esp when unladen, when the car heels it can't roll off the tread.

Michelin X 125s are the best tyre you can get for a 2cv, with the possible exception of Michelin 135s.

I don't really care how or why (stiffer, harder, softer, blacker?), I'm interested to hear about it though. Having tried Firestones, Mabors, Toyos, Uniroyals and those shoddy Mich lookalike remould things, you'll never come close to a Michelin.

I went from ancient, treadless, and rather sub UK legal standard michellin 125s to nankang 135s, and found the car stuck to the road far better, far less wheelspin, far better in the wet.

Possibly not the best test though considering the state my michellins were in.