GTS over Rte 50 Donner Pass after Chain Control just off on Michelin Pilot SX MXX3 s

[Bill Pemberton]

#487027

Ha, doubt it , those old MXX3s looked like snow tires compared to anything current. Funny, but I had some customers drive all the way back home from Nebraska in Gen IIs with those heavy , deep treaded muthas , and many got caught in snow. They all made it back , surprised the car would plow through the white stuff, but white knuckled driving was in all their comments!

[MrCreosote]

#487028

Hi Bill! Don’t know if you remember me, Tom Hoosac, I bot Wayne Skiles car and fixed the hood (!)

Yes… let’s pause for a moment in memorium of the dearly departed MXX3’s…

I knew a guy who lived in Bethesda and bot a 92 when they came out.

He gets the All Time IRON MAN Award:

He skied. He drove back and forth to Seven Springs in western PA all through the winter with the “bundle of sticks” canope and skis sticking out the back “window.” His only complaint was you couldn’t blow heat out the A/C vents.

Looked like he was in his late 20’s and could have been a GQ model. He lived in a “hotel” with huge crystal chandeliers, marble, red carpets and inlaid gold woodwork. He was very refined, polite, and soft spoken. He would have been the Last Guy On Earth you’d expect to be such a Viking.

[Bill Pemberton]

#487030

Heh, Tom , good to see you posting, keep it up! That is definitely one for the books, and ranks up there with the young man from the Seattle area who wanted to pick up his Viper in the Winter , since the drive back from Nebraska would allow him to stop along the way at his boyhood home. I repeatedly told him we could offer a discounted , enclosed trailer delivery, but he said he would rough it. He definitely did, similar the original poster, driving behind a snow plow in Wyoming for untold miles, and somehow making it over several mountain passes. Young guy , also , so I guess no fear like those old, sensible ones like you and I, ha. Had another friend of his buy one right after that and take off to Seattle also — he got caught in some tricky weather , but not near as bad.

I remember racing with Viper Days on the MXX3s in the Stock Class , and those babies would last a Season — always surprised me they actually were pretty decent on a road course back then. Amazing how much tires have progressed today for performance , but for shedding water, driving in the slush, give me a set of those good old medium performance mudder Michelin MXX3s ,ha!

[MrCreosote]

#487032

Wow, they must have taken I80 across Salt Lake City?

[INDENT]I am only now getting Skiles car hauled to me in PA – like it’s taken me 17 years to do that. 17 years ago I wanted to “Route 66″ it cross country maybe taking a month and hitting all the interesting drives including Pikes Peak. Now at 66 years old, just the thought of break down logistics is more than I’m willing to risk. U-Hauls extortion rates (over $2000 to trailer a car from NV to PA) doesn’t help. Or replacing a tire which means replacing 2 tires nowadays. [/INDENT]

Even the OE Pilot Sports on my 2000 GTS: I put 16k on my car when I sold it, 2 viper Days and a Nelson Ledges. I swear they had 1/4” tread left on them. I know some people had to get 40k out of them.

I think those MXX3’s had a tread wear of 220? (of maybe it was the PS’s) Some of these new Michs have 300 ratings. Are any of them capable of high mileage?

My also keep track of Michelin Classic Tire operation in case they run off a batch. Wouldn’t it be something if they did MXX3’s? I think Coker does for smaller sizes.

Getting tires for these antiques is a Quest.

[Bill Pemberton]

#487038

Heh, 67 here and sounds to me like you should just get ahold of Frank Barba and have him trailer the beast out for you — I know it will be less than that and safer too. You do need to join VOA in PA, as both of the Clubs there are super active and really fun folks. The group over near Pittsburg is called the Western Reserve and that name fools some folks. The group on the Eastern Part of the State are an equally great group, and the President is in the mold of what we are talking about — he is likely on his way or soon will be , driving his Snake South to the Amelia Island Concours de Elegance!

Call Jon B at Tire Rack or Luke Pavlik ( #4362 ) at Tire Rack and there are a couple of good tires for you and your car. Just let them know your desires as some are more track oriented than others.

[MrCreosote]

#487072

I’m persisting on keeping the Kinesis K28’s on the car – Porsche guys love their Kinesis. Could look for a set of OE take offs from later Gens HOWEVER those tires would raise car 1/2 to 3/4″ which I think is a huge CG problem. If I adjust the coil overs back down, then the geom is compromised.

Had a T-bird Turbo Coup and previous owner had 225/50r16’s on it – I put stock 225/60r16’s on it and completely destroyed the handling.

Now if I could find some tire that would lower the car, that would be something else.

[MrCreosote]

#487154

Few other bits on my Iron Man Candidate:

It was a 92 w/90k and he was selling it for $19k in 2000. It had the engine replaced by the dealer too.

I test drove it in heavy rain with the soft top. After one look through those “gun slit” side curtains (and getting wet) it was clear to me Roadsters were out and the GTS was the only way to go.

[Shannon Whitehead]

#33072

Michelin Pilot SX MXX3:

Chain Control went on and I was holed up at the Strawberry Lodge at the beginning of the summit on 50 into Tahoe. After vacillating for a few hours on what to do, at midnight, CC went off. So I headed up the summit like a heat seaking missile.

Up, up, up and the roads were just wet, I thought it was in the bag. But I didn’t realize how much further the summit was. I was now driving on snow and thinking I am Dead Meat.

Those MXX3’s actually would dig in the snow. I made the summit.

In South Tahoe there was 2-4″ of unplowed snow ranging from slushy to “cakey” from salt. Coming down into Carson City, yes it was white knuckles all the way but I was nowhere close to not being able to stop the car if I had to.
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Michelin Pilot Sport:

I had Pilot Sports on my new 2000 GTS and they could not make the shallow grade in the alley behind my house. I suspect they were not as good in the snow.

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Is there anything out there that would match MXX3’s? Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ ZP???

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