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crankbait09
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Joined: October 10, 2016
Posts: 1403
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
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 Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 2:49 pm Post subject: Gripmax whitewalls |
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I came across some whitewall tires online from Performance Plus Tire.
the brand is Grip Max. the whitewall width is 1-5/8"
165/80/R15
for a set, if you don't get the "road side warranty" or the shipping insurance, you can get a full set of 4 for $396.
certainly not a bad price at all.
the big question is.......anyone have any experience with these? Are they decent tires?
I currently have portawalls on my wheels, but would consider the upgrade to true whitewalls, at a non Coker tire price 
https://www.performanceplustire.com/tires-for-sale/gripmax-tires/classic-grip/ty:Tire:ts:165-80-15/
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Erik G
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Joined: October 16, 2002
Posts: 13546
Location: Tejas!
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 9:43 am Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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| Those look a lot like the Michelin's with a different name. That does happen... same molds different name stamping. Interesting that they have 125's for us old school guys |
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raygreenwood
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Joined: November 24, 2008
Posts: 23121
Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 11:51 am Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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Stolen from Mr Google:
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Who makes Gripmax tires?
the Treads Unlimited
Gripmax Tyres are produced in the South Africa by the Treads Unlimited and it is endorsed by the TiAuto Group. The company specializes in producing tyres for SUVs and 4x4. The Gripmax Tyres are manufactured maintaining the strictest standards with an additional focus on producing high-quality
products. |
Ray |
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blue72beetle
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Joined: April 23, 2008
Posts: 893
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 8:39 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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Good timing. My Ghia needs tires and I've been looking for whitewalls, so I figure I'd take a chance.
They also have an additional 5% off, so that saved $20.
I'll report back when I get them.
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blue72beetle
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Location: Fort Wayne, IN
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raygreenwood
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Joined: November 24, 2008
Posts: 23121
Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 8:29 am Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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Interesting...........
Those are dead nuts knockoffs of the 1975 and later Michelin XZX radial.
The Michelin XZX was the most popular.....THE tire to have....on virtually every classic European and many Japanese cars. In the late 70s through the early to mid 80s if you were driving Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Volvo or Saab.....and you were not running at minimum the ZX from a few years earlier, or these XZX or for some the XWX mud and snow tire.....you were missing out.
Over the past few years Michelin has taken up reproducing several of their classic tires from the 1970s and 1980s. They are supposedly using modern materials and improved techniques.....but I have read some mixed reviews on quality.
My bet ....seeing this now.....is that Michelin is not "reproducing" these classic tires at all but is instead....buying them from a third party producer of them....like GripMax ....under contract.
Check out this link. There is no way those are not dead knock offs of the Michelin XZX.
https://www.michelinman.com/classic/tires/michelin-xzx9
And.....that's not a bad thing. While the tread pattern technology is outdated compared to what is possible now....and the materials back in the day.....were not as good as now......these tires, the ZX and XZX were EXCELLENT in those days.
They were not cheap and they were sought after. I used to go to specific high volume European only salvage yards every few weeks in high school and college. I was looking for freshly wrecked, great condition Mercedes, BMW and Volvo with 15" wheels. Most Mercedes 450, 240D and Volvo 240 of the late 70s and early 80s were same basic wheel width as VW.
I would look for cars with new or low miles XZX to buy for $10 each. I just could not afford these tires new in those days.
Also, I have been wondering about these reproduction 70s/80s Michelin tires. The complaints have been about equal with people saying they are totally happy.
I am wondering if these new tires are simply exactly the way they were in 1980 in every respect.
Because.....while the handling of these tires back in the day...due to tread design and tread compound.....was considered excellent......they would not hold up compared to modern tires of the same category.
But not having any current modern tires to compare with back in say....1980....we would not have known that and simply considered them excellent!
I am wondering if most of the reported problems with these newly manufactured classic tires are simply that they are really exactly like they were and people are just spoiled by several decades of driving on far more advanced tires.
Back in those days, the Michelin ZX and XZX.....you might get 30-40k miles from them. Maybe a little more. They did great in rain for the day but mediocre by modern standards. They were more of a dry pavement tire which is why they also produced the XWX.
Just so you know, there is a whole range now of what we're the best and most popular classic car tires of the 70s and 80s being reproduced now for the classic car crowd including offerings from Semperit and Vredistein.
In order....for my 411, 412 and type 3 back in the day it was michelin xzx, Semperite or Vredistein in that order.
Just so you get an idea of the "flava" of these classic tires, in addition to the XZX and GripMax
Michelin ZX
Michelin XWX
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?gclid=Cj0...d_source=1
Vredistein sprint classic
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?gclid=Cj0...d_source=1
An ad for the Semperit "black belt" mud and snow tire
https://www.ebay.com/itm/383946412972
By the way, Continental, Pirelli and Yokohama also are producing some classic tire sizes and patterns for 1960's, 70's and 80's vehicles.
Ray |
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blue72beetle
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Joined: April 23, 2008
Posts: 893
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
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| Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 2:51 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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They do say "Made in China" right on the sidewall.
Got them mounted and balanced this morning and just finished putting them back on the car.
Now I've never owned whitewall tires before, but I am not impressed with these. While washing the blue off of it, the whitewall came out dirty and looking like it's already wearing off. Most of it is probably due to them shipping the tires with no protection, rubbing against each other. I guess you get what you pay for and I probably would not get these again.
I'm going to go for a drive in a bit and will get pictures.
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OldSchoolVW's 
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| Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 4:16 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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The tread pattern on any tire is only part of what contributes to handling, durability, and reliability. Yes, the Gripmax tires LOOK like the XZX tread pattern, but I would guess that is where the similarity ends. Since those tires are being sold in the U.S., they should meet D.O.T. standards ... which is a pretty low bar. They are round, made of some type of rubber compound and hold air. Who knows how well the construction methods and materials will hold up? All I'm saying is I would not trust these tires to perform like the Michelins. Probably okay for weekend puttering around town, but I'd suggest the real deal if used for distance or regular driving.
If you want the real deal, check out Longstone Tyres:
https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk
https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/volkswagen/beetle/165sr15-michelin-xzx.html
In the end, they are about the same cost (or sometimes less) than other suppliers.
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Tom
"Following distance is proportional to IQ."
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Tram
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| Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 4:57 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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| blue72beetle wrote: |
They do say "Made in China" right on the sidewall.
Got them mounted and balanced this morning and just finished putting them back on the car.
Now I've never owned whitewall tires before, but I am not impressed with these. While washing the blue off of it, the whitewall came out dirty and looking like it's already wearing off. Most of it is probably due to them shipping the tires with no protection, rubbing against each other. I guess you get what you pay for and I probably would not get these again.
I'm going to go for a drive in a bit and will get pictures. |
I have these tires on a couple customer cars. They're great. I opted for the 185/70R15 model and they fit well and really improve the ride. I plan on using them on mine.
RE the brown whitewalls... what is happening is the anti ozone additive bleeds through. I have successfully used Bleche White and Brillo pads to clean them, but it will come back after some time.
Here's a thread about it with some other ideas. The lacquer thinner hint seems plausible to me:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=29462...te%20wall.
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Those who can- do.
Those who can't? Subaru. |
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blue72beetle
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Joined: April 23, 2008
Posts: 893
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
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| Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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Well they drive nice. And don't look too bad from farther away.
I'll bookmark those whitewall cleaning options.
Mount and balance was only $100 so I'm in them for under $500 total which isn't bad at all.
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raygreenwood
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Posts: 23121
Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2024 10:24 am Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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| OldSchoolVW's wrote: |
The tread pattern on any tire is only part of what contributes to handling, durability, and reliability. Yes, the Gripmax tires LOOK like the XZX tread pattern, but I would guess that is where the similarity ends. Since those tires are being sold in the U.S., they should meet D.O.T. standards ... which is a pretty low bar. They are round, made of some type of rubber compound and hold air. Who knows how well the construction methods and materials will hold up? All I'm saying is I would not trust these tires to perform like the Michelins. Probably okay for weekend puttering around town, but I'd suggest the real deal if used for distance or regular driving.
If you want the real deal, check out Longstone Tyres:
https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk
https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/volkswagen/beetle/165sr15-michelin-xzx.html
In the end, they are about the same cost (or sometimes less) than other suppliers. |
I totally agree. The tread pattern, style and size comparison was mainly just an observation...but want to make sure that the important point is not missed....either yours or mine.
Even if these tires ARE of the original quality of the original Michelins, Vredistein or Semperit....you are still getting at best 40+ year old handling and longevity characteristics. Those characteristics are nowhere near what even some of the "Modern" Chinese, European or American tires are capable of.
I am speaking of capability and not quality (yet). Those are two different things.
1. The ability of the tread DESIGN to shed water, snow, mud etc and still stay stuck to the road....while all of those classic tire DESIGNS were excellent for their day.....they do not even hold a candle to tires like say....the Continental CH-90s I was getting in 1999 or so.
That was not a special tire. It was largely in the same category and reccommended for the same applications and vehicles as the XZX tires from 2 decades earlier.
2. Add to this, the ability of modern tread compounds to work across a wide range of temperatures and actually change durometer and grip to be true all season tires.....we have had some of that since the late 90s on some tires (the CH90 I was using had a variable tread compound mainly for wet to dry performance) but virtually all tires benefit from this technology now.
The tires from the XZX era had none of this.
3. A big thing with modern tires with their more advanced construction, tread patterns and compounds is that the lifespan capability is pretty much double what it used to be for a tire in any category.
To add to that....there have been for a while, specialized tire categories that did not even exist back in the day of these classic tire designs.
To the quality......  .....that factor and the question of WHO is actually making these re-popped classic tires.....and the responses in forums I have come across ranging from VW to Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Volvo....and a few others.....is why I have not purchased any of these though I have been REALLY tempted for a reason I will point out in a minute.
In my book....I am not spending 20+ years and a ton of cash restoring my VW 412....which would be an uncommon enough model....but add to this the fact that they only shipped 4200-ish to this continent and the total of two door coupes made was maybe 10% of the production........just to drive it on tires with 40+ year old grip, rain and stopping capability and unknown/variable tire quality.
When I finally get new tires on it, they will be of modern quality and capability. There is that much difference. Night and day.
From the discussions in many forums for different types of classic cars......the vast majority of people who are buying these really want them for the same reason I was tempted to get them.
Their appearance is absolutely ICONIC for the era of these classic cars. Nothing would complete the classic restoration appearance of a mid 1970s European car than to be rolling on new exact era correct Michelin ZX or XZX or whatever your classic car came from the factory with.
The appearance of these tires is that distinctive.
Most people are buying these for "show cars".
But....and....in reading through other forums, those that are less than satisfied with a lot of these reproduction tires.....appear to be those who are really driving on them a lot. Some of these tires...not all of them....but some of them ....have lifespan issues, have temperature issues.....have stability issues.
I know enough about what it takes to produce a tire to know that it's highly unlikely that in a market where in the USA alone, over 200 million tires are sold per year.....that companies like Michelin, Vredistein, Bridgestone etc.....are going to invest $$$$$$$$$$ in brand new tooling to create 40-50 year old tire designs for an extremely limited market.
These are mostly third-world made. That does not instantly mean they are all crap.
As Tram noted.....and I even found out at one point.....not all Chinese tires are crap.
Back in the mid 2000's I had a week where I had two flats (barely patchable) and a blowout. I needed new tires bad and fast. Locally in Dallas....that week...to get something that handled well and fit.....fast....that I could afford....was not all meeting up at one time. The guys at Discount tire asked.....if we had tires in stock what would I get. I said probably for the money, a set of those Dunlop xxx..whatever they were....would have been good enough for the $$$ I had.
They said come in and I want to show you some tires. These turned out to be Dunlop knock offs made by "Great wall tire". They looked great. I bought them. They balanced well, drove well, gripped great, were great in the rain.
The caveat......they wore very fast. When they got down to about 50%....the underneath tread compound was hard as a rock and they got squirrelly. But hey.....they were available, they were affordable and I got about 25k miles from them. They did the job and were worth the price at the time.
EDIT:
I am still looking at tires like these. I am still watching and reading updated threads on the Michelin XZX. There were or have been plenty of people who drive enough that are totally happy with them. As I noted, just as many as those who are not happy with them.
However, at this moment I think the largest size that the Michelin ZX and XZX are available in are the 165/R-15. i would have to go back to 4.5" rim width.
As for Longstone in the UK....great if you want to ship tires all the way from the UK but in reality they are just a UK version of Coker (maybe a little bigger stock).
However, aside from a good deal of old stock (you take youre chances on that) they are getting their new re-pop versions of classic tires from the same place anyone else is like Coker and The tire rack.
You dont really know whether Michelin (or whoever) is actually making these or if they are subbing it out and to where.
Ray
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crankbait09
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| Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 4:34 am Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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@blue72beetle - thanks for the update on these.
can you post a close up photo of one of the wheels installed?
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blue72beetle
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| Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 4:13 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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All I've done so far is wash the blue off. I haven't used any whitewall specific cleaners yet.
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raygreenwood
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| Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 4:27 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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Those look nice!
Personally, in this day and age if your tires do not have to be high performance, there is far less of a reason to worry about the fact that your tires are made in China.
There are good tires made all over the world. There are also bad tires made all over the world even in the USA.
25 years ago, third world tires were really different. Hard to find one that met the standards that we have been used to most of our lives. Its not that way anymore.
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Jimmys 65
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 5:27 am Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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| Hey blue72, I am looking into these same tires and wanted to ask how you like them, now that you've had them a while. The whitewalls in your last picture, after cleaning the blue off, are pretty dirty. We're you ever able to get them any cleaner, and how have they held up so far? |
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blue72beetle
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Location: Fort Wayne, IN
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 6:29 pm Post subject: Re: Gripmax whitewalls |
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I did one cleaning last year with Bleche White, and they cleaned up pretty decent but it takes a lot of scrubbing. I haven't got it out of winter storage yet this year, but I will need to do another good cleaning.
Overall I'm happy with them, especially the price. They drive nice.
This is August 2024, after a half-ass cleaning.
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