XM tyre recommendations?

[MelbMan]

My UK origin Series 1 XM, petrol 5 speed needs new tyres. The car was laid up for some time prior to my buying it. The current Toyo tyres look ok from a few feet away but are 2007 manufacture and perished.

With tyres I’m either a Michelin or Continental man. My BYD EV which is quiet and softly spring has Michelin pilot sport EV (20”).

The car has a Michelin MXV2 as a spare, I reckon we had these on a VW Golf a few years ago, they were nothing special. By comparison a set of Primacy transformed the golf.

The XM has 195/65/R15 series 1 alloy wheels. Am thinking Michelin primacy or premacy 4 ST. Or a Continental equivalent. Do any forum members have these or any recommendations?

If I could find a set of C6 Roccastrada 18” wheels I’d go with them. There might be some offset issues. But C6s very thin on the ground here in Australia and almost impossible to find one in a wrecking yard or breakers.

If anyone has some 17” or 18” wheel suggestions I’m all ears!

Thanks
John

[MelbMan]

One of the wreckers here has a set of 18” Peugeot 508 alloy wheels and a set of 17”. About GBP330 for the 18” set.

I phoned them looking for 4 x 15” steel wheels. Idea to put new Tyres on these temporarily and send the series 1 XM alloy wheels off to be refurbished.
But he explained steel wheels hard to find.

Might take the car to this place tomorrow and see what the Peugeot wheels look like in the flesh.

[xantia_v6]

The XM has very little clearance for wider wheels in the rear arches, specifically the leading edge of the rear bumper gets very close to the tyre.

This post has pictures of my XM with 16" Peugeot wheels.

Be aware that the suspension relies on sidewall flex to handle minor irregularities in the road surface, so depending on your local roads, the ride may suffer if you go up to 17" or 18".

[Dieselman]

I agree with xantia_v6, keep the sidewall height of the 15" wheel setup, especially for series 1 Xm, as they are set stiffer...but do handle extraordinarily well.
My preference would be for Michelin tyres, the MXV3 was designed for the Xm, but is obviously going to be past it's best now.