Hey guys, I just bought my '84 400i but I just found out that Michelin no longer manufactures the tires any more for this car. Is that true? How do people get around then...literally drive any where unless they have to but different ferrari rims?? This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. I was told to go to Coker tires since they bought the mold from Michelin. So now coker makes their own which I was to,d was sub par quality next to michelin. What have you guys done alternatively? By the way, these tires cost $419. Any ideas on how I might get passed this problem? I still have the originals on them but I'm thinking I'll die trying to drive with them on. Pls pls..any help would be most appreciated! Thanks!
The TRX is a metric size tire - it was an experiment that didn't become popular. English (inches) sizes are still the norm. Several guys have switched to 328 16 inch rims - this does not significantly change appearance as the pattern is the same but tires are MUCH cheaper, better and readily available. I'm sure several members will chime in with how to handle the swap or alternate suggestions. Keep the originals and get some Cokers if you want to show your car. Regards, Art S.
Thanks very much Art! What do these 328 wheels look like? problem is that I will have to invest at least 2K to buy them correct which doesnt even include tires. Any ideas where I can buy these wheels? Who makes the tires for these 328 wheels? What an undertaking I'll tell ya...wow!
The easist way to do this is to go with teh Superformance repro 308qv wheels. Lyle tanner should have them. They will bolt on with a set of spacers also available from lyle and use your stock wheel bolts. I think they are $1,200 or so a set. The other choice is genuine ferrari 328 wheels, available from the UK. This was my choice but it is not a direct bolt on as they don't clear the front wheel bearing dust cover so you have to machine a collar to clear and hold the horsie cap. This is what I did. Work fine but it is some effort. There is a thread on this with pictures of my wheels on the site somewhere... The good news is once this is done, tires are cheap for ever. A
Changing tires on a series 2 Ferrari 400i is not for the weak of heart. There are no shortcuts. $419 per tire from coker. $1,676 plus shipping, plus mount and balance. Or buy 4 wheels, the spacers you'll need (unless you go with 308 wheels), and tires. Around $2,000. Sorry for the bad news. These are not cheap cars. Welcome to the big time. Would you mind sharing the serial # of your car. I track every 400i in the US. I might be able to give you some history on yours.
Tanner is out of the spacers and doesn't plan another run of them. Hill enger. has them, but woo hoo the price has jumped big time.
Do you have a website of the place where I can buy the genuine 328 wheels? BTW, what kinds of tires do you use? and how much do they cost going forward. Anything is better than buying low quality cokers at $419 a piece. Thanks!
who is tanner/lyle? parts store? Vin # is ZFFEB06B000050439. Please let me know on any history you know of. thanks!
Lyle Tanner: Ferrari Part Sexchange . com -sorry couldn't resist http://www.ferraripartsexchange.com/ Regards, Art S.
The 328 wheels look basicly like the stock 400 wheels except they have a slightly different offset (why you need the spacer) and are 16" - meaning you can fit any R-16 tire you want (there has been much discussion on this board as to which tire is best). 308 QV wheels will also work as alex said (they look similar too). Regards, Art S. PS. What is your name? I prefer to address my responses when I reply.
When I replaced the TRXs on my 308 a few years back, I bought them off of Tirerack.com for like $200 each. That's been about 4.5 years now, so they may not still have them.
Art, My name is Jim...noce to meet you and thank you for all of your tips on tires. but just to be clear, if I do get the 328 tires (16")...does that mean I can have any 16" tires put on at my choice? How good of a quality are Lyle's repro wheels? Where can I get the reals one from the UK? USA doesnt have 'em? So just to confirm I can only use: 308 or 328 wheels that are 16" correct? I wonder how much the real ones are... 308 vs. 328...what is the exact difference...according to lyle's website they both look exactly the same. thanks again for your help! Perhaps I can return the facor in due time. JIM
Jim, Nice to meet you too. I wish you the best of luck with your car. The 308/328/400 wheels all look basically the same which is why they were suggested if you want a stock look but the convinience of 16inch wheels. If you want more 'bling', there are plenty of other wheels out there that will work. If you stick with the stock look, you can use 308QV (last version of the 308) wheels with a spacer or 328 wheels with a spacer and a minor modification as described by Alex. I do not have experience with Lyles wheels, the UK supplier is Ferrari of UK. You can also hunt around the internet for a used set of OEM wheels or just find an aftermarket style that has the correct offset and bolt pattern. If you switch to 16 inch wheels, you can use any tire of the correct size. When picking size, it is desirable that the tire you pick has a similar rolling radius to the stock tire so that the speedo will remain accurate (unfortunately, I don't remember what tire size i best - Alex or the other guys can advise you on this), otherwise you can choose from a number of high performance tires. Regards, Art S.
Does the ferrari of UK have the cheapest OEM wheels? Is that why no one buys them from the us or italy? What types of bolts and spacers do I need?
Hey Alex, Not sure what you mean by machine collar and clearance and holding horsies...can you re-explain? Do you mean i have to force it on...like hammer it into place or something? i guess 308 wheels is the easiest approach?
Ok - sorry I will answer a few questions. First, yes - Ferrari of the UK is the cheapest source of the 328 wheels. Anyone else who is selling them new is getting them from their. I think it is www.ferrariparts.co.uk or reach them via the ferrari classic part service on the ferrari owners site. For tires sizes I run 225/55/16 at all four corners in winter (Bridgestone Blizzak) and 245/50/16 in summer (Avon Turbospeed, I believe - hi perf tire made for a heavy car). Finally with respect to the collar the deal is that the 400i and 328 wheels have a sort of snout in the center to clear the large wheel bearing dust cap - the 328 wheels have a flat face as the 328s went to a different style of wheel bearing. As a result, on the front wheels only, you cant put the center cap in the 328 wheel when mounted on a 400i as the dust cap (or cotter pin with the cap removed) blocks it. So you need to machine a small collar to clear the dust cap and hold the horse. It needs a countersink on the top for the horse and a sort of taper on the bottom to mate with the wheel countersink where the horse used to go - attached pictures should help make this clear. let em know if this helps, A Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Alex, thank very much for taking the time to explain. Do you mind me asking how much the OEM 328 tires were plus shipping from Ferrari UK? I'm still waiting on a pin to log into the site which will tell me the price...I just registered. So the center cap can be bought like the way you have it in the pics? Once I have the 328 wheels I should be able to use any conventional (most up to date tire on the current market) tire and not rely on TRXs right? Did you have to buy the center caps separately? Thanks again, James
I am under the impression that Coker saw a need for TRX tires and promised to buy a run of them from Michilin, I brought a set of these, they are made in France by Michilin sold only through Coker. I belive about once a year Coker has Michilin do a run. So the quality is what you would expect from twenty year old technology made today by Michilin. I belive Good V rated tires in a popular normal size that will work will save about $700 a change, It will there for take three tire changes to break even on a set of real Ferrari 328 wheels spacer etc.. If you own the car that long or drive it that much more power to you, buy the wheels and stuff. I did not feel in my owner ship it would be worth it, just my take on the issue, Fritz
I actually called coker today and said it was on backorder and that they receive them from france. When did you get yours? how old are your tires? they said that they would actually be 2-4 yrs old on average. Did you check the date on the tire? Its the DOT number. Jim
Jim, I know where you can buy a set of series 1 wheels (15" series 2 went to metric) so they would be factory correct ferrari wheels for a series 1. They'd run you $2k. I have a set for my car and it solves ALL the problems and you still get to be "correct". Put a set of Pirelli P4000's (Z rated) on and away you go.
I ordered mine about four months ago, I just checked the DOT # , 2804 You are right that makes them 2004 ? is that correct?
where can I buy them? I'm not really following...can you explain with greater detail...i'm sorry. Jim