Hi,
I am the very fortunate owner of a pristine 2002 XK8 convertible with 17,000 original miles. I purchased herin Las Vegas from the original owner in August andshe is absolutely flawless in all respects. Thetires are original and are ContiSportContact 255/45 ZR 18-99 VV. Not sure of the tire manufactureddate but they have to beover 7 years old since the car production date was 10/01. The tires showhardly anywear and, quite honestly, look new to me. I'm not sure, however,iftheremay bea danger driving the car with tires that old. They seem to ride fine but I do notice that you really have to drive this car rather than have her drive you. Know what I mean? Can they be checked at a tire dealer or should I just replace them? If I were to replace them, what would be the best brand/type of tire? I have heard negative things about ContiSportContact.While I only intend to use this car during nice weather,she will be in a different climate now in New Jersey, far from the optimal conditions in Las Vegas. Winter driving will definitely be out and I don't even plan to take her out in the rain. In advance, thanks for your comments and advice!

 

If the tires are original you are correct that they are too old and should be changed. Here are come links on how to tell the date of manufacture.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11

http://www.tuninglinx.com/html/car-tire-date-code.html

As for what tire is best depends on individual circumstances. I don't very often drive over 100MPH so extreme performance isn't needed, the car is not on the road very often during the winter and only gets driven 6 or 7 thousand miles a year, so the tires will probably hit old age before wearing out. In my case spending $200 or more each would be unnecessary and I am looking at the Toyo, which, I have been told by a tire shop that doesn't sell them, is rated as well as Michelin.

Hope that is of some help.

Note: The Toyo Versado LX

 

Thanks for the info. Max. Those tires were manufactured June 2001 so I guess replacing them is my only option. It's a shame though, the tires look brand new. Anyway, I have no intention of driving upwards of 100 miles per hour so I'm going to look into Toyo as you suggested. Thanks so much for getting back to me. Best regards.

 

Check your tire size! The fronts should be 245 and the rears should be 255. When I bought my car, the last owner put 255's on the front as well and it was not a good driver. I replaced them with Riken Raptor tires. Good quiet tires at an excellent price. Riken is owned by Michelin. I had all 4 tires installed and on-car balanced for $520.

 

First of all, great find...17k miles is truly low mileage!

There are alot of options in regards to manufacturers, and I recently went thru the process of researching (meaning reading hundreds of reviews online, going thru forum threads on tires, etc) to finally end up with two options. Factory provided Pirelli P-Zeros were over $300 a tire, so that option was out. I also wanted all season high-performance tires.

1) Yokohoma S-drives were my first choice. Not a single bad comment could be found on this model and they were around $140 a tire. Unfortunately, due to their popularity, even my 2-month wait list could not turn up any tires for me. So I went with my second choice.

2) Falken FK452s - I heard almost as many good comments on these tires as I did the s-drives. At $150 a tire, this ultimately was my best choice. So far, I have about 5000 miles on them and they are just as quiet as the Pirellis, but I haven't pushed them on wet or dry cornering. I am more of a "spirited" driver.

Good luck, research and find the best prices. I ordered my tires online, and even with shipping to my local shop, they were considerably lower in cost than buying local.

 

Congratulations on a great find!

I put a set of the Michelin on my 2000XK8 this year and was very pleased with the tires. When I replaced my poor little car with a newer one with a third the miles on it the owner had installed the ContiSport for the sale. After three balance efforts, including 2 force balanceI took the car to the dealer for a front end inspection and was told that I should put Michelin's on it. I will probably stick with the Michelins when it comes time for replacement.

 

If you drive alot in the rain, be sure to compare the wet traction ratings of every brand you consider. If you want a softer ride wath out for the wear ratings... Good wear ratings usually means harder rubber compounds... and a little stiffer ride...

We drive the XK8 alot in the havy rain. Recentlyput ona set of Cooper Zeon 2XS. Excellent going through deep mud puddles at highway speeds. They are directional tires... most directional tires alsodo well in water. They offer a softer ride, but sacrifice a little in the wear rating. They run around $125 a piece.

 

Thanks Lew, very astute, you were exactly right about the tire sizes (I would have never noticed that)...since I only intend to do very light driving over the next month or so and then store her for winter, I'll probably check out Riken Raptors in the spring. I also have a 2006 S-Type on lease that is up in April and was thinking of replacing with a used, low mile SJ8. How do you like yours? I'll probably be looking for a good 2004-2005 model...any tips? I do hope to find one with navigation.

 

Thanks so much for your comments...I have a difficult decision to makeand a lot of research to do but I'm conviced I need new tires...one thing I was wondering is if would be best to have a Jaguar dealer install the tires. I would hate to have a regular tire shop do something stupid like install wheel weights on the outer mag rims.

 

Thanks, it was a great find and I still can't believe it. I don't exaggerate when I tell you this car looks like it just came out of the showroom. Mechanically, she has been perfect, only drove about 300 miles over the last 2 months. When I tell people she's 7 years old they think I'm pulling their leg. I'm definitely going to check out the Michelins, I hear others saying they are the best.

 

Thanks for the info. but I have no intention of driving this car in the rain...it is soley a 'nice day' car.In fact, the convertible top is kept down 95% of the time, even in thegarage. I appreciate your comments about the rain, however...will keep this in mind for other cars.

 

The XJ's are great cars. They are very reliable, but as with any car, you can get a problematic car. Just do your research and find a good one. I will probably look for Riken tires for my XJ when the Pirelli tires wear down. The Pirelli tires are very noisy!!