hi all.. i own a 3.0 sports x-type and am in need of new tryes, im looking at replacing my worn perelli,s for bridgestone potenza RE050A pole position as on researching they come up as a good tyre, my question is that jaguar state not to have a tyre with a load rating less than 91 where the load is only 88 on this brand of bridgestones, does anyone know if its still safe to use them, any help would be very much appreciated
many thanks all

 

snoook, by definition, using a load rating 88 tire will work as the front axle is rated for 2418 pounds (1097 kg) and the rear axle is rated for 2156 pounds (978 kg). Tires with a load rating of 88 are rated at 1235 pounds (560 kg) each. So, that would mean that the most limiting axle (front) would be covered by these tires (combined load rating of 2470 pounds (1235 x 2). But, that assumes that both tires are loaded evenly at all times. This is especially true in that most of the weight is carried on the front tires almost all the time. So, you are near the max of the tires almost all the time. Where this comes into play is that if you take a high speed corner, you are shifting the weight of the car around and you load one tire more than another. This can lead to overloading of a tire and sudden failure is possible. A 91 rated tire is rated for 1356 pounds (615 kg). This gives you some leeway in shifting loads and not overloading a tire.

If you needed to use these tires for a short period of time, then I would say to use them. But, if you are planning on long term use, find a 91 rated tire and go with that.