Hi guys, I have a ‘13 xf 5.0 S/C with the 20” draco wheels. I was wondering if anyone has ran any tires on the rear with taller sidewalls than the stock of 285/30/20. I just want to fill in that wheel gap a teeny tiny bit. Reason I’m asking is because I’ve read on here that lowering the car isn’t the best idea in terms of performance, just like my cars to have a nice flush fitment with the fenders or at least close to it.
i know some of you are going to say go to 19’s, i do plan on doing that eventually but right now I want to stick with these and try to get a bigger sidewall. I was thinking 305/30/20 which is .2 inch taller than the front tire. Anyone tried this setup? Or 295/30/20 which would match the front wheels at 27” tall.

 

Lowering the car isn't bad for performance, it just causes excess inner tire wear on the rear tires, but that's only if you lower the car too much. Based on most of what I have read on the forums, anything up to a 20mm or 3/4 inch drop will still keep you in the factory alignment spec. Since you have the OEM bilstein adaptive dampers, they are capable of providing sufficient damping with lowering springs. The only springs I am aware of that are specifically designed for the XF, are offered by Spires: https://www.spires-st.com/product/xf...ering-springs/

I am suggesting that you go with the springs because it'll give you two benefits, better handling and noticeable improvement in fender gap.

 

so you suggest lowering rather than just trying some tires with taller sidewalls? 305/30/20 would give me .4 inch extra sidewall, was thinking of getting 2 Nitto drag radials in that size and keeping my Hankooks that were on when i got the car as backups/winter tires. Or 295s

 

If you want better stance and handling, yes. The draco rear rim width is 9.5 inch, 305 is too much tire and will not net good performance.

Nitto themselves recommend a 10.5 inch rim to run a 305 tire: https://www.nittotire.com/competitio...g-radial-tire/

 

Note that I think you only get .2 extra inch of sidewall (0.4 inch total diameter so the top of tire will only be 0.2 inch closer to the wheel arch. I think that's going to make very little difference in the loop. Suspect you will need to drop the height to see the difference.

 

295/30 fits fine. on stock width wheel it was not a terrible look of fitment. I did run wheel spacers to push them out a bit and they looked much better... I then got used aftermarket wheels from a member with .5'' more width and larger offset out from hub so wheel spacers went away and i had to roll fenders to mitigate rubbing i was getting on hard launch when suspension squats. running the 295/30 in back and 255/35 in front.

wider tires aren't necessarily better for straight line like they are for cornering. lots of arguments about it on all forums. you might get a 275/35/20 drag radial or even a 275/40 to fit. getting a good rubber compound and a bit more sidewall will probably grip like a champ. Yeah, not cool to have narrower tires, but 275's are not pizza cutters by any means..

 

there is a member on here that had much taller tires and claimed no rubbing, but you do start to have sidewall proportion aesthetic issues. I think they had 305/35/20 which is about 1.5'' taller than stock

 

thanks Adam! Might try some 275/35 radials. I have 1.25” spacers on the car right now. Im happy with the poke & offset just need some more meat, don’t think sacrificing 10mm of width will change too much