Just curious if anyone had the opportunity to drive a new XJ in snow. Neither tirerack or discounttiresdirect list winter tires for either the 19" or 20" wheels. I realize it's not a winter car, but someone must make winter tires in that size.

Thanks in advance!

Twotone

 

Yes,....and don't do it! At least not with the original summer tires. I actually turned around 300 yards out of the garage. Guess you need different tires. I just decided to drive another car. Doesn't bother me. Even in Chicago. How many days a year really is there packed snow on the roads? (OK non-withstanding some country back roads).

 

mine came with winter mode...not much snow where i live but do travel up north occasionally. was wondering what does switching to winter mode actually do?

 

As I live in south florida I guess I'll never find out what winter mode does or will I use the heated steering wheel function as I don't want to melt it. But don't worry about the snow too much Al Gore says the earth is warming so it won't be a problem much longer.

 

I have 19" Blizzak LM-60 winter tires mounted on a dedicated set of BBS rims and it's been very good in the snow. We've had a record snowfall here in MN this month, and I drive the XJ about 70 miles to and from work every day. The electronic nannies do a great job of keeping things straight, and the only real shortcoming is acceleration on snow or ice when pulling into traffic. On the plus side, I can stop much faster than most vehicles equipped with all-season tires, including my wife's new BMW 535xi GT.

There are no wheels available yet from Tire Rack or Discount Tire that are known to fit this vehicle, but I'm sure that will eventually change. My only option was to go through the dealer, but the price for OEM 19" wheels with the Blizzaks and TPMS was almost $6k, which I didn't want to pay. They spent a couple of days trying various wheel combinations and found a BBS wheel that cleared the calipers and cost a few thousand less overall. So I'm running a non-staggered set now with 245/45/19s on the front and rear. Because the rear wheel is narrower than the OEM rear wheel by 1", and the tire is slightly narrower, its tucked in a bit more than I would like (about 1-2"). This wheel is not available in a different offset, so the dealer is working with me to install rear wheel spacers to push it out a bit.

Overall, I find the XJ to be quite stable and capable in the snow, assuming you're rolling on good rubber. A full tank of gas also helps!

 

Great info. I wished I would be in Florida and not even talking about this one.

That confirms my thought that tires make all the difference. And...wintermode does work and does a good job keeping you from spinning out all around. But of course it can't get you traction if you are not on winter tires.

 

Same here--not a lot of snow in Houston. No problems in the torrential downpours though!

 

Thanks good to know. I'll let you know how it drives thru a hurricane. Lol

 

Took it out the last few days for "testing" in the East Coast Blizzard. Winter mode makes a big difference. Apparently it adjusts throttle response, transmission torque, ABS, etc. so that not too much power is applied to the wheels thereby reducing slip. Handled ok, better than an Infinity M45 with AWD, about equal to my MB R350 AWD but didn't feel as grounded, much better than a Saab 96 I took out, BUT did not come close to my A6 Quattro - never drove a sedan that did - A6 Quattro was going through stuff that small SUV's were stuck in. All in all, for a large sedan with performance tires and rear wheel drive, I am very happy with its handling. I would not intend to drive it in the snow however but would feel comfortable if I got caught in some snow.

 

Ok, I hesitated about responding to this thread because I do not look for opportunities to be critical of my XJ SC, but here it goes..

In my opinion, this is simply not a winter car, even in Winter mode. I did have my dealer put on all season Michelins upon delivery as opposed to the regular tires which probably helps a bit.

That said, on one night that was icy, I had a minor spin out but never lost control. Last Sunday, I needed to drive my car to take my kids to the Bears/Jets game (my wife needed our Land Rover LR3). There was about 6-8 inches of snow in my driveway and the plow service had not arrived when it was time for us to leave. I got stuck in the driveway, but fortunately we were able to get out eventually. Once we got onto the streets, the handling was ok and we made it to the game on time (go Bears!).

I just need to get used to rear wheel drive again. My Mercedes S550 was a 4Matic and it made a huge difference in the winter.

My lessons learned:
1) Stay home or drive more conservatively when it is icy
2) Call the plow service to get to my house early when needed
3) Actually consider shoveling my own driveway in a pinch

 

Just wanted to share my winter driving experiences with the XJ.

I ordered my xj with 20 inch Kasuga rims. Without snow tires I had little or no traction with a trace of snow on my driveway. Winter mode helped a bit but certainly not on a confidence inspiring level.

However, when I had my winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzak on 18 inch rims) installed by my dealer the difference in performance was monumental to say the least. Tire and rims were part of a winter package offered by my dealer.

Using the winter mode traction and handling in snow and icy conditions has been great so far and there's been no loss of control.

In fact I am more confident with the winter performance of my xj on snow tires than I was when I had my 08 Mercedes E300 4matic with all season tires.

 

Hey Barmats,

Can you give me the details of the BBS wheels you got?? I need a set for my XJ.

Thanks.

 

I wasn't able to get the model number of these rims, but from looking At their website, appears to be the CH model.

Having driven the vehicle daily through several major snowstorms, I can't tell you how much these tires have transformed the vehicle in the snow. The stability control is simply superb, to the point where it's virtually impossible to get the car sideways. Stopping power is awesome, and only lighter vehicles with snow tires can stop faster.

For anyone who has had a bad experience in the snow, it is your tires. I drove the stock all season P Zero Nero tires through some snow, and was surprised at how little grip they had. Getting a winter set with TPMS isn't cheap for this car, but if you drive regularly in the snow like I do, it is essential.

 

Finally washed the car today with temps a few degrees above zero. I figured if I continued to wait for warmer weather, I'd be waiting all winter. I think the carbon fiber in the center caps is real.

The dealer was able to find the part number for this wheel - CK007DSK in 19" x 8". So it is a BBS model CK wheel. I still don't know the offset, but I'm told there are no other offsets available in this style.

 

Damn, that's alot of snow

 

Thanks for the pics and the info Barmats. Unfortunately, I just realized that your Jag is not supercharged. Mine is, and therefore the brakes are larger. I'm going to look into it but I'm almost sure these wheels won't fit over my brakes. If not, I guess the search continues . . . your car looks great BTW.

 

Pirelli does have 19" and 20" for the new XJ. i have installed them on couple of XJ's and yes 2 of them are supercharged. Pirelli Sotozero 240

 

In spite of the XJ's impressive winter performance with good snow tires, I would not own this car in MN if we didn't have an AWD SUV. I also drive 70+ miles per day. However, I believe the s/c version has electronic limited slip, which would probably make a significant difference taking off on slippery surfaces. As you know, MN got record snowfalls this winter with 43" alone last December. I got stuck once when the car got hung up on hard packed snow - this was a combination of poor judgement and bad conditions, and several guys were unable to push me out (this is when I discovered the tow hook uses a left-hand thread). Otherwise, the car did very well in the snow and I'm still impressed with it's stability control. It's virtually impossible to get it sideways.

There were a couple of days this winter when I took the SUV to work and left the XJ in the garage. These were days with over a foot of fresh snow and poorly plowed roads. But this car remains an absolute joy to drive, and I'm still totally in love with it. BMW has AWD (and really good nav) but doesn't have the heart and soul of the XJ. Audi is nice, but has tepid performance by comparison.