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The car is a joke in the snow. If you are someone like me, who does not have time to be swapping out tires every winter, do not get this car. Winter mode does nothing except start it in 2nd gear. It's not just the tires, but the weight distribution that make the car downright dangerous in the snow. This is another reason why this is an old man's car. Younger guys just don't have time to swap out tires. In fact, they like to do as little maintenance on the car as possible. Expect sales to dip over the next year as the younger males buyers back off from this experiment.
And for all those comments of "what did you expect", well you would expect much more than this. This is not an AMG or M. It is marketed to compete with a S or 7 series, and while no rear wheel drive does as good in the snow, those two do not have the same level of pathetic peformance in the snow as the XJ.
I don't think you have a good grasp of the Jaguar brand. One of the hallmarks of Jaguar ownership has ALWAYS been driver/owner involvement. Now that doesn't mean that it should come with all sorts of glitches/issues from new (I will grant you that), but to suggest that you don't want to bother to do anything but drive the car and get compliments instantly takes you from "enthusiast" to toaster-oven mass market consumer. I am a younger car owner, and sure I'm busy with work, but as an enthusiast, I MAKE time to ensure that my cars get what they need, especially with regards to proper equipment for safety in inclement weather!
I might add that I hate the looks of the X351 and I would never buy one. If it's anything like my former X350, I wouldn't expect the quality of it to match that of the other European competition. However, to bash a car for not being able to drive well in the snow with ultra high performance summer tires is absolute lunacy. Even with all seasons, you could expect performance for this type of car to be poor, given the width of the tire/wheel (you want narrow tires for winter). Find me one car that will actually go anywhere with ultra high performance summer tires on it with over a 1/2" of snow. I have seen AWD Subarus that can barely get moving in the snow with summer tires!
Last edited by amcdonal86; 02-27-2012 at 02:11 PM.
I don't think you have a good grasp of the Jaguar brand. One of the hallmarks of Jaguar ownership has ALWAYS been driver/owner involvement. Now that doesn't mean that it should come with all sorts of glitches/issues from new (I will grant you that), but to suggest that you don't want to bother to do anything but drive the car and get compliments instantly takes you from "enthusiast" to toaster-oven mass market consumer. I am a younger car owner, and sure I'm busy with work, but as an enthusiast, I MAKE time to ensure that my cars get what they need, especially with regards to proper equipment for safety in inclement weather!
I might add that I hate the looks of the X351 and I would never buy one. If it's anything like my former X350, I wouldn't expect the quality of it to match that of the other European competition. However, to bash a car for not being able to drive well in the snow with ultra high performance summer tires is absolute lunacy. Even with all seasons, you could expect performance for this type of car to be poor, given the width of the tire/wheel (you want narrow tires for winter). Find me one car that will actually go anywhere with ultra high performance summer tires on it with over a 1/2" of snow. I have seen AWD Subarus that can barely get moving in the snow with summer tires!
I agree with everything you said up until the looks thing which of course is your personal preference. I live in Germany and I get looks and thumbs up all the time. And the build quality is night and day from the old Jags. The only thing the big German three have on us is that they have more tech in their cars based on the size of their companies and volumes they sell. Maserati is in the same boat as I spoke with them at the Frankfurt car show. But unless you get a BMW individual they can not even compete with the XJ as far as interior goes.
Well, let me also add that I would probably never buy a Merc S-class or BMW 7-series because there are so dang many of them and they're not distinctive. At least the X351 is distinctive.
I am very excited about Jaguars upcoming products, though!
A Jag in snow! For me -Never. It stays in place and I drive the truck.
I believe, when it snows, only 4x4's should be on the road.
I do get a kick out of the "winter setting" I'll never use it but it makes the
instrument a nice blue.
We had a little heavier snow a couple of weeks ago so I am updating my comments from earlier in this thread. I am running a set of oem rims with Pirelli Sotozero 240's winter tires. We had a wet/heavy snow the other day, the type that sticks and compacts to form slippery conditions, and the car performed ok but not great. Hills were a bit of a problem and the only time I was really thinking about the advantage of all-wheel drive. So, pretty much as I expected, with winter tires the car is an acceptable winter driver but not great in the heavy stuff. I know there are some on here that don't drive their XJ in the winter but I figure, why deprive myself? I bought it to drive it and, though I do have a 4x4 pick-up that is better in snow, I would much rather drive the XJ.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of winter tires on these cars. I'm selling this set and it literally turned our supercharged xf into a snowmobile. This car with this winter package out performed my 4 wheel drive with all season michelins on them. Everyone considers traction for going, but the important factor is stopping and turning. there is no substitute for winter tires in winter conditions. Selling this set, 2 winters use on these Blizzaks with Jag XJ wheels with tire sensors. 1000$/BO. contact me for shipping,
Nope I bought an SUV just for the winter. My XJ is not AWD and that back end will get out on you if you're not careful even in the rain. Probably isn't helping having low profile tires and 22" wheels. But in the rain I take it slow or put on the winter mode. I sold my SUV (going through a divorce, yay!) So it's my daily driver now, we'll see how it treats me this winter I'm not adverse to working from home lol.
Would not drive this automobile if snow is on the ground. Years ago I owned a Lincoln Mark VII, Bill Blass, rear wheel drive and drove it only once with snow on the road, and I ended in a ditch. Fortunately no damage done to the car. After that happened I only drove my FWD Buck Riviera when snow was on the ground and that vehicle got me thru anything when it snowed.
In the winter now I just drive my GMC 4 X 4, the Jaguar stays in the garage.
Knowing how to drive in winter conditions is half the battle. My XJL SS sees a Canadian winter each year. And with winter mode selected + snow tires (20"), providing the snow isn't too deep, it handles it all with aplomb.
My biggest concern is everyone else on the road around me...especially SUV drivers who somehow equate AWD with better stopping power when the white stuff is on the ground.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of winter tires on these cars. I'm selling this set and it literally turned our supercharged xf into a snowmobile. This car with this winter package out performed my 4 wheel drive with all season michelins on them. Everyone considers traction for going, but the important factor is stopping and turning. there is no substitute for winter tires in winter conditions. Selling this set, 2 winters use on these Blizzaks with Jag XJ wheels with tire sensors. 1000$/BO. contact me for shipping,
Hi !
Trying to PM you about those wheels, but since I'm a new member, can't do so.
HAHAHA... I also live in South Florida, Downtown Fort. Lauderdale. I only use the winter mode some times at nights just to get the blue look in the display.
I found out a long time ago about tires in snow. I tried three times to get up a small hill. While sitting there trying to decide what to do in a Dodge Duster, a Volkswagen Beetle went past me and turned into the parking lot 50 feet in front of me. I ended up parking at the bottom of the hill. The next day they sanded the road and I made it to the parking lot just fine. I can still see those skinny little tires on that Volkswagen just go on by me.
Another thing I discovered is to put it in neutral when trying to stop. With rear wheel drive the front will lock up faster than the rear. When it does you lose steering and will slide into the ditch. When on slick snow or ice always put a rear wheel drive in neutral.
I still came down a hill one time back then and found my brakes were useless. I went into a snow bank at about 20 miles an hour. That stopped me. I managed to back out and continue on my journey. They came through and sanded the road later and I had no problem getting back up that hill.
my father and I went up to montreal this weekend, i took the XFR, he took the XJ. both did pretty well considering the whole city was 1 giant sheet of ice in -15 degree weather.
both cars ran on all-seasons. the XJ was AWD. turning was a bit of a challenge in the XF, as the back end would consistently step out, but at low speeds it was easy to control. the cars struggled to start, but eventually roared to life after a few seconds of cranking. had issues keeping air in my tires because I have slight bends in them and they leaked air from the cold
i actually did the drive to montreal a few years ago in a RWD V8 XJ (X531)....all 300 miles were covered in fresh snow, i was incredibly impressed at how well the car handled it. 60ish-mph the whole way, on pure white snow. i dont think my XFR can do that
Green Jag XJ SuperSports 2011. So, there are two running around NYC area. My wife can't get over the way it changes colors when wet and the medal flake shining.
I realize this thread has been quiet for a while but I wanted to share my experiences that might help a fellow F-type owner prepare for winter. My MY2017 British Design Edition (BDE) V6S came with Sottozeros which had about 7/32 on them when I got the car last summer. I drove on them in winter in Denver and found the traction to be OK in packed snow, not fantastic in slush and scary on ice. The BDE comes with 20" wheels which are 9" front and 10.5" rear which may have contributed to the subpar winter performance. In preparing for this coming winter I followed the advice of Keith Forrest's posts in this thread and down-sized to 8.5" wheels front and back in the hopes they will cut thru the snow and slush better. I wanted to downsize to 19" diameter to keep the rims away from the white stuff more and have a taller sidewall for a smoother ride. Like others have found, not all 19" wheels will fit over the 380mm front brake calipers. Pictured is my trial fit of a Niche Misano 19x8.5 ET 40 on the front which hit the caliper. BTW, I found good deals online but all of these retailers were clueless about fitment on an F-type. They just look up some standard info and tell you it won't fit and/or they will not allow you return on their dime if they tell you it does and you find out it doesn't. So eventually I gave up online and used my local discount tire who would order one wheel for me to take home to test fit at a time (not sure I trust them enough to jack up the car without damaging the plastic side skirts).
After the failed Niche Misano test fit I decided to just stick with 20" rims. I settled on the look of the TSW Nurburgring 8.5x20 ET 40 which are rotary forged so a little more expensive than their cast alloy wheels but the unsprung weight saving is immense compared to the factory wheels (23lb vs. factory 35-37lb). They tested fitted fine but as Keith mentioned the rears would be inboard by about 1.5" compared to OEM. "Fugly" as he put it. I tend to agree so ordered 35mm black anodized wheel adapters from Motorsport Tech. They took 6 weeks to make due to material shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic but they are awesome quality and worth the $170. I am not sure if these will have any impact on wheel bearing longevity. Would be interested to hear from Keith and others' experiences. According to Unhinged he does not think his 17mm spacers would increase bearing wear. Not sure about 35mm though.
Tires...in Denver we can get a lot of snow which can become slush when it melts and ice when it refreezes overnight. But like many non-hardcore winter states in the US I would guess there may be 5-10 days each winter when snow tires are really necessary. So that leaves most of the Nov-April months not requiring a serious winter tire which will be noisy, handle subpar and wear quickly on dry pavement. Of course there is an advantage of a winter compound on cold (<45F degree) dry roads compared with rock-hard summer performance tires so I decided to go with a compromise. I used to run dedicated snow tires on our Honda Pilot and Ford Escape but for the past few years have switched to an "all weather" tire stamped with the three mountain peak snowflake (3MPSF) certification. In the case of the SUVs I went with the Toyo Celcius which I found to have comparable performance during Denver winters versus Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin X-Ice2's. Last year I also fitted Michelin CrossClimate+ tires to my RX8 which I found to have pretty decent snow and slush performance despite being RWD. Anyway, the choices for 3MPSF tires for the F-Type include:
Each of these brands have an offering in the 20" wheel size. I went with the Michelin CrossClimate2 (updated version of the CrossClimate+ which is still available) in 245/40R20 which gives an overall diameter of 2.6% larger than the stock wheel set up. This would result in a slight but acceptable speedometer error (approx 2mph faster actual speed than indicated when going 70-90mph). Haven't had any snow to test them on yet but they look great with the new stance (both front and rears pushed out about 1/2" from stock) and handle fine in the dry although I admit I haven't pushed them hard around corners yet. Not sure if the wider track will improve cornering while the smaller width from stock will detract from cornering and how that all balances out.
Will report back after I've had some more time to test them over the upcoming winter. Now if only I can get the TPMS to recognize the new sensors.....(I know, long story, different thread) Test fitting the Niche Misano 35mm Wheel adapter on the rear Michelin CrossClimate2 with new wider stance despite "skinnier" tires from OEM Whaddya think?
I was going to move my XJS around one year when it was cold and snowy. There's a slight downhill decline at the garage door. I slid as if it was glare ice! Quite scary! Be safe, four wheel drive pickup.
02-27-2012, 02:08 PM
