It is time to replace the tires. My question is if it is a viable option to change the tires to all the same size instead of the staggered front and rear sizes. Thinking of going with a 255 so slightly wider on the front and slightly narrower on the rear. Is this going to cause issues handling wise or otherwise? Will that size tire fit the current wheels?

Why I am asking? Purely economics in an effort to get much closer to the tires warranty rating instead of about half. Thanks in advance.

 

Havoc, from what I know about my XJ, if you went with a 255 tire, then you should be golden. But, with this being said, I think you will also end up getting new rims to make this work. Not only from a looks point of view (ie, front tires are going to look like the rim is way to narrow for the tire and the rear tires are going to look like the rim is way to wide when you compare front to rear), but also from a safety point of view. It is more with the rear tires as the tire is going to be more narrow than the rim, which is naturally going to want to pull the tire away from the rim (possibly resulting in a rapid depressurization of the tire, leading to potential loss of control if the car was to make an evasive maneuver).

So, for what you spend on tires in say 50K miles, you can either get 2 sets of tires that are factory or you can buy 1 set of tires and a new set of rims. either way, you are going to come out about the same.

I don't know about you, but if anything, I want more rubber on the back end of my car. Maybe I am a bit more aggressive on the throttle than most, but I know I have to ease into the gas some when turning, otherwise I can hear the tires slipping and sometimes will even get the traction control to kick in. Maybe my next set of tires will be the XJR/supercharged version tire widths, just on the 19 inch rims.

 

Rotating tires may make the "set" last a bit longer, but it does not really make the individual tires last any longer. If your rear tires wear out quicker, just replace the rear tires. Vica Versa with the fronts. The rear wheels are 10" wide so I am not sure they would put a 245 on it. I doubt there is any ROI for replacing the rear wheels with front wheels.

I would not vary from the staggered setup unless you go with 245s all the way around. If you were looking to save every penny this really is not the car to do it with. The minuscule amount of savings you are talking about is not worth changing the design of the car. Perhaps a Hyundai would be better?