Looking for opinions for new tires, as my right rear tire is at 0 tread depth and the back end is skidding all over the road. The fronts are about 1/8 left before they're done so it's probably best to get a whole new set.

Currently have Pirelli PZero Nero, 30k miles. Really have never been happy with them. Only bought them because they came on the new XJs and figured they couldn't be bad. Presently the tire dealer tells me he has not seen good results putting the PZero Nero on big RWD vehicles.

Had ContiProContacts when I originally purchased the vehicle (2nd set), only complaint was at the end of their life they got noisy and had poor traction in the rain.

Now looking at the following options:

1. Conti ControlContact Sport A/S - this is the tire dealer's suggestion as the replacement for the OE ProContact. 50k mile warranty. $185 each.

2. Pirelli Cinturato P7 - quite a bit more than the PZero ($180 per tire vs $140), 45k mile warranty. $180 each. Not sure about giving Pirelli another try, however.

3. Bridgestone Turanza Serenety Plus - have heard these are very quiet tires. 50k mile warranty. $205 each.

Apparently at TireRack.com I can still but the OE ContiProContacts for $171 each. Not sure what I want to do. Reviews on the tire sites are about worthless, as there's as many good reviews as bad, and comparing the opinion from someone using them on a Ford Focus seems silly. Thoughts?

Thanks,
-Michael

 

I made the case for the Continental PureContact recently. If wet traction is a concern, I'd advise against the Cinturatos.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj6-xj8-xjr-x350-x358-28/non-spirited-driving-tire-recomendation-155556/#post1375828

Now I'm going to sound like a Conti rep in a minute, so let me balance that out by saying that getting another set of ContiProContacts isn't smart; they were never very quiet or well riding and they're pretty much phased out at this point. What they were was dependable; I drove them all the way down to the wear bars and they only started giving out at the end, after 80k.

IMO, the PureContact are what the oems should've been: long lasting, pretty responsive for an all season, quiet and supple, it suits the grand touring characteristics of the XJ8 to a T. If you're looking for something more sporty, the ExtremeContact DWS 06 is perfect for that and costs the same. The ControlContacts were, as far as I can make out, a Discount Tire rebranding of the older DWS and not worth the extra effort to procure.

Tire reviews should be read with an eye towards general trends and it helps to filter them by mileage. The TireRack guys also give their opinions on the Club Lexus forum as I linked in my post. I'm pretty confident in my picks of the PureContact and DWS 06 as the frontrunners, but with these pointers you should be able to decide for yourself as well. There's various other options based on price, driving style, rim size, etc.

Another slightly naughty suggestion: take advantage of the Jags loose end while you can. Obviously nothing stupid, but the oem ContiProContacts gave me a last laugh being able to do slow gentle squealing launches out of parking lots before I replaced them. Damned new tires took my fun away.

 

Thank you! Those PureContact sound like what I'm looking for. And they're only $165 a tire? That's better than the ones I had mentioned above. How long have you had them on your XJ?

 

I just installed a set of Michelin Primacy MXM4 235/50R18 97V. Fantastic! can't say enough good things about them. They replaced my Michelin Pilot MXM4 tires. I thought they were good until I drove on these. Highly recommend. BTW the Pure Contact is also a very good choice. Full disclosure, I work for a tire wholesaler. We are not brand specific so there is no bias in my remarks.

 

Well, for a bit of balance, I'm not going to get any more Conti's for a while. They seem to be the current 'bang for the buck' tire, but I've had two go out by the sidewall being curbed, and they never seem to stay in balance very well.
My local tire store manager said the same without me prompting (always have balance issues with them).
I had new sets of Conti's put on the wife's S6 and my '05 VDP. May try the Pirelli's or Michelin next.

 

Not spoken of often, but a very good choice, is General's AltiMAX RT43. If your goal is an all-season Grand Touring tire, it rates amongst those much higher in price. They are exceptionally quiet, very good in the wet, and great behavior for steering input. (General is owned by Conti)

 

I put new tires on my 2004 XJR this past September. I spent ages doing research and reading reviews. Your post doesn't say what size tires you're shopping for, so I've used the tires I bought for reference. My car has the 20-inch Sepang wheels with a tire size off 255/35/20.

I ended up purchasing a set of Nitto Motivos from my local DiscountTire shop. These tires didn't appear on their website in the correct size for me, but in the store they were able to quote me a price on them and order them in. You can see them here: Nitto Motivos

I paid $157 per tire, but I added their tire certificates (lifetime replacement warranty for damage and repair) which added $23 per tire. The grand total out the door with tax and installation was $867. Admittedly, I don't have very many miles on them yet, but I have been very happy with them so far. Also, they have a 60,000 mile treadler warranty. A big plus in my book.

 

I went cheap and put a set of Pirelli Scorpion Verde on my XJR. These are what was on my A8 when purchased a few years ago.
Like them better on the XJR. At Discount they are reasonable. Good mileage, traction, and low noise.

 

I didn't buy tires yet, going to get the last thousand or so miles out of the ones I have now, but I think I've settled on the Pirelli P7 for replacements. The Conti Extreme DWS are UHP tires, and I think I'll be happier with GT tires for my driving. The PZero Nero are also UHP, and a friend pointed out that's probably why I've never been happy with the ride. We'll see what happens.

Also, the size I'm shopping is 235/55/18

 

I love my P7's. 10k/1 year and going strong and quiet.