Almost since the month I bought the car in May 2010, the rear tyres have been what I jokingly call "JoNoName", being Acclera Phi 235/50/18 101Y. They came with the 18" wheels when I swapped out the 20".

Now in all that time I have done about 20k miles with no trouble at all with them or the fronts. This has included a long cruise to Germany and use in all weathers except snow here in the UK. I replaced the fronts last year with Pirelli P6000s, but finally the rears got a bit low, and my mechanic said they would not last a trip to Rome and back which we have to do soon for a family property transaction.

Anyway, now being a pensioner with less cash available, the upshot is that I have put on a pair of the same make of tyres. However, looking on the internet at tyre reviews these get "middling" ratings with wet performance not liked, yet I have had no trouble. I suspect the reason is that being brought up on a motorcycle in my younger days, I have always been cautious in the wet, (and in the dry for that matter !). So I will see how I get on, but one thing is positive - I got two tyres for less than one Pirelli. Hope to get another 20k miles from them.

At the same time the car was examined underneath (preparation for our Rome trip), and a failed RH rear anti-roll-bar link was found, so I ordered another one of a UK supplier at £28 but this became £40 once shipping and our 20% tax was added on. Fitting it is next week.

According to the reviews, the drivers that gave it a bad rating are those that push the vehicles to its limit.

As you mentioned, drive defensively and they should last.

Fraser,

As you know, width is a challange for any tire (or tyre as you spell it) you might fit as it relates to wet roads. I recently removed a set of BF Goodrich KDW's which seemed to perform fairly well in the wet, but were definitely not designed for cooler weather.

I put in their place some Kumho Escta 4x 255/40-19's. These tires are considerably quieter and should have more all-season grip, but they must be approached with some caution in the wet. Their more rounded shoulder does help and they recover quickly, but I still find myself being a bit more cautious.

Not sure this helps, but the real issue remains the tire width (cross-section).

Bob
Missouri USA

Regarding tire selection, I have noticed that Michelin almost always comes out on top. Unfortunately they almost always have significantly higher prices. Certainly more than I'm willing to pay.

But here's my point. The ratings spread on these tire tests, say for the top 4 brands, is usually quite small. In fact, when you read the fine print of the test results it seems the testers are forcing a point spread based on fine distinctions.

I too drive like a pensioner on fixed income, because I am one. However, I'm much too smart to ever have been a motorcycle driver, don't you know? Seems to me if I have experience with a product that meets my needs at a favorable price -- I have all the information I need. I try not to think too deaply about a lot of things these days.

Hi Fraser, I see you've brought up the subject of tyres.

Here's my experience FWIW....I used to do anwhere between 50k - 70k miles per year and racked up over a million in 20 yrs as a sales manager covering most of the UK.
It was always Pirelli, Continentals or Bridgestone for me but then the company was paying of course. To be fair I've carried that over into my own cars for years and generally still do, but, moneys getting tight n times are hard for everyone and that may have to change.....

I recently bought a set of 19" alloys that came with Khumo Ecsta 255x35x19 tyres XL rated. My experience was that they were'nt as good as the top brands I would normally choose but were a lot cheaper....not quite half the price but a good saving nonetheless.
I definitely found I changed ny driving style to accomodate them and slowed down especially for corners / bends and more so in the wet....and they were ok.

I put a pair of cheap Wanli's on the rear of my Passat as my wife drives like miss Daisy, never goes above 70, ever, and leaves 3 miles from the car in front of her. There is however a good pair of Conti's on the front.

The story on these is, I wasa driving her car one night, it was a little wet / damp maybe I guess and cold and we were having words....lol
This meant I drove a little faster....anyway, into a roundabout I went intentionally faster than I should and next thing I know.....i'm looking at the side of my car going sideways..lol
Anyway, a quick bit of reverse lock to pull it back inline and off we went, no harm done.

This would never have happened with my tyres at that speed!
It was ok for me, even a little bit of fun was had and for anyone with experience that was what it would be. Anyone with less, would have ended up in the wall.

I deffo think as far as tyres are concerned you get what you pay for.

Good luck Fraser and thanks for sharing.......

Thank you for all your kind replies. When I was on the motorcyles it was always top name tyres, but then I was a single man.

"When I was single, my pockets did jingle"

I have to say for normal motoring in the UK and Europe these Acceleras seem more than adequate. In Germany, most people go along the autobahns at about 80 mph, even on the unlimited sections. That is normally enough for me too !! Of course I have the Pirellis on the front which do the steering task.

There is a risk in mounting substantially better tires in the front than the rear. The rear becomes light in comparison to the front. The result is that it becomes easier to get sideways.

Of course, the counter argument is that the front ought to have the best tires because it carries most of the braking effort.

It's one of those things that you need to know and consider when deciding which end gets the better tires.

I only ever got sidways once, in my XJ6 Series 3 in the late 80s, and I didn't like it !

I have had no trouble with the tyres on the car since buying it. I can't remember what were on the front unfortunately.

That was only to make the information available. No doubt the XJ series are very stable cars and unlikely to swap ends without some serious provocation.

Whenever possible, you should avoid mixing brands of tires on any vehicle. I realize that economics sometimes make that tough but it is your butt.

It certainly is, and in all my years with bikes and cars, I only hit the tarmac about four times, all of them when on the bike. Only one accident with a car in 2008 when a builder's truck ran into the back of me while I was stationary in traffic.

Knock on wood !!

Ona side note Fraser, you're doing a road trip......presumably you're coming back loaded with pics for a write up of places you saw and visited etc?

Now no longer going to Rome, we can do the propery conveyance with a Power of Attorney apparently. However, if anybody wants to see a Rhine barge called Jaguar, (from our last long trip to Germany) I will try to post it and a few others. Pic taken at the Laurelei Rock.