So its tire time again. About 3 years ago I replace the worn out cheap and rounds that came in my XJ with some Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires. GReat tires but a little soft and only got about 30-35K on them. Considering the roads I drive on I'm ok with it.

They weren't available in a 225/60 so I put on 225/55 and all was well for a good long time. Last fall I hit a nice size potholes and managed to damage 2 of them and found a couple of used Michelin's at work and rolled on.

Now the remaining 2 are just above the wear bars and the used Michelin's are slightly better but its tire time.

I decided to go back to the 60 series tire and like the look of these and for the moment am going to put 2 on the front and some snows on the back.

Hankook iPike RCO1


I acquired 3 of these when a customer destroyed one and went with an all season. Initially I was going to match it and use them as a set and then get something in an all season next Spring but the tire is only coming up available in Canada, so these will go on the back.

Hankook iPike RCO1 215/65/16


So back on topic. Has anyone had any experience with the Conti-TrueContacts?

Continental

Currently about $100 ea at the local Walmart.

I know Jaguar only recommends Z rated tires, but as more than a few horses have left the barn, I think I can get by with a top speed of 130, or 110 in the snow.

 

Hi Jeh, No Continentals here - I run all-season Kumho Excsta Platinums 225/60 R16 98W - pretty good - anyways Jag recommends a W rated tire, you don't have to go to a Z!

 

Your right its not Z, thats 149+. I'll have to look in my owners manual but I swear I saw it was "V" rated. Still Alot faster than I think it will go.

I do rememeber the old Top Gear episode where James took his 1500 quid XJS to almost 150....and then blew it up in the process.

 

Hey Jeh, the W and Z letters reflect speed rating but also the weight of the car afaik ...Tire Rack has the best explanation as I remember ...

Cheers mate

Larry

 

It's late in TN so I'm not going to go look at the Owner's Manual in the '93, but I'm pretty sure the Jag spec for the XJ40 is the V rating, which is a maximum speed of 149mph.

But as Larry said, tires with higher speed ratings also tend to have higher load ratings, and therefore stiffer sidewall construction. The Jag engineers tuned the suspension for those stiffer sidewalls, so if you opt for a lower speed rating such as H (130 mph), which quite a few forum members have done, you may find the car doesn't steer or corner as precisely. That's what I'm dealing with on our '04, on which the PO installed some Pirelli Scorpion Verdes with a speed rating of H. Even with low-profile tires, I can feel some tire roll that I believe will go away when I eventually replace them with Z-rated tires.

But if you're not going to test the limits you'll probably be fine, as long as you get tires designed for performance sedans with a sufficient load rating.

I don't have much experience with Contis, but I'm on my third set of Yokohamas on our '93 and I really like them. I'll probably put Advan Sports on our '04 when the Pirellis are done. I've got General Altimaxes on the BMW that were very affordable and have been great tires that look really nice too.

Let us know if you go with the Contis and how you like them.

Cheers,

Don

 

I was looking at my owners manual and it also recommends 28psi as a comfort rating for less than 100 mph driving and 34 psi for over.

I did think the Z rate DWS Contis handled very well and were quiet but the 55 series let more vibration thru.

Personally haven't been a fan of Yokohamas or Pirellis. The Yokohamas always seem to be very noisy and the Pirellis not much better.

I'll post back after I get some tires. Though I imagine the winter tires noise will probably mask any noise the Contis make so I may not know how quiet they are or aren't until spring.