I'm hearing a lot of comment regarding grip on roads in the UK. I'm just wondering if there's something different between United States highways and those in Great Britain. The thought just popped into my mind and I thought I'd make a comment. A lot of our newer highways are concrete and also grooved on expressway curves. I would say that some of the newer roads are asphalt. The newer blends of compound asphalt allow better grip than the old of 40 or 50 years ago. I'm not a roadway expert but I've driven now for about 60 years and have been in all kinds of road conditions both winter and summer. My Michelin pilot 4S seem to grip quite well in most conditions unless it's colder outside. Anything above 40 f seems to be okay. 70 f and above they perform brilliantly. Any comments on this?

 

Don’t know specifically about that, but Michelins tend to be a wider tire than some other brands. On the forum for my other car, which many owners (not me) lower a bit to reduce the tire fender gap, many stay away from Michelin due to tire rubbing over bumps. For a given tire spec, the Michelin could be up to 1.5 inches wider, which would also translate into additional rim protection.
I know I’ve scraped the rims on that car a few times since swapping out the Michelins that were on it.

 

Do you have spacers on it? I know there is nearly an inch of clearance outboard and over an inch of clearance inboard with OEM size tires.

 

X-pipe from the XKR-S, smaller supercharger pulley and a tune.

 

To clarify, the car with the rim scrapes is not my XK, it’s my other car, no spacers, and the scrapes are from curbs in a area with poorly designed curbs, and less beefy tires than the Michelins on it.

 

interesting. I’ve never had that problem with proper rims and my oversized rear tires. something is amiss.