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1) An XKR owner for 18 months plus
2) One that lives in the same temperature/atmospheric conditions as you (namely the UK) preferably in the South west which is particularly mild and wet.
3) That has significant experience driving 18-20 rims for years on heavy cars
So I nominate myself!! I too live in Somerset (BoS) and have had my car for 18 months, it had an atrocious mix of PZero's with 7mm rear and all-season budgets (!!!) with 4mm on the front when I purchased mine. I immediately changed to MPS4S's and handling was night and day difference, for my spare set I'm fitting Vredestein Ultrac Vorti (as recommended by Ravenscraig). So that's probably the only advice you need!
IIRC tyre manufacturers change their compound dependant on market.
I mention this because I'm 55 and I only remember a few instances (Summers of 76, 03, 08 &18) where temps have been consistently above 80f, on the flip-side the number of times it's dropped below zero here (lived for 20yrs) is minimal. Many posting from across the pond will see huge variances and temps often exceeding 110f. By way of example the AVERAGE daily temp in California is around 70f, by comparison the HIGHEST UK annual average is circa 56f, but typically sits at around 47f. That circa 20f+ difference will mean tyres behave differently. Also whilst we don't get Monsoon conditions like some US states, that said we do get 34 inches of persistent rain , where the average for the US is around 10% less, some states (e.g.AZ, NM, CA, TX) hardly seem to get any.
Budget for between £600-£1200 depending what you're getting, and remember if you have black wheels buy some powdercoated black wheel weights, as tyre places over here rarely carry black ones.
PS: Where are you getting your new (to you) XKR, private sale or somewhere like Swallows in Rooksbridge?
PPS: When lockdown's over perhaps a meet up is on the cards?
I'm going to need new tires on the XK-R before Winter. Right now I'm on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, a very good tire and I'll go with them again on the 20" rims. While searching, I came across "Milestar" tires from Tireco. If you need cheap all-season tires (I assume they are Chinese quality - HA, HA) to sell the car, here you go.
I'm going to need new tires on the XK-R before Winter. Right now I'm on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, a very good tire and I'll go with them again on the 20" rims. While searching, I came across "Milestar" tires from Tireco. If you need cheap all-season tires (I assume they are Chinese quality - HA, HA) to sell the car, here you go.
Uh, yeah???
*It all comes down to engineering and materials. Michelin, Goodyear, Yokohama and Continental “they're all there building tires in China” Mielko said, adding that Pirelli's biggest factory is located there.*
-- The Google
I had an 4.2 XKR for 7 years and now a XK Dynamic R.
in that time I have had Dunlop, Pirelli P Zero, Nexen and Michelin Pilot Sport and Michelin 4S
without a shadow of a doubt the Michelin 4S are the best tyres. Followed by Pilot Sport, Pirelli P Zero, Dunlop and Nexen.
The Nexen’s I found very hard, and lacked grip, and in wet weather I remember how tight my bum cheeks felt. The Michelin’s give you an amazing amount of grip in all weather but are not so soft as to be changing them every 5k miles.
I have done 12k miles since I put Michelin 4S’s on the car 18months ago and reckon the rears are around 2/3rd worn and fronts around 40-50 %. The rears are 295/30/20 and fronts 235/35/20.
Continental Extreme Contact DWS. I have 25,000 miles on mine and they have almost no tread wear. Great tires. Read the reviews on tire rack dot com.
I'm actually at the tire store right now getting one replace. It got a screw in it. The tire guy was like "too bad, this tire is brand new! How many miles are on it?" I told him 25k and he was surprised.
Note that they.arent offered in the European market, all other rubber mentioned on this thread are.
Interesting. I didn't realize you couldn't buy them in the UK. I love mine. When I bought my car it needed new tires so the tires were a part of the negotiation. I specifically wanted these particular tires.
, where the average for the US is around 10% less, some states (e.g.AZ, NM, CA, TX) hardly seem to get any.
