Looking for new tires, whats best tire for 2007 XK (with XKR Rims)??

 

klinsky - moved your question to the XK/XKR thread based on your MY.

regards,
steve

 

Always a subjective question..... opinions will vary...
What do you want them to do?
Last?
Grip?
When asking for "best", you cant have both....


What weather conditions will you be driving them in?

In my opinion the "Best" will always be a summer performance tire, with the Michelin PSS rating at the top of the list, followed closely by the Bridgestone S-04's.

Neither are long wearing tires, but they will give you the greatest safety of any tire out there.

Vince

 

FYI:

New set of Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 20" tires installed 3 months ago. 20/265 fronts & 20/285 rears.

See photos of car in my signature.

IMO....a "great priced" tire.

Opinions on tires ALWAYS varies here on the forums. Mine is just one.

 

I just put Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my XKR, having had a few sets on previous cars. Dry and wet grip is fantastic, better than some bigger name brands I've tried in the past (Pirellis especially) and they worked out significantly cheaper than the bigger names too.

 

Michelin Pilot Super Sport at the top for performance, Hankook V12 for price (FYI Tire Rack, a forum sponsor, has them on clearance for almost free).

As others have said, how you drive, where you drive and what you expect from them will determine what you should buy.

 

I had now idea Vredestein even made car tires lol. I been using their tires on my TT bike (Time Trial bicycle) for years and they are excellent.

 

Some popular value-priced max-performance summer tires...

 

First question, do you want all season or not?

I am big fan of Bridgestone Potenza's, especially SO*. The RE's are good too; both are well priced. That being said, both of my cars have Michelins...

NTB (for me) has beat TireRack every time and their price included mounting and insurance! Never thought that would be the case, but it has been. For Bridgestone, the best deals are from Firestone dealers.

 

You are right, very open ended question, sorry. I was just looking at summer since I only drive in summer weather (stored in winters). I was zeroing in on Michelin Pilot SS but found the AS3's a little cheaper and can go in colder weather with longer warranty (30K vs 45K). I also need (97Y) in front and (99Y) in rear rated. Is there a significance if there are no parentheses ( ) on these ratings?? I'm being told there is and I need parentheses ( ) around the rating numbers.

 

Good point, Im looking for performance but a reasonable price and not have to buy every year. Tall order!!

 

Just checked Tire-Rack..there are no Michelin PSS's for XKR but there are for XKR-S.... is that normal!?!?!

 

My XK came shod in Mich Pilot Sport A/S, and as an aggressive driver, I hated every minute they were on the car. Only moderate grip (which is to be expected from an All Season tire), but feedback at the limits of adhesion was virtually zero.... My only clue the front end was sliding was the fact the nose of the car was not were I told it to be... Scary on the back roads....
Perhaps they did better with the "3" series compounds, so that part I don't know.

If All Season is your focus, then I recommend you review the Continental ExtremeContact DWS... It is highly praised...

BOL Vince

 

Unless you plan on tracking your car or road racing it, it may not be the best deal to purchase such top brands as the Michelin PSS. I had good luck with the Hankook Ventus V12s and have the Sumitomo HRZ III on my ultra performance RX-7. I am known to drive very hard, very fast and any of those tires would fit the bill for any street driving, except winter driving, of course. A little driver skill training will give you much more in terms of performance driving than the difference between the HRZ III and the top Michelins would.

 

Just put 19" Hankook Ventus on my 2007 XK; love the ride and the price BUT suspect a loss of 1-2 mpg!
Had this same problem with Goodyears on an Aura MDX a while ago; so took em back and switched to Michelin, solved problem.
NOT going to do this with the Jag; they ride so nice, quiet too............
Anyone else noticed this with Hankooks?

Cheers, Adrian

 

My 2010 XKR that I just got a couple of weeks ago, came with the Hankooks, and I am so looking forward to getting rid of them next week. The road noise they generate is simply unbearable, earplugs required.

On my 2002 XKR, (albeit with 18" wheels instead of the 20's on the 2010) I had very good luck with Nexen 3000's, agressive and good handling. Recently, when I tried to replace them, they were unavailable at the time (I don't know if they're discontinued or not) and I put another model Nexen. I do not like them as much as the 3000. They are not as aggressive and do not handle as well, although they were just as reasonably priced.

 

Cant talk 20", but I can put a set of 19" S0-4s on for about the same price as the Hankooks. That makes my decision very easy.
The tougher one would be the $400 leap up to the Michelins.

 

Just one reminder as you look at tire warranties. Most "fine print" that I have seen will say something like "Half mileage for rear if different size than front".

 

The stock sizes for the 20 in. tires are:

XKR 255/35/20 front, 285/30/20 rear
XKR-S 255/35/20 front. 295/30/20 rear

I've been waiting for the Michelin PSS's for 6 mts. now to replace the PSS's on my XKR. The front 255/35/20 are available but the rear 285/30/20 have been on back order since Jan. I contacted Michelin and Tire Rack and there is no production date for the rear tires and Tire Rack said that they believed that that size was discontinued.

Since the rear rim on the XKR is only 9.5 in. wide, the 295/30/20 which is available, is too wide for the XKR. However, the XKR-S has a 10.5 in. wide rim which will accept that tire.

So if you have a XKR with the stock 9.5 rim on the rear, it seems you are SOL with the Michelin PSS. The second best (according to tests, not considering price) Bridgestone Pole S-04 is probably the way I will go.

 

Just had second set of Hankook Ventus V12 Evo installed. Got 27K miles out of the first set and they still had 4-5/32 left. I am more than pleased with the ride, the noise level and the price.

I don't track or race but have some very spirited fun on the winding roads and have no complaint with the grip.

Best regards,