Yeah, I agree with you, but in the absence of a "dynamic mode" like the 5.0L XKs have, this is pretty close to it! It's just not as convenient!

 

Speak of the devil--look at what I found on my Hankooks today!

I don't recall going over a pothole recently. The scuff is from my shoe not from a curb or something.

 

I would bet that seven year old tyres on a Florida car would be cracking on the sidewall/tread interface. The UV from the sun kills them. I recently replaced the tyres on my 2005 SUV with 28k miles for this very reason, and they were all-seasons. The cracks were pretty nasty. I'll post pictures later.

 

Yeah, seven years will do a number on a set of tires. Mine were 4 years old when I bought the car and they were toast. Lots of tread life left but they were badly cracked and dry rotted.

 

The tires on my 2010 XK were a contributing factor in my purchase. The car had 4,800 miles, the Dunlop manufacturing date was 2009 fronts read 8/32nds while rears were around 7/32nds. The same went for the brake pad thickness as barely worn. Along with the history I felt secure about the legitimacy of the car's mileage. Although my tires are 4 years old, there are no signs of dry rot or cracking. I assume being up North and always garaged helps as well.

 

These were 8-year old BF Goodrich boots on my SUV. Now imagine similar cracks in a short sidewall tyre like you get on an XK.

Boy, uploading one pic at a time is tedious. Maybe the Opera browser does not show all the buttons or something.