It could help to indicate what type of driving style you have and/or what you are looking for in a tire. Are you looking for all-season or high performance tires? High dollar or best value? There are many threads on this forum that endlessly debate this topic. Use the search feature to see what others have already posted.

Happy driving,
Peter

 

 

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ might be a good choice to look at. I have the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06s are those are decent and a similar category; but unless you get a good deal, they aren't standouts in the segment.

 

 

You should be able to increase tyre width by 10mm without an issue, though I can't guarantee it. I have done it on my car, and there is no fouling of wheel arches - but I have a very different setup (265/35/20 front & 305/30/20 rear). However, it's only 5mm on each side, and there should be more clearance for the stock tyres than that.

if you stick with your current profiles, 255/45/18 will be 2.7% bigger in diameter and 285/40/18 will be 1.2% bigger. That will mean your speedo will read slightly lower than it does now at the same speed. Since the speedo naturally reads high, it will probably balance out.

 

 

At that low of an annual mileage I wouldn't stress the tread wear rating too much. Tires will dry out and harden before the tread wears down. These cars do wear the inside more than the outside due to the camber but that's also what helps them handle so well.

I have a set of stock 19" Perelli's off a '14 XJ and they handle very well for what they are. They were a little lumpy this morning after sitting the past couple days in sub freezing weather.

 

I'm very happy with the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's on my XK. Had a track inspection today and the shop commented that they thought these tires are some of the best performing tires for the money (they aren't super pricey but have loads of grip). I've found similar results upon reading reviews of them online and on other forums. I didn't pick these: they almost new and already on the car when I bought it.

 

 

The Michelin seems to win almost every test it has been in so certainly won't be a bad choice just the most expensive.

Have a look here where they have summarised a lot of tyre tests, the more recent the better as tyres are continuously tweaked:
Tyre reviews, tests and ratings - Tyre Reviews.

From 2019: 2019 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test - Tyre Reviews
The new Goodyear could be interesting.

I would be very careful increasing the tyre width on a Jaguar with standard wheels as they seem to start with narrow rims. Any increase seems to go over the recommended tyre width for the wheel which also curves the footprint, creating no more footprint. And the wider you go, the worse they will be in deep water. Steering feel, etc will also suffer, tram-lining will increase. Modern cars are over-tyred - going bigger may look better but you rarely improve the car and you increase the cost of the tyres.

A little time spent reading test results will give you an idea which tyres generally perform well. User reviews are imho a waste of time because there is no reference point, just a subjective opinion of people who main drive fairly normally on public roads at speeds well within the capabilities of all tyres. We can't really say where our tyres are in comparison to the rest as we haven't driven many of them. But we are very likely to say whatever we have paid good money for is the best choice. Why would you believe my subjective opinion, I might be a complete gorilla behind the wheel?

 

*sigh*

 

You can still buy super sports, as there is stock of these. I had Super Sports and moved to MP4S as soon as they came out.

4S is more of the same and at the same time better than SS. Especially noticeable improved wet handling. However 4S is a street-legal track tire, if you don't push your car you can get away with lesser (and cheaper) setup.

 

 

MB25, I'm in the UK and have MPS4S's fitted all around, they are impressive and that was with replacing 7mm Pirelli's on the rear

Since I've a spare set of Vulcan alloys am going to fit a set of these, significantly cheaper than CJ's favourite brand and a higher 'buy again' rating than the French rubber!

Vredestein Ultrac Vorti - Tyre Reviews

PS: it may help if you included the year and engine of your car, I wasn't aware of many aluminium bodied XK's having 18 alloys?