Well, was hoping to prolong this just a bit longer, but seems it's finally time to replace the tires due to spying this on my way to work tonight.




So guess I'm going tire shopping tomorrow.

The XKR is currently sporting Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3 but I am currently considering switching to another tire based on what I've seen on here. Price and availability will be paramount as this car is my daily so it cannot be down for more than a day.

Will update when I have the new shoes fitted.

 

I haven't screamed about this for many years, but I had four MPS tires disintegrate on me with under 3,000 miles. Large parts of the treads flew off down to the cords. They were less than a year old at the time and very possibly could have killed me.

 

It’s been that long already?
But yeah, Michelin has some serious quality control issues. Had those A/S 3’s on my other car and kept getting this annoying ‘wup-wup-wup’ sound, speed related, starting at about 25 mph. The guy doing a Road Force Balance confirmed that the tires were not round. Really, come on, you’re in the business of making tires for how many years? And you can’t make a round tire?

 

I put the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires on mine and could not be happier. I just purchased the car 4 months ago and the Michelins that were on the car were manufactured before the car was. My experience with the Michelins is that they were LOUD and often lost grip, this may be because they were old and hard as hockey pucks! But the Firestones are very grippy and IMO quiet going down the road, the price is fantastic as well!!! The tires are quiet enough that the wife thinks the exhaust would be annoying for a long trip, the Michelins were more annoying than the exhaust before.

https://www.firestonetire.com/tire/f...500/195-55R16/

 

I like my Continental DWS06+. Quiet, good ride and drive well. They have some good warranty benefits too. Note the mileage warranty gets halved for staggered setups. I paid about $1k with installation/balancing in November plus a $70 rebate and were installed the next day after order.
This is an all season tire which is good here in New England. That may be less important to you.
Any tire you buy will be an improvement!!

 

Another vote for the Continentals. I have them on my XKR.

 

I have four Nexen summer tires on my XKR — switched to them after several sidewall failures of the Michelins (paid by road hazard). The Nexens are great. My tire man says they have better rubber in S. Korea… unfortunately it seems Nexen discontinued the 20” size; I can’t find it at tire rack.

 

The Michelins on the XKR are from 2016 I believe and have at least 20k miles on them just since I've had the car. Wouldn't be surprised if it were closer to 30k. Didn't really have too many complaints at first but lately there have been issues, noise and slight vibration. By far the worst is the wet weather traction. It is just horrible, it has been that way since I've had the car.
Unfortunately I do not have the time to special order any tires, so I have been calling around to find out what is on the shelf. So far the only tires readily at hand and can be installed today in the Portfolios size are Cooper, Michelin, and Falken. If I had a day or two to kill I could order some Contis or was really interested in some Bridgestones.
Will probably go with the Falkens.

 

Any of those will probably be good. Check Tire Rack for reviews of specific tire models.
Can you borrow or rent a car in order to allow time to get the tires you want? You’re going to live with them for several years so don’t necessarily settle for convenience.

 

Actually had a 2nd backup vehicle for just such an occasion. But traded it for a Yamaha YZ426F 😁. Guess I could ride that around lol
But yeah I'm certain I don't want to settle, the Coopers and Falkens both have good reviews. But I may just take a day or two off work if I can't beg, borrow, or steal a car.

 

That’s a heck of a dirt bike as I recall!
Or just boost a car for a few days🙀

 

A lot probably has to do with WHERE they're manufactured

In the UK we get them from France or else Scotland...stateside however (see point 2)

https://motorandwheels.com/where-are-tires-made-brands/

So a lot may be due to a flawed manufacturing process or workmanship in country?

No issues on Michy's on my old XK8, Toyota C-HR, Audi A6 or the MPS4S's fitted for summer on my current XKR which have managed 22k miles and are all at still over 5mm (legal limit here is 1.6mm)

 

I have the same spec XKR (2008 Portfolio with the Alcons) and can confirm that the Continental Extreme Contact DSW06 Plus are a much better ride than the Dunlop SP Sports they replaced.

 

My tires on my XKR will also need replacing real soon, and they're also Michelin AS3+'s. I'm seeing lots of recommendations for the Continentals. Does anybody have any experience with the Continental Extreme Contact Sports? Those are the max performance summer tires as opposed to the DWS06 which are all-seasons. Not many seasons here in Florida 😁

 

I have them on an xk8, have only put 5k miles on them...they are round. stick really well in dry and wet. Pretty quiet. Hoping they retain these qualities, I expect to replace @ 20k, drive pretty aggressively on curvy roadways at mid-high speeds. So we'll see.

 

Just put these on, very nice ride!

Yes, I just put a set of 4 of these Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus tires on. The P.O.S. dealer in Houston I bought our cat from, Ultimate Motor Sports, sent me this car with only 2/32” tread on them! Fair price here though, ~$1200 including M/B and inflated with nitrogen. Great ride now!

 

I use a nitrogen mix in my tires;
76% Nitrogen
24% other inert gasses
This works great!

 

I have Sumitomos on mine 07 XK and they are fantastic. I've had sumitomos on other cars in the past and have always loved them.

 

Since my car has approximately 200,000 miles on her, I've been through several sets of tires. My least favorite were the Hankooks which after they've worn a bit are so loud with road noise that I just couldn't stand the shrieking. I've had Nexens on both my X100 and X150 XKRs and was generally pleased with them until the last set which wore very prematurely. I have never had good luck on any car that had Pirelli tires as they all wore just horribly quickly and unevenly. And I have Michelins on my Pantera which have been good. The Nexens were about half the price of the Michelins.

 

I have sumitomos. 20" on my 08 xk and have zero complaints in 3500 miles.
WJ