Tire Choices
 

There have been a number of discussions on this and other forums regarding tire preferences. Most, if not all, have focused on different brands of UHP Summer tires.


Here in New England, we have a number days in the Spring and Fall when the sun is out but the morning and evening temperatures are below 40 degrees. Because the colder weather we end up storing the XKR for winter mid October and not taking it out again until mid April.


Even though we would never take the car out if there was even the potential of snow or freezing rain, we would like to extend our season to take advantage of those nice days in late Fall and early Spring.
In order to maintain traction in this colder weather, from what I've read, we need to go to All Season tires.


The existing 20" Dunlap Super Sports need to be replaced first thing when the car comes out of storage in the Spring. I'm torn as to replacing them with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's or sticking with Summer tires.


We are not aggressive drivers and prefer to take the two-lane highways rather than the interstates. We average about 4,500 miles over 6 months of driving.


Has anyone gone from summer tires to all-season on the 20” wheels? What has been your experience?

I have the same consideration but in my part of NY I can still drive during the winter if the roads are dry,clear and salt free. In fact I am going out today and I know the Dunlops will take a little time to warm up. I also see some ads for the Goodyear F1 tires. Has anyone tried them out and if so what is your opinion. I don't think I will be looking for M/S tire but if there is a soft riding quiet tire I would be interested. At my age it's all about the cruising and not the performance although I need to hit the go peddle at least once on every drive.

One choice for me in the UK.....rain, wind, snow or shine .......

Vredestein ultrac sessanta's absolutely awesome

cannot describe how much on a different level to the SP sport maxx these things are.

only other tyre i may consider is the Mich pilot super sport but thet are another 100GBP a corner!!!

Go for the 4 season tires. I had good luck with the Continental DWS tire.

I'm in the exact position as the OP, just in Southwestern Conn. Already put my XKR away for the winter. I normally would continue to drive it on dry warmer days, but my Dunlap 20" super sports are down to less than 4/32" tread.
In the spring I plan on either replacing them with the Continental DWS or the Mich Pilot Sport A/S, which I had on my Corvette and liked, but the XKR is a very different animal. So I plan on watching this thread for comments on these and other choices. Thanks in advance for any help in making an expensive choice!

I have the Conti DWS on my 2010 XKR Convertible ( 20") and love them. I've had the DWS on my last 4 or so performance cars and they are very smooth and quiet. I've had no problem with any of them.

Dan

Looking at Consumer Reports, the Michelin's have a slightly better rating than the Continentals.
On Tire Rack: Ride Comfort, Noise, and Tread Life are equal (which are some of my priorities); Traction and Stability go to Michelin. The Continental's are $200 less for a full set.

I, too, have switched and I'm happy to give a positive review to Nitto Motivo all-season ultra-high performance tires. I chose them because the reviews all said they were very quiet, and they haven't disappointed. I can now enjoy my (sometime 1.5 hour, one-way) commute without road noise driving me batty, and I can actually hear the engine better. The rain isn't the slightest factor for these tires and I've had no episodes of hydroplaning on the freeway so far. Also, lately I've been driving up and down steep, frost covered country roads where I live without the slightest slippage or spinning of the tires (in winter mode) and running through mud puddles along my 1/2 mile dirt/gravel driveway. Even my SUV slips a bit in the mud, but admittedly I drive a bit faster in the SUV :) Most of you would cringe at the beating I give this little car on a daily basis, but the Nitto Motivos have been great tires for my needs. They're total after-thoughts when I'm driving, as tires should be (i.e. the only time I ever take notice of my tires is when they fail in some way.)

The absence of hydroplaning is reason enough for me.

It remains to be seen how well they function on more performance related drives compared to the summer tires, but I don't foresee any problems there either because I'm not the fastest cat in the litter. I wouldn't take any wide tires out on slush or snow... well ok, I'll try anything... but I wouldn't expect them to perform there just because of what they are.

*edit: I have 19"s

All the mud from a long driveway, not to mention the many pebbles that bounce up along the sides all make me cringe.

I have to agree with you on the Nitto's though. I have them on my XJ and have been very happy with them. They last a long time too. I have Michelin's on my XK and they've been good, but when it's time, I'll probably put Nittos on the XK too.

+1. OP, your climate sounds similar to ours (Scotland), I've had the Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on this and my last car, used for five years (including winters) now. These work just as well in very low temps and/or rain as in warm, summer weather.

I have Pirelli SottoZero winters on my car just now because they were on the standard wheels (Vredesteins are on my Cremonas) and I thought I should try switching to them over winter. I wish I had just left the Vredesteins on the car.

Forget the fact that they're not as big a name as Dunlop, Michelin or Pirelli, these are excellent tyres.

P Zero Nero's have a more extended range for summer tires than most on the market. They are good to around freezing temps and don't break the bank.

One of the limitations I have with tire selection is the 20" wheels on the XKR Portfolio (255/35-20 front, 285/30-20 rear).
For All Season, Tire Rack only offers 3 brands in 20": Michelin, Bridgestone, and Continental.
There are a lot more choices for Summer tires: Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Kumho, Sumitomo, Pirelli, Dunlop, and Hankook.
User ratings are all over the place, depending on the car, tire size and how the car is driven.
Though they cost a little more than some other brands, based on overall ratings and past experience with Michelin's, I think I'm going to go with the Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3. My tire dealer quoted me $1,308 installed for 4.