OK my 2012 has 20" wheels and staggered tires front to rear. 255/35-20 on front and 285/30-20 on rears. There is advantages of this set up but there is also disadvantages . Has anyone decided to go with all one size tire so that you could extend the mileage by rotating the tires. I would assume that you would need to get 2 new rims so that the width was the same but would there be any advantage. If all you do is use the car for local travel or for cruising and have no intention to track the car what would be the problem.

 

Stay with what you have. A 255 tire on the rear, is far to narrow on a 9.5" rim, and the 285 is too wide for the 8.5" rim.

Tire rotation should not be a factor. The tires you currently have are designed to fit the rims you have. Only way to correct would buy smaller width rims for the rear with new tires to match with what you have. I guarentee you will not want or like a 8.5" rim on the rear of your car.

Thus, you should stay with what you have.

 

I've done this on past cars with moderate success, however none with the looks of the XK. I think it would be difficult to pull off

The only way I could see it working would be for something like a winter set of tires. Even there you need to look for a new set of 4 rims with offsets somewhere in the middle of front and back specs.

V

 

Rich I was looking at it more from a 2nd set of tires for winter use and possibly for just a summer cruising set. I would assume you would have to get an 8.5" rear set of rims with the correct off set but other then over and above handling I would think the car would drive without a problem with a set of 255's. Granted it would be a large investment but just wanted to toss it up for discussion. Thanks

 

Well I am about to buy a 2010 XK and have a set of 20in Sentas with winter tyres in the garage from my XF. The Sentas are both 8.5J Offset 49 with 245/40/20 Vredestein Xtreme Wintracs. I plan to put them and see how the car feels (and looks).

 

I use 255/40/19 in the winter all the way around. These are on the stock rims from a 2006 XJR. The Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's are excellent.

This setup worked predictably in both the dry -40 as well as the wet, with flurries -5 weather. Balance, control and drivability were very good. (Clearly much better than many of those around me.)

Quite frankly, I would not like either a lower profile tire or a wider tire than this for this type of weather. The idea is to 'cut into' the mess, not hydroplane on top. incidentally, I also dropped the tire pressures to 26.

I surprised the owner of a WRX last year, staying with them on a suitably bad winding road to Mont Saint Saveur... He couldn't believe he couldn't shake me.

Cheers all!