How many of you are running 245/45's rather than the 245/50's that were original?

 

Mine has 245/45.On the car when I bought it.

 

 

The Jag had 255/45R18 Falkens front and rear, when I got it about 16 months ago. Rides fine, except for a little 'tramlining' on the fronts, when on Ashphalt roads that have been 'rutted/swaled' because of heavy trucks. Other than that, no problems...

 

And mine are 255/40ZR19 Factory Spec for the VE.

Ever since mfr's have been mounting lower and lower-profile tires on cars, I've actually considered going up a half-step. Another car of mine runs 35-series. Obviously it would change the o.d. with several implications there but I'd sure like to have a little bit more rubber between the wheels and the road. I wonder how much the o.d. changes between new tread and wear-bars showing and how that compares with a half-step in profile.

 

Well, mine has the Dunlop 245/45's on it that were there when I bought it. They have been fine, but need replacing soon. I sure don't want to go down in sidewall size, but I'm thinking the 50 sidewall would be more comfortable on long trips (my main use).

The obvious downside of trying to buy 245/50's is the pitiful number of choices. There are far more interesting options in the 245/45 size...and much less expensive to boot.

I think most UHP or HP tires are fine for our XK8's, but since I like to cruise at modest highway speeds with the top down I'd sure like a quiet tire. That's where it gets a little tricky from what I see.

 

Mine has 245/50, on when I bought it recently and have a lot of tread left. I will probably go for 45 eventually. This car is 1000 lbs. heavier than my Z3 was, so I won't comment on the handling.
RJ______________
97 XK8 Conv. 85K mi

 

Try these:

Bridgestone*Turanza Serenity

 

I've got the same size rims you have. I got mine with 245/45 tires and ran them for about 35k. I always thought it rode too rough. Since I drive freeway 98% of my miles I wanted a bit better ride so I went with 235/55. They happen to be General AS-3 but the brand was just me experimenting. The tread width is only 1 cm narrower (not an issue for me) and the little extra height gives me a little easier ride. Fits my mission profile better. The speed rating on the tires matches the factory spec. Got almost 20k on them now and they're running well and ride much better.

The speedo was off on the high side with the shorter tires, now it's off on the low side. (So says that cop)

Went through one of our vendor sponsors Tire Rack; got a great price, shipped to the local Mercedes dealer and they were installed with Hunter Road Force Balance equipment (HIGHLY recommended). And I enjoyed all the Merc people eyeballing the XK8 as I rolled into the shop...