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Learning seems to offend a set of people who believe they were born knowing everything. Learning a skill, or about our planet and anything scientific is abhorrent to them.
Living without learning would be boring as heck to me.
Personally I like Michelin's because compared to other brands they seem to stay quiet and well balanced longer, which on a car like mine with 20" wheels is an important consideration in my opinion.
I had previously Toyo Proxes Sport with low mileage on them. They were very hard, having spot flat on the first 10km and not comfortable. My tires dealers recommanded Michelin for Confort mainly, Performance secondly and Warranty (road hazard and mileage). Since then my XK8 is not the same car. Better handling, lest rattles, comfort is amazing.
So with my XF-Supercharge 2017 I remove my Pirelli P7 for the same Michelin Sport S4, and again what an improvement.
Presently driving 7000 km on the Route 66 and confortable with the comfort of Road assistance warranty that comes with
Them. I will never change for others brand. Confort and security have no price
very nice photo, New Mexico or west Texas would be my guess.
Z
PS I can’t say that I share your opinion on the Michelins, but I’ve only put about 15,000 miles on my set of them. I’ll be going back to the Pirelli P-Zero (A/S) as they gave me more confidence at the limit of traction vs the Michelins and Goodyears previously tried on the same XKR.
The Michelins do seem to be longer lasting though. However that is not a priority for me.
very nice photo, New Mexico or west Texas would be my guess.
Z
Amboy Arizona, coming out from Roy’s Motel after a great Chili Hot Dog at the Gaz bar.
I agree with you that P-Zero will outperformed the Pilot Sport 4S but, much more expensive and they have a shortened life span. 👍
Mnmm, Chili Dog…. The food photo even better than the scenery.
Prices likely different in Canada where you are, but the latest USA prices on tirerack.com have the 255-18 Pirelli P-Zero A/S about $20 less than the same sized Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.
Now when only considering tread life, that extra $20 for the Michelins is a bargain.
on the other hand, and I don’t have any numbers to back up my impressions, but it certainly seems the Pirelli’s are a softer compound and have more grip at the limits of adhesion. Just a subjective impression of course. With the *harder* Michelins they seem to be suddenly OFF or ON before loosing adhesion. On the other hand, Pirellis have a noticeably more user-friendly gradual traction loss before slipping all the way. At least that way they felt to me.
I have despised Pirelli tires since first having them in the mid-1980s and again in the early 2000s. We have had gallon jugs of milk that lasted longer than those Pirelli tires did....
When I bought my car in 2005 it had Continental tires, I think ContiSports or something like that, probably original equipment. I stuck with Continentals for years as replaced the tires and then I saw a good deal on Firestones a few years ago so I figured I'd try them. I now have Firestones all around and what I notice is that the Firestones give better cornering traction so I like them better. They're probably made of a softer compound. I figure I may not get the same number of miles out of them as the Continentals but since I don't drive the car nearly as much as I used to, performance is what I'm after because I want to enjoy the car when I drive it over all else. I'm not concerned about miles. I remember when I would ease off the gas to stop the Continentals from slipping on a highway entrance ramp but I don't think the Firestones have ever slipped. Maybe I just need to drive faster in turns.
When I bought my car in 2005 it had Continental tires, I think ContiSports or something like that, probably original equipment. I stuck with Continentals for years as replaced the tires and then I saw a good deal on Firestones a few years ago so I figured I'd try them. I now have Firestones all around and what I notice is that the Firestones give better cornering traction so I like them better. They're probably made of a softer compound. I figure I may not get the same number of miles out of them as the Continentals but since I don't drive the car nearly as much as I used to, performance is what I'm after because I want to enjoy the car when I drive it over all else. I'm not concerned about miles. I remember when I would ease off the gas to stop the Continentals from slipping on a highway entrance ramp but I don't think the Firestones have ever slipped. Maybe I just need to drive faster in turns.
Sounds like you have the same tires I have. The Firestone Indy 500. I cannot get them to slip.
Yup, those are the ones. When they wear out, if I'm still alive, I'll buy another set.
wishing you a long and full life, but in the off chance you have passed before the Firestone purchase, I would feel honored to step in for you and accept the tires from your estate. I will treat them just like you would.
I had a front tire blow out last week. Stumbled across this thread which was newly updated at the time, so I appreciate the discussion. I decided to stay with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus XL. Tire Rack had a great price, and I was amazed that the price hadn't gone up since last year. My tires were almost 12 years old, and I had already planned to replace them. Glad this blew out only a couple miles from home. Weird blowout, as a ring on the outside sidewall blew out. Looks like it was some dry rot, so you just never know looking at the outside of the tire.
Another thing that I noted was that the spare tire was the original, with a date code in 2002 (car was made March 2003). I hadn't checked this when I bought the car about 18 months ago. Tire Rack again provided a spare at a decent price ($133). I tried the Tire Rack Mobile Installation service for a change. Of course, that is going to vary based on your town, but there were two trucks that showed up and mounted the four tires in just a few minutes. Of course, right after they left, UPS dropped off the new spare tire, but it's easy enough to get that mounted locally.
I haven't driven the car yet on the new tires, but from everything that I saw, they mounted them correctly. You laugh, but I've seen guys that screw up things like that. These new tires didn't have the paint dot on the sidewall, which indicates the lightest part of the tire, and should be aligned with the valve stem. Tires Plus screwed that up 4 times a couple years ago on another car. It's a little thing, but let's do it right.
Were those mobile tire installers able to Hunter Road Force Balance your new tires? I have found that my wife's 2006 XK8 handles so much better when its new tires get that service. I wonder if a mobile tire service shows up equipped to do that....
Hello Good People:
I finally got around to finishing the tire project. Based on good advice I got the Michelins from Tirerack.My Jag has staggered wheels so I went with the stock size front and a wider rear as follows:
F: 245/40ZR-19 Michelin Pilot Sport all season 4XL
R: 265/40ZR-19 Michelin Pilot Sport all season 4XL (noting the OEM size is 255/40) Delivery was fast direct to door
I had the local Wheel Medic mount, balance and true each wheel, as they reported two rims not perfect. They also powder coated the wheels and I picked a darker grey that I think is a better look. 2004 OEM staggered wheels
Today's look: New Michelin Pilots and refreshed wheels. First fun drive on the interstate at 90mph reveals I should have done this years ago.
Thank you to all for sharing your thoughts leading to a good outcome.
I've been able to put some miles on my new tires as well. Had the car for a year+ before replacing the tires, and just LOVE the feel with the new tires. I didn't have a choice, as one of my tires self-destructed, but definitely worth doing.
I would like opinions on what might be happening on my 99XK8 convertible. I have Michelin Defender tires with less than 2,000 miles on them. I bought car in August of 2022 and PO had installed new front shock mounts and bump stops.
The issue is that when I hit the smallest of bumps in road, I get a more of a hard thud feeling. The car does not bounce so I believe the shocks are good. Could it be that the PO installed too strong shocks? Bad springs? I lowered the air pressure below 30 PSI looking for smoother ride, but nothing has worked yet. What should I be looking for?
10-25-2022, 05:57 AM
Michelin Pilot Sport S4 and nothing else
