Just thought I'd share with you, for my XK to pass its annual MOT test it needed 2 new front tyres. Nothing earth shattering in that, but apparently the ones that were on there were the original rubbers - 10 years old having covered 29,500 miles! Not bad I thought, and as the title of the thread gives away, they were Pirelli P-Zero's. Now I know there has been many a debate on here about whether the standard of tyre from this manufacturer is as good as it was, but rightly or wrongly, I decided to go for exact replacements and if I get anywhere near 29k miles again I'll be a happy chappy!

Jules

 

Good going Redeye,
They are my undisputed 1st choice for top tyres!
There is so much negative press and arguing these days it's good to be here and pass the good news as well as the mundane and the not-so good!
Congrats and I hope you make more wise choices in the future, you obviously don't need any advice on taste, judging by your excellent choice of exquisite refinement and of course the XKR, WOW! Stu

 

Sorry, not a Pirelli fan after having them in the mid-1980s, early 1990s, and then for part of 2012. The two rear P-Zeros that came on my wife's XK8 when we purchased it in early February 2012 didn't reach 20,000 miles before they were essentially bald. Replaced them with Yokohama YK580 tires in late April 2012 and couldn't be happier....

Good luck with your new Pirellis....

 

I have a 2006 XKR and have gone through two sets of tires (p-zeros). I have read many opinions and still do not know which would be best. I do know that safety is the first issue and that is tread depth and the run flat feature. There are no tire mfgs that have a tread life warrantee for two different size tires on this car. Tread life solely depends on driving style and road conditions, which vary so much it is hard to compare. The other is tread depth. No XKR should run a tire below 3/32" because if you get caught in the rain they will hydroplane. Given those requirements I see XKRs getting about 20k per set and most of the high end tires will do that. So good luck on "your " choice.

 

I changed my Pirelli P Zeros for Michelin Pilot Sports on the rear 6 months ago and, TBH, I can't tell any difference.

 

I changed my P-Zeros to Bridgestone Turanzas. I can say this - the car rides VERY VERY smooth but no longer corners like it did with the Pirellis. With the P-Zeros I could wing a turn from an offramp at 45 mph and I wouldn't hear a sequel or howl from the tires. The Bridgestones are somewhat softer and won't allow this.

 

+1 on the Michelins I have 20 k on them and they look as if they will go an additional 20k. Note all the rims are the same size, so I do rotate mine!

 

Just swapped the well worn Goodyears that were on my car when I bought it with Yokohama YK580s. Wanted P-Zeros but after 2 weeks of searching they could not find all 4. So, they sold me the Yokohamas, which were actually higher priced, for the same money.

Still early in the game, but I am happy so far. They are quiet, smooth and handle well for my driving style. They will understeer slightly if you really push it (pun!) in a tight corner, but not badly. Work well in wet weather.

Have had P-Zeros before and liked them very much, but it's been a few years.

 

While I'm happy with my P-Zeros, I just placed an order for the Hancook V12s at half the price. Good enough reviews, I guess I'll have to find out if I like them...

 

Do follow.up, i think you'll be pleased w them. I'm on set 2.

 

That's good to know and your recommendation is assuring.

I briefly started reading Tire Rack recommendations, but almost all of the tires I looked at were 4/5 stars with anecdotal reviews that may or may not reflect how I drive. So I figured it was a random coin toss.

I loved the P-Zeros, but they wear fast... the Pilot Sports are nice and have great traction, I already know that, but there were 3-4 brands priced at about half of either, so I thought I'd give them a try.

I'll definitely report back after I get a few miles into them.

 

I switched from Riken Raptors to Hankook Ventus V12 evos and I've been impressed. Granted the Rikens were the budget choice, the Hankooks have been amazing and for not much more money. I haven't put much more than 1000 miles on or so, but from what I've heard about them, and what I've experienced so far, they are great.

 

This is very interesting guys, for the record I don't have P Zeroes on at the moment but I will when it comes around. The road-holding and steering was perfect in my view and so far no-one has changed my mind but opinions are opinions and I'm picking this up as the views are so different. The other thing that bugs me is the fact that so many dealers charge different prices and in that, people tend to buy different every time if they are on a budget or they are not happy with the originals. Quite rightly we all seem to have different habits and driving techniques as well so that could be the main issue, apart from tyres being unfit for the job of course!
Keep it going and what are the worst too! Chhers, Stu

 

I also recently replaced the P-Zero's with a set of Hankook V12 and I don't know about take-it-to-the-edge performance (which I don't need anyway) but can say that the ride feels much better than the Pirelli's.

Doug

 

Plus, they have a nice look from sidewall to the tread pattern on the face.

 

Better as in 'softer', or better as in 'more grip', or something else? Only done 100 or so miles since the new P-Zero's fitted, but as the old ones were quite hard from their 10 years on the wheel, gotta say the new ones seem to be a great improvement (quieter/softer on the bumps/more feel on cornering) - but I can't compare to another make.

 

I never really push the car in terms of cornering so I can't say if the grip is better/worse/same as the Pirelli. But the road feel seems less harsh. The guy at the tire store mentioned that the frequent complaint with the Pirelli's is that the ride quality is harsher do to the harder rubber they use? In any case I was immediately pleased with the ride quality of the Hankooks and the grip and handling (for my daily driving purposes) is just fine.

Doug

 

Exact same here, on another car. I love P-Zeros and was originally a Pirelli fanboy, but that model just doesn't last for as long as other great options out there. Basically 30k is impressive, but I never saw more than 25-27k out of a set (the M&S model). I have been running Yokohamas with great satisfaction lately, but I hear there is even more greatness found in the Continental DWS range- I just got my first set (again, another car) last month and so far so bliss. Treadwear is 540! P-Zeros were more like 300, and my Yokos 400-420. The XKR will likely get its set of them at year-end.

 

Same question as Redeye....

What impresses you? Ride comfort or pushing them a bit? I'm curious.

 

I am a Michelin fan. My Infinity M37X came stock with Michelin tires and I was quite impressed with the ride and traction (especially in the rain and snow). Just a week ago I changed the Michelins to Pirellis and, so far I am happy with the traction (have to wait for rain or snow to do a fair comparison). They are, however, ride louder (10%-15%) than did Michelins, so I am not thrilled about that.
My 2005 XKR (bought it in March) came with Michelin Pilot Sport (There's 10% of thread left) and, while the car handles okay in the dry, it wants to fly off road when the road is wet - not much different from other sport cars I had in the past (regardless of which tires these cars had on them).

I am waiting on getting new rubber for the Jag, because I'm torn between leaving the original 18" wheels or buying new 20" Coventry Whitley wheels. Coventry wheels look like Sepang wheels (which I fancy a lot), but are considerably less pricier than the Sepangs (even used ones). I'll have to decide soon though, before autumn weather comes to New York.