I had Pirelli tires on my XKR 100 when I bought it. Size of the front are 255/35/ZR20, and the rear are 285/30/ZR20. The right front Pirelli tire inside side wall disintegrated one day while I was doing about 70MPH. They were run flats. I figured it was a fluke, so I put a new set on the front.

They were on about 8 months, and then the left front did the same thing as the right front had done - disintegrated at highway speeds. The tires I have been running since are Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position tires and they have been execellent. I ran Bridgestones on my Mitsubishi 300GT VR4 and they were always excellent tires.

The rear Pirelli's (the 285 ones) looked menacing due to the stance of the tire. They were wider than the RE960AS I put on the rear, but they were absolutely awful in the rain. I could feel my rear end riding on water. They were noisy tires as well.

For others that have these tires, what is your opinion of their performance? Noise level? Wear life?

 

I don't have those tires, but I have Pirelli P6'son my XJ8 and they are noisy as hell!!

 

I have gone thru the a new set of Pirelli P-zero's on the front in 13 months (22000 miles later). I really don't like them either, they are very sensitive to mis-alignments. My rears have handled very well - Pirelli P-zero Rossos. I have only noticed some road noise on these tires, but I must take into consideration that the front has some uneven wear and 'feathering' of the tread due to a toe/camber issue on both sides. I just ordered four new sneakers - Yokohama s-drives, which are very reasonably priced, look great, and have met with excellent reviews for all tire categories. No experience with those Bridgestones. Im going to google them and see what they look like.

 

I just added a new set of claws on my XKR. They were Riken Raptors and were the best price I could find. Very quiet too. Ran great on my recent trip to FL. I have no idea how well they will last, but the price was excellent. I had the front tires forced balanced and then spin balance on the car. They ride as smooth as glass.

 

I haven't heard the term "force balanced". What is involved in "force balancing" a tire?

 

Force balancing is when they turn the tire around the rim and get the best balance prior to weight balancing. They force balanced, spin balanced on a machine and then fine tuned the balance by spining them on the car.

 

There is a demo on road force balancing here

It is just slightly more expensive than the standard spin balance.

 

I just put a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on my '04 XKR and with only a few hundred miles on them so far I am very pleased. I too had them forced balanced and it is well worth the extra few dollars to get that done,I think.

I got them online from Tire Rack and that whole deal went down as smooth as silk. They sent them in to one of their preferred installers who were very happy to have my business. The tires arrived there the day after I ordered them.

 

I also order my tires from Tire Rack.com - but I don't know of anyone that force balances tires in my area.

I'll look around and check prices.