Need to replace the tires on my 1999 XK8. Back tires are wider than the front. Who has has good experience with grip and mileage with theirs? Someone told me Continental Extreme or Michelin.

 

Continental and Michelin are both good tires. Myself I had read a review on the forum about Nitto Motiva a tire made here in the US. I thought why not. I have had them on the car for 4 years. I am very pleased with them they have worn well but more importantly they eliminated road hum and a softer better traction feel.

 

Like everything else,"YMMV" (your mileage may vary). I'll just add my two cents and say that you can't go wrong with either Michelin's or Pirelli's


Stu.

 

I have Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 on my 04. I got about 38K out of the rears and the fronts are still in remarkable shape with about 40K on them. Replaced the rears with the newer generation AS3+ and hope they do as well. Not inexpensive tires but have been really happy with them.

 

I have always run Yokohama YK580 tires (available only at Discount Tire) on my wife's 2006 XK8. We purchased her car in February 2012 and the first set of Yokohamas was installed later that year. She typically gets 48,000 miles out of the fronts and 33,000 miles out of the rears. I rotate them every 6,000 miles but due to the staggered design they must stay on the same axle. They perform best and last the longest running 32 psi in the front and 29 psi in the rear. These tires are reasonably priced, come with a good treadwear warranty, and have always been fantastic in the rain with no hydroplaning....

 

I have Landsail LS 588 all round on my xk8 245/4518 front 255/45/18 rear. Also on my wife's Honda civic. Cant fault them.
Dont know if you can get them in USA but they beat Michelin in recent EU tyre test.

 

My front are P245/50R15 and back are P245/50R17 if that makes a difference to anyone posting here. Thanks for your replies.

 

While talking tires, does anyone have info on pressure, manual states any tires other than Pirelli should be inflated to 44psi. I did have them at 32psi but recently raised to 40psi and the ride improved considerably. Running inexpensive Rotellas that were brand new when I purchased the car from the dealer, have put 6k on and no noticeable ware, this is not a great brand tire but for now will run till a ware issue.

 

Cherie I take it the front is 245/50/17? not 15?
as you have probably guessed tyres are black and round and prices vary wildly, You cant go wrong with Top Brands but you will pay for the privilege.
Everybody has their favourites I used to always buy brands until I had to get some in a hurry fitter offered me BOTO Vantge H8, I know sound more like a new African car But!!
Upshot is they were £50 fitted each and I never noticed any difference from the Continentals which were on before.

 

No. I looked again and it is 15. Back is wider by 2"

 

I am running Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s on my XKR and they were $666 installed for 4 this spring. Very good daily driver tire for these cars. I like them more than the YK580s (better wet) that I have on my XJR in the summer and I like them as much as the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport tires I had before.

 

Cherie don't want to be pedantic, but that size on the rear cannot be right: the 245 part is width in millimetres last bit is the diameter of the actual alloy wheel the middle bit -50 is the aspect ratio.
so if you really have a 245/50/15 on the rear the overall diameter of wheel and tyre will be way too small and your cars headlights will be pointing in to the sky??
Early XK8 could have 245/50/17 front and rear.
I guess when you say wider you mean height from ground to top of tyre? SEE BOTTOM- it shows 2 inch difference

The xk8 was never fitted with 15 inch wheels you need to get them checked they could have come from an earlier XJ with same PCD.

This from internet showing overall diameter:
245/50R15626mm24.6"245/50677mm26.6:

 

I've been doing a lot of research on tires. First of all, I need all seasons, because even in the summer it can drop below 7 degrees here.

Top rated all seasons are:
1. Michelin Pilot A/S 3+
2. Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus
3. Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06

The Michelins have better dry grip and stopping at the expense of twitchier handling and harsher ride. The Pirellis have the best all around compromise between ride comfort and performance, and the Continentals are supposed to have the best snow performance. I am going to go with the Pirellis, as I'm looking more for ride than best skidpad numbers, and they are $150 cheaper than the Michelins at Costco.

I'm confused, though. The tire wheel combo document on the FAQ section says my 18' Double Five wheels on my XKR should take 245/45R18s on the front and 255/45R18s on the back. Currently, though, I have 255/45 R18s on the front and 275/40R18s on the back (Sumitomo HTR Z II). Is the 245/255 combination really the right one for these rims?

 

Yes 245/255 is the spec as shown below. Some choose to use 275s on the 9" rim. I think allowable width on a 9" depends on the tire choice too.

 

Silver_fox have you thought about the Michelin Cross Climate all season they are getting rave reviews and can be used all year?
Michelin CrossClimate - Tyre Reviews

 

Interesting. The CrossClimates seem to be more optimized for snow performance. I will never drive the XKR in the snow. I just need them to not self destruct if I'm caught out and a cold front blows in. Some summer tires can't even be stored at freezing and it will get down to -15 or so in my garage.
From the TireRack website, it doesn't look like the CrossClimates are even available in 18" rim sizes.

 

Sorry have never used the Cross Climate, seems they do 245/45/18 from their EU site so not much use to XK8 drivers with 255 width rears.

But plenty of comments about being good at low temperatures.

 

I'm running with what came when I bought my 2006 XK8 Convertible: Sumitomo 255/45R18s on all four wheels. Looking at that chart from a few posts back, does it present a problem since it sounds like standard is 245s on the front? Does it mean I am running with 9" rims all around or can you put 255s on an 8" rim?

When it comes to pressure, should I inflate to 26 since they are in the front or 28 since they are 255?

Sorry. Never had to pay this much attention to tires before!

 

If Sumitomo is like they used to be with the HTR Z, my 315 width rears I had on my Corvette were more like 295s.

 

If you have to stop fast on your daily commute you will wish you had your best tires.........