I have Pilto Sport 4S's on at the moment and they are due for a replacing and am thinking if 18" all season tyres will be sufficient for the power or if it's best to stick with performance tyres. Pilot Sport 5 or Cross Climate 2's? I understand handling will get worse? But traction in the frost and snow will be much better, granted I only maybe drive in such conditions a few times a year. Mostly for going on holiday to Scotland, I have been making do with the Pilot Sports but traction is limited in the frost and ice.

 

Where are you going screaming round corners using the last 1% of grip? Its never going to be any good in the snow. Invest in some sandbags for the boot,
Buy the cheapest you can find on ebay ...about £150 for two

 

If you really have to drive the Jag in Scotland in winter, then I would go for proper "three peak mountain snow flake" marked tyres, assuming that these are available in the size you need. These will be fine for normal driving all year round but, in cold conditions and snow, your Jag will be better than it's mythical 4WD equivalent on ordinary tyres.

 

And unless you have the big Brembo brakes, get a set of 17" XK8 wheels for the winter tyres to save some money on the tyres themselves. Assuming you have the room to store them, of course.

 

I have the Brembo calipers. The Hydra 18" wheels are the smallest that will fit.

 

I have the Brembo calipers. The Hydra 18" wheels are the smallest that will fit.

 

the day I purchased my 2002 XKR it was snowing heavily and I was 400+ miles from home. The car had a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Season on it that had seen better days. They weren’t bald, but did have some aging cracks.

i stopped at WalMart and bought three 50 lb. bags of sand to help keep the rear end planted. That worked very well and I was able to travel without any slippage or unexpected drama.

A good 4 season tire is going to be a step down in performance vs. summer tires, but absolutely required when the temperature is below 35 F or so. The summer tires get very greasy when cold, and resultant handling is treacherous.


For some driving in the winter snow, just the 4 season tires will do fine if one is willing to use the throttle and brakes sensibly. No real need for snow / ice tires if roads are going to clear off within a few days. Just my opinion.

On the XKR I’ve used a many different brands of 4 season tires, Michelin, Pirelli’s, Goodyear, etc. They all performed about the same, with the nod for best handling going to the Pirelli’s. They don’t last quite as long as the Michelins, but are noticeably stickier, summer or winter.

Z

 

It's a shame we can't get the Pilot Sport 4 All Season in the UK because that would be ideal for me, sport tyre in the dry but still good enough in the winter. I will probably end up with the Pilot Sport 5 and taking it really easy in the frost in Scotland. To be honest it's rare we get snow in December on the roads in Sctoland anyway. It was more of a just in-case problem. I like the Pilot Sport 4S and the 5 now because they do really well in the wet which is the biggest problem in the UK.

 

Does it matter if I get the 2000-2003 shocks vs the 2003-2006 shocks for the rears?