I understand that the Pirelli P zero are the tyre of choice but are any others acceptable?

Say a Sumitomo ?

 

I just put a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports on a few days ago. I've only driven the car about 100 miles since then, but so far so good. Not very loud, good grip and a much longer tread life than the OEM Pirellis.

 

I put Khumo on mine. I use that tire on most of my cars. Good price point and quality.

 

Just put those same tires on my XK8 and getting a nice, smooth ride. 1000mi's and they look great.

 

Sumiwho?

Look up the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. You'll thank me later.

 

I have those on my 97 XJR, and I've been happy with them. Car performed like a champ in a blizzard through upstate NY.

Peterg19, Note that they are all-season, VS a summer tire. Not sure what your needs are.

 

Are the Conti's asymmetrical? Can the be rotated left to right?

 

You suggest putting ALL SEASON tyres for a 300 bhp performance car, right? IMHO product like mentioned is a good choice for toyota prius, not for relatively fast rwd car like xkr.

 

Actually, if someone will be driving the car in a cold climate, these are an excellent choice. If you look up the specifications of the tires, they're "Ultra-High Performance All Season" and carry a speed rating of Z and then W, meaning they're rated for speeds up to 168mph (much faster than any prius can do!)

So while I agree that a summer tire is ideal, if you plan to drive your XKR all year round in a cold climate, this would be a much better and safer choice.

 

They are asymmetrical, yes. You can still cross-rotate them, but you just need to ensure that the correct side of the tire is facing outwards. All asymmetrical tires will having a marking indicating which side goes out, but it's usually pretty easy to tell from the tread pattern.

 

I am considering tires. If the conti's have to have a particular side out that is discouraging. Front tires on these cars wear on the inside and have to be flipped to get long life. That would not work with Conti's.

 

I live in Cincy, OH and have always put ALL SEASON tires on my cars, many Z rated for my sports cars. Never left me on the side of the road stuck or in the side of another's car in bad weather. Now if I lived in the snow belt, maybe not.

 

I put Michelin Pilots on my XK8 that I bought used for $200 and are 7/10 tread wear. They work great but the ride is a little stiff but more of a sports car ride.



Dave

 

Yes, because I want the option to drive my XKR any day I want to. Not just when it's sunny and 75*F. The tires work great in light snow and rain- I've never had an issue with traction that wasn't unreasonable. Grippy when dry too! Very quiet as well.

Oh, and something like a 500 rating on treadwear- good luck finding another tire of this quality that'll do that. Have you priced a set of tires lately? Value and longevity mean something.

 

You must drive with the top down all the time. I found the DWS to be the loudest tire I've ever had after they were under 50% treadlife.

I'm running Kumho LEs on my XJR and General Zmaxs on my XK8. The LEs are summer tires only, great traction, nearly stickies that you can use in the rain but only give ya about 20k, the Generals (a Conti company) are fairly loud on certain roads but for an all season tire I couldn't be happier, very good mix of everything from snow to summer stickiness to treadlife in the 30-40k range.