XF 5.0 V8 Portfolio: Tyres

[The Leaper]

I have had an XF 5.0 V8 Portfolio (non R) since June. It came with four reasonably new tyres but they are not as per original equipment. In fact, they are an inferior tyre and not expensive. I've had an XF Sportsbrake loan car for the past two days and thought the tyres far superior to my car. I'm thinking of getting a new full set o tyres for my car. So:

1. Does anyone know what the factory fitted original tyres were for this model?

2. Can anyone give me advice about their views of the best and most suitable tyres for my car?

The tyre size is 245/40/7R/19/96/Y

All advice will be gratefully received.

R.

[V88Dicky]

Dunlop Sport were OEM tyres. Incidentally, my wife's 5.0 still has the original tyres on after 28k miles. Not bad for nearly 400bhp and RWD


http://www.camskill.co.uk/m55b0s7827p106323/Dunlop...

Edited by V88Dicky on Thursday 4th December 19:27

Edited by V88Dicky on Thursday 4th December 19:28

[The Leaper]

V8D,

Great, thanks for the reply. That's just the information I'm looking for. Good price at Camskill too.

By the way, the 5.0 V8 non R is a great all rounder in my opinion and it's a bit of a surprise that there are so few of them around.

R.

[V88Dicky]

You're welcome mate.

Our's has got 20" Selena alloys. Were these optional do you think?

Not looking forward to replacing all four tyres come springtime

[The Leaper]

My research at the time I was considering buying the car indicated that the OE was 20" Selenas. Mine has 19" Carelias which I think were the option. The car was originally supplied to a Jaguar executive who I presume wanted a ride more Jaguar-like as might be provided by the more the flexible tyre. Personally, I think the ride with the 19" wheels and tyre set up is probably preferable day to day.

R.

[V88Dicky]

I certainly notice the difference when the winter wheels and tyre go on (18" Venus alloys with 45 section tyres).

Might put them on today, temperatures up this way have been well below 7c for a week or so.

[The Leaper]

I don't plan to get a set of winter tyres too. I noticed from some tyre websites that the Dunlop Sport 1 tyres are not really designed to be used in ice and snow so I'm now looking at all rounders. However, 5.0, 385 bhp and snow never will be a nice combination!

R.

[jamieduff1981]

Invest in the winter tyres if you plan to drive the car in frozen conditions.

Our XFR-S is extremely skittish now on cold roads on its OE P-Zero summer tyres. My S-Type is now on its 245 section winter tyres and it's great.

It's a one-time hit investing in winter tyres, and you're not wearing your summer tyres when running the winters and vice versa.

[V88Dicky]

jamieduff1981 said:

Invest in the winter tyres if you plan to drive the car in frozen conditions.

Our XFR-S is extremely skittish now on cold roads on its OE P-Zero summer tyres. My S-Type is now on its 245 section winter tyres and it's great.

It's a one-time hit investing in winter tyres, and you're not wearing your summer tyres when running the winters and vice versa.

Exactly.

Used 18" Jag alloys can be had on eBay for as little as £150, and I paid around £85 a corner for some decent mid-range winters that had the best reviews considering the price.

It's good fun traversing slippy inclines when FWD hatchbacks on massive summer rubber can't manage.

[8bit]

jamieduff1981 said:

Invest in the winter tyres if you plan to drive the car in frozen conditions.

Our XFR-S is extremely skittish now on cold roads on its OE P-Zero summer tyres. My S-Type is now on its 245 section winter tyres and it's great.

It's a one-time hit investing in winter tyres, and you're not wearing your summer tyres when running the winters and vice versa.

Interesting. My XKR is currently wearing its' 20" Pirelli SottoZero winter tyres and they're rubbish. Back end is all over the place. It was better on my Vredestein summer tyres. I guess Pirelli just make tyres for the Italian climate, not the Scottish one.

[jamieduff1981]

8bit said:

jamieduff1981 said:

Invest in the winter tyres if you plan to drive the car in frozen conditions.

Our XFR-S is extremely skittish now on cold roads on its OE P-Zero summer tyres. My S-Type is now on its 245 section winter tyres and it's great.

It's a one-time hit investing in winter tyres, and you're not wearing your summer tyres when running the winters and vice versa.

Interesting. My XKR is currently wearing its' 20" Pirelli SottoZero winter tyres and they're rubbish. Back end is all over the place. It was better on my Vredestein summer tyres. I guess Pirelli just make tyres for the Italian climate, not the Scottish one.

I have to admit, I'm not convinced that Pirelli would be best qualified to make winter tyres, being down in the Med and all! I'm using Nokian WR A3s. You wouldn't be lapping Knockhill quickly on them, and they are not as grippy as the Michelin Pilot Super Sports that came off in the usual single-digit temperatures you and I normally drive in at this time of year - but it was down at -5deg the other day on top of my hill (well I don't own the whole hill but you know what I mean...) and the Nokians were much better than the Pirellis then.

I don't put much faith in this +7deg C crossover point that gets bandied around. I think it's closer to 0 and definately depends on exactly which tyres are being compared. Winter tyres don't add grip in the cold, they just lose a lot less than summer tyres do as the temperature drops to frosty sorts of temperatures in my experience.