New owner of an XF - tyre suggestions

[blueacid]

Hi all,

I've just got a new to me 2009 Jaguar XF Portfolio S. Really loving it so far!
The tyres on it, however, are a problem. I've got 3 Landsails and one other brand that's not much better. So I'm looking at fitting new ones in the next couple of months. On my previous car (Volvo Diesel with 160hp) I had Rainsport 3's all around, and they were very good.

I'm wondering whether I should fit Rainsport 3's again, or if anyone has any good suggestions for another type. My driving is mostly motorway and around town. I don't frequently go hammering down the B roads (not to say that it doesn't happen!), but that shouldn't really be the driving factor; most of my miles are spent on the motorways and generally in the North West of England.

I've got the 20" wheels, so the size is 255/35r20. The uniroyals are around £150 per corner, and for similar money I could also get things like P-Zeros, Kumho Ecsta PS91, etc. Anyone got any good suggestions?

Thanks very much!

[The Leaper]

I had a 2009 XF 5.0 V8 n/a for several years. It had 19" wheels. The original equipment as far as tyres were concerned were Dunlop Sport 01 J. Full details are: 245/40/7R/19/96/Y

Hope this helps you.

R.

[ollyowl]

I have a Portfolio S Sportbrake with the same tyre size, I have fitted Bridgestone Potenza S001.
These replaced the Dunlops that where fitted from new, the Dunlops started shedding the tread on the inner edges.
I bought from Costco (next day order) for £160 each fitted.
They seem to be lasting very well (20000 miles and three years) with good performance. A quick look shows around £150 each from the usual suppliers in a google search.

[xjay1337]

Michelin Pilot sport 4 s if available in your size (haven't checked).

[soprano]

xjay1337 said:

Michelin Pilot sport 4 s if available in your size (haven't checked).

They are, I have them on mine with the same wheel size. Miles better than the original Dunlops. Best tyres I’ve used on any car.

[xjay1337]

soprano said:

xjay1337 said:

Michelin Pilot sport 4 s if available in your size (haven't checked).

They are, I have them on mine with the same wheel size. Miles better than the original Dunlops. Best tyres I’ve used on any car.

My Dad has an XE. The dunlops I thought were ok to be honest.
But he changed to Pilot sport 4 s and they are certainly a step above.

Other option would be Conti sport contact 6 which are equally ranked as well. But haven't tried those myself.

[WyrleyD]

I had Vredestein Ultrac Vortis on the 2010 XF Portfolio S that I've just sold and they were much better than the Dunlop tyres that were OEM.

[ninjag]

Eagle 3 in Jaguar spec are good and very quiet.

[tr7v8]

WyrleyD said:

I had Vredestein Ultrac Vortis on the 2010 XF Portfolio S that I've just sold and they were much better than the Dunlop tyres that were OEM.

That would be my choice. I have them on my Cayenne. Fantastic grip, especially in the wet & wearing well. After 20K they are still at 5mm+

[XFRFred]

xjay1337 said:

Michelin Pilot sport 4 s if available in your size (haven't checked).

I concur, these have been the best tyres on my XFR so far. I found the Dunlops to be lacking in comparison, in that there was no rear tyre grip in anything but dry weather, or if you were gentle with your right foot.
The 4s were fitted around mid 2017, and I've driven circa 14K miles, with about 3.5mm remaining, on average all around. My driving styles have varied from a few days in Wales, sunny weather/dry empty roads. To the occasional trundle into the City as a commute.

[Etypephil]

Bridgestone Potenzas have been on ours for about three years and 25,000 Summer miles, grip well, not too noisy, and no signs of needing replacement. For Winter use Nokians offer amazing grip at the expense of refinement.

[WTFWT]

I have P Zeros on my XFR-S and while they are good in the dry, or as good as they can be in a constant losing battle for traction. I don’t rate them at all in the wet. As soon as you put any substantial lateral load into them, they just throw the towel in. It can be quite alarming and tempers your pace accordingly.

[JungTheForeman]

I've had my 2014 XF Sportbrake S Portfolio for a month. It came with the P-Zero's and err.. yeah not great in the wet (as above...).

One of the rears fell victim to a screw in the side wall so I decided to replace the back tyres with Michelin Pilot sport 4 S' - much much much better.

[blueacid]

Thank you all for your input - lots of good suggestions!
Certainly I know to avoid the Pirelli and Dunlop tyres; thumbs ups for Pilot Sport 4's, Potenzas, Vredestein Ultracs and the Goodyear Eagle F1 rev3.

Since I live in the grim North West of England, there's a decent chance of the tyres needing to face the wet at some point - is it generally sensible to look at the wet weather EU ratings label? (and, while on the subject, are the noise / fuel ratings worth paying any attention to, or are the differences slight at best?)

Certainly enjoying the Jag so far! Need to find a 2019 map disk too, or is it at this point wise to wait until 2020?

[Etypephil]

blueacid said:

Thank you all for your input - lots of good suggestions!
Certainly I know to avoid the Pirelli and Dunlop tyres; thumbs ups for Pilot Sport 4's, Potenzas, Vredestein Ultracs and the Goodyear Eagle F1 rev3.

Since I live in the grim North West of England, there's a decent chance of the tyres needing to face the wet at some point - is it generally sensible to look at the wet weather EU ratings label? (and, while on the subject, are the noise / fuel ratings worth paying any attention to, or are the differences slight at best?)

Certainly enjoying the Jag so far! Need to find a 2019 map disk too, or is it at this point wise to wait until 2020?

I can't comment on the validity of EU ratings, but any of your favoured ones should offer decent wet weather performance; the Bridgestones certainly do, although in common with all Summer tyres, the performance falls off in lower temperatures. If you have the storage space a spare set of wheels fitted with Winter tyres is the solution.

The knock off update discs were really good on our perevious XF, and they are only £25 - £30:

https://satnavstore.com/2018-JAGUAR-XF-XK-navigati...

If I could get the same deal for the later system I'd buy it in a heartbeat; the real updates are rubbish and 'king expensive.

[8bit]

tr7v8 said:

WyrleyD said:

I had Vredestein Ultrac Vortis on the 2010 XF Portfolio S that I've just sold and they were much better than the Dunlop tyres that were OEM.

That would be my choice. I have them on my Cayenne. Fantastic grip, especially in the wet & wearing well. After 20K they are still at 5mm+

+1 more for the Vredesteins, I have them on my 5.0 XKR and they do a grand job there.

[fatboy b]

I’m running MPS4S on my R-S. fantastic wet & dry handling, and they last a long time. My rears are on 14k and 4.5mm left. That’s after a set of p-zeros lasted 8k. Fronts are on about 28k and 5mm left.

[WTFWT]

Just put MPS4S on the R-S as recommended (and had the alignment tweaked at Wheels in Motion) and it is a very good upgrade. Perhaps slightly kore road roar, but loads more grip.