I went from the Hankook Evo 2's to Continental DW's. The DW's were a little quieter on concrete, and a *lot* quieter over bumps. The DW's bring a bit of a Float to the handling compared to the Evo 2's, where you are steering, isn't always where you are going with the DW's.

No matter what the performance may be new, I steer away from Michelin. They build fantastic performing tires, which are closer to pushing the limits on construction. If raw performance is you goal, they are hard to beat.

OEM Dunlaps are 28lb's front and 31lb's rear, vs 25lb's and 27lb's respectively for the Michelin's.

I have never driven with the OEM's or Michelin's on a XK, I can only compare the Evo 2 to the DW. I felt both tires had their advantages. If my XK were not my daily driver, I would prefer the Evo 2 over the DW. As a daily driver, the DW is much preferred.

 

I believe the conti DWS, the all season version is wear rated at 540, the summer version is just DW and rated at 340ish.

 

I agree emphatically as do 98% of the reviews on tire rack.com; Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Roaf and Track and Automobile magazines. Simply the best Summer Tire in production. Yes they are costly and only last 12-15,000 miles but what a ride!

 

I've used Continentals on other cars I have. Great tires, just wish they got more mileage out of them. I have to chuckle, when the comment is made that tread looks don't matter, well they do if you that is part of the look you are going after. I am sure thats the case for some people. I have to wear out these Dunlaps this year.

Would those of you who have tried the different tires would kindly share the results at the end of summer and include your driving habits, miles driven, and before and after tread depth photo (use a coin for reference), etc with all of us. That means a lot versus subjective comments only.

Thanks for the advice so far.

 

Michelin doesn't allow their "Authorized Dealers" to post a majority of the negative comments about Michelin Tires. THAT'S why they are rated so high. Seriously, Michelin refuses to post negative reviews, stating "Does not meet our needs at this time". Same on their Authorized Dealer sites. ANY company that removes negative ratings is LYING. They don't refuse EVERY negative, but they do refuse the majority.
If you don't believe me, go post a negative on one of their sites, or an authorized dealer site. It MAY show up for a few days, or it more likely will not show up at all. Dishonest business practices. Horrible tires.

 

Some (or even most) of the people posting in this thread seem to think Michelin Pilot Super Sports are a wonderful tire....
Well, I guess you all have a much lower expectation of an "Ultra High Performance" tire than I do.
Have fun paying more for an inferior tire. Michelin snookered me twice, they will never again get the chance.

 

Agreed, can't go wrong with Michelin.

 

Hey Cee Jay - Seen your postings numerous time now about your dislike of the Michelin's, and you'll get no argument from me. However, to keep from going back through your posts in other threads, do you have a tire you 'swear by', rather than 'swear at'?

 

Yes Hankook from Korea. LOL.
I want very badly to believe him, it would cut my tire bill in half. But at $150 a tire I dont think Hankook have as high an opinion of themselves.

But in reality I am being closed-minded and possibly ignorant. Samsung makes a phone as good if not better for less than anyone else. So Hankooks have some credibility by tradition.

 

These tyre threads leave me shaking my head. Several themes keep reappearing.

1) The American fixation with wear ratings. I've lived in the US for nearly 20 years, and it still cracks me up that this is a consideration when buying boots for a car that turns and burns. I just laugh out loud when the guy in the tyre shop asks if I'm sure I only want a 340 wear item. If you're not killing tyres in 15-20k in an XK then you're not driving your beast hard enough. You probably putter around like a grandad, as I do these days.

2) Buying tyres based on the looks of the tread? Really? Is this from the same school of thought where leaving 1mm of wheelarch gap is a capital offence?

3) Badge snobbery. Good luck with that depending on where you live. Down here in the Southwestern deserts certain tyres will be hockey pucks inside 6 months. Michelins are by far the worst for this trait with the OEM Dunlops not far behind.

When I lived in the UK I often had my cars on Colway remoulds, the road legal ones they made for amateur competition. Sure, they wore out in 12k or less, but they stuck like chewing gum in **** pile and shrugged off that damp/slick drizzle effect you get so often in the UK.

Anyway, I've had Dunlops, Hankooks and Sumitomos on my XKR, and the vote goes to the Hankooks.

Dunlops: Hockey puck hard in no time.

Sumitomo: Nice ride but the squishy sidewalls make the rear feel odd at the Jaguar recommended pressures.

Hankooks: Brilliant front end grip and very stable.

Can't really speak for the wet grip on any of them as we get less than 4" of rain a year and most of it comes in two thunderstorms.

 

I'll chime in one more time. I am sorry to hear Cee Jay had such a bad experience with his tires. I do not work in any aspect of the automotive industry but speak from over 20 years experience and well over 30 vehicles. I've had Dunlop, Continental, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Hankook and Michelin, mostly all original equipment as most of my cars have been leases. While some models do wear quickly, Michelins have never failed me and have always had the best dry or wet performance of any tire I have owned. On the XKR, I drive hard and need the performance PSS provides. The Hankooks just could not keep up. For a cruising tire I was pleased with Continental, but still by far the best wearing and performing cruising tire for me were the Michelin A/S Plus on the Super V8 and they lasted 40,000+ miles per set and never had any issues.

My 2 cents...

 

I'm not totally sold on Hankooks, the older Hankook EVO2 before the V12s came out were OK but not superb by any means. The V12 version is much better than the PSS junk I got rid of however. Maybe I got a bad set? No, not twice in a row.
ANYWAY.... I have not yet found a magnificent tire, though the Pirelli PZeros are still pretty good, had them on a few cars.
So even though I won't say Hankook V12s are perfect, they are better than MPSS and very near as good or equal to the Pirreli PZeros I've had.
I sure wish I knew where Q&C got tires for $150 each, $225 where I'm from.

 

There was never any doubt they were sticking it to ya. Tire rack has them for $627 for a set of 4. For 20inch wheels

 

What a world we live in where perception or belief trumps facts.
For heavens sake guys look at the real world testing done at great expense and considerable cost. Hancooks are not even in the top half.
'Aggressive' Tread patterns only make noise, the best dry grip has always been a slick, and the, best wet grip always via straight grooves. No silly patterns, no directing water from the center of the tread to to the side, try to do that when the tire is rotating at 13 times a second at 60mph.
For heavens sake pay attention to reality.
Regards,

 

I also have Hankook Venus on my '07 XK; great ride, smooth, quite BUT do seem to have lost some gas mileage (2mpg?). Doesn't matter for me; low mileage driver..............
Would buy again............. from Tire Rack.

Adrian

 

Maybe if I moved to NZ or someplace. The absolute lowest price, be it at Tirerack, Discount, Les Schwab, Sears, Joe's Tires etc, etc was $221.
I think maybe you're looking at a different tire.
Hankook Ventus V12 evo2

 

I don't see where Michelin admits their tires throw off large chunks of tread starting at about 1000 miles wear. I'd think that fact would be considered in their performance ratings.
"Real World Testing" that is completely opposite "Real World Performance" where Michelins are garbage.
Again, you guys can go ahead and pay more for crap. I won't.

 

Front Original Dunlop SP Sport Maxx
Rear Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT

Yesterday on German Autobahn without speed limit, my XKR without speed limiter runs almost 300km/h like on rails.

 

I've heard that in SPORT Mode and paddle shifting, the Speed Limiter is bypassed. I've not tried it personally, just hearsay.

 

I have never tried this, but I donīt think so, because in the car-approval ist 250km/h high speed exactly established. And Jaguar has to note this regulation.

My Land Rover Discovery4 runs in every gear mode only the speed limit of 180km/h - it ist also a ZF gearbox (8HP..).

To change this with chip tuning, means to drive illegal on German roads. In cause of an accident your insurance will not pay, because the car has no valid approval.

But a lot of cars in Germany are modified, no risk - no fun.