Not trying to brag or anything I am actually looking for some help. My XKR is the prototype "garage queen". I only drive it in convertible friendly weather conditions: 50 degrees F or warmer, dry roads, no rain, etc.

It is getting time for a new tire set and I was wondering if I should put on a set of dry weather only shoes?

I have no experience in specialty tires as the XKR is the first garage queen I have ever owned. All my other tire purchases have been all weather.

What are the pros and cons of a dry weather only tire?

Also what would be a tire/brand recommendation by a person with experience?

I drive about 2,500 miles a year. Current odometer on the 2011 XKR is a little over 16,000.

Thanks for the help.

 

CeeJay, paging Ceejay... Ceejay please come to a white courtesy phone you're being paged.

This is pretty much a typical "tire thread" that sadly happens on EVERY single motor vehicle forum. You can easily go to any forum and find the same information you're requesting here, which ALWAYS results in the very same result answers given whether that be on a car, motorcycle, RV, SUV, lawnmowers, wheel barrels, tractors, earth graders, hot wheels, etc.

Pros and cons of high performance summer tires - ummm well, let's see... SHPT's are obviously higher traction when the whether permits and suck when it's not. That sums it up also longevity is less as they are designed to be more "sticky" that's it.

Not a single person can give you any sort of reliable, worthwhile information based upon the very limited parameters you've given - what type of driving do you do? spirited or cruising? is price or longevity a consideration for you? Without ALL info any answer given is totally worthless and most often solely based upon the responders choice they made which was based most often on them hearing what they wanted to hear from others that recommended something they knew little about. go to Tirerack, read reviews, make your own choice based on what is important to you.

OR

You could use the search function and read the TONS of pages written about this very same subject on this and every other forum

 

Your tire choice is actually between warm weather (Summer) tires and All Season; not so much wet and dry. If you only drive when its 50' or warmer, then you are a candidate for high performance summer tires. Below 40", summer tires become very much a disadvantage to safe driving.

That being said, most of us will never appreciate the full capabilities of these tires and opt for all season tires. Also there is very often a trade off in comfort and road noise in order to achieve maximum road holding. Tires today are very advanced, using compounds and technology that offer both good performance and outstanding ride quality.

Consequently, the deciding factors in choosing a tire for myself usually becomes road noise and tire comfort, not ultimate grip in wet or dry.

 

Leeper.....Sorry if not all of us here are smart and worldly as you when it comes to high performance tires. I asked for some help and a recommendation of which you gave neither.

If I WAS asking for "holier than thou" attitudes and instructions on hi jacking a simple request for help, I would give you a big "Thanks" and a thumbs up.

Since I was sincerely asking for tire help, I'll offer up a "Fork You".

 

Gordo,

That is really helpful for a starting point. Thanks you very much. I didn't even know the difference between summer and wet/dry tires. Road noise ins't much of an issue with me. I drive with the top down 95% of the time....so it is ALWAYS noisy in the cockpit.

Thanks again.

 

Gor Pilot Sport, P Zero Nero's, Potenza Pole Position. Tire are more temperature range specified than dry/wet... Bridgestone & Yokohama both have tires that is barely DOT certified which could be what you want. Border line slicks, but I would not go that radical.

 

Kyle - sorry for not spoon-feeding you your answer, some of us were taught in school to actual "seek" answers. You see I was brought up in sports that actually kept scores and grew to not only have thicker skin but not get offended at people encouraging me to learn rather than expect others to carry my weight. Enjoy your Unicorn Starbucks! Don't worry your mom will still tel you "you're right dear and you're the best ever"..


Seeing how you were in "take offense mode" I'll reiterate since your feelings were hurt and you thought I didn't provide you with any useful information. Again most here only have had one pair of tires so they cannot, with any amount of objectivity, give any realistic comparative data only that they will attest to what they got works -

Pros and cons of high performance summer tires - ummm well, let's see... SHPT's are obviously higher traction when the weather permits and suck when it's not. That sums it up also longevity is less as they are designed to be more "sticky" that's it.

Not a single person can give you any sort of reliable, worthwhile information based upon the very limited parameters you've given - what type of driving do you do? spirited or cruising? is price or longevity a consideration for you? Without ALL info any answer given is totally worthless and most often solely based upon the responders choice they made which was based most often on them hearing what they wanted to hear from others that recommended something they knew little about. go to Tirerack, read reviews, make your own choice based on what is important to you.

 

Leeper....again if I was looking for advice on how to hijack a thread you would be the first person I'd ask. I wasn't offended. Just taking the opportunity to point out that you are being a dee hack. Consider it a lesson in manners.

Go away unless you have.....nope on second thought....just go away.

 

See above in red.

 

Summer tyres.
I had Pirelli (J marking), Vredestein and now back to Pirelli.

 

You should have 3 considerations if you dont put too many miles on it.

WARRANTY

Place of purchase

And preserving the original handling- feel of the car as Jaguar intended.

Infrequently used tires deteriorate faster. Moreover, they age regardless of mileage. Get a brand that has warranty, not all do, and go to a good tire shop, such as Discount Tire. Make sure you get tires which were manufactured a month or so ago.

 

This is cool, you have created your own new category of tire, "dry weather only". You have winter tires and summer tires, winter are good with snow. For me in the South this has never been a tire choice. All weather (also summer) tires are the only choice.

For me you can be out in a nice non-rain drive and in an instant find yourself driving in inclement weather. It changes that quick in Florida. I once saw a guy in a built-up Nova driving with "dry weather only" tires, he had a big blower out the front and full racing slicks on the rear. It was amusing watching him try to leave a light in a flash rain storm, he couldn't so much as crawl away from a light with those tires, slipping and sliding all over the road.

With all that said, buy a performance tire per the ongoing debates on this board and others, it will be fine in the rain. I have the stock Hankooks on my car, with the traction control I can be at full throttle from a light in a rain storm and it holds it's path. I have tested this several times.

 

This thread has been interesting (entertaining) as it continues to demonstrate how subjective the opinions on tires can really be. There are those of us who love Michelins, those of us who hate Michelins, and the same can be said of all of the other brands. On the previous post tampamark stated what I believe was an endorsement of Hankook tires, yet I couldn't tolerate them on my car as they were so noisy on the rears on the freeway that it would drown out the radio. Everyone has an opinion. Since you don't do a lot of driving and certainly don't track the car, buy a reasonably priced set that meets the speed rating criteria of your car, gets decent reviews, and are not too hard a compound so that they are comfortable, and have a reputation for longevity. I've had four sets of tires on my car, and I've noticed differences amongst them, but have no complaints except for the noise of the Hankooks. Currently, I have Nexens which I also have on my X100 XKR. They do the job adequately, cost about $150/corner, mounted, balanced and out the door. They're not in the same league, handling and grip wise with the most performance oriented tires, but unless you're testing to the limits, you'll not discover those differences. And they're less than half the price of the top models.
Good luck with your choice.

 

Kyle, FWIW my Jaguar driving is also limited. I drive under normal speeds almost exclusively but will test the kitty out in the country now and again. Other than that, wet weather driving is usually accidental for me.

I have the Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole position summer tires and am very happy with them. They run about $200 per tire give or take.

 

Fortunately my Hankooks have been fine so far. On a previous Porsche the stock Pirelli tires were good until they got down about 30% of life, they became progressively noisier as they wore. To the point that I bought new tires prior to needing them.

 

Jeeze can't we just settle for a nice oil discussion? Those always go well

You may not set out in rain but what would you do if you get caught in it a few hours from home? Park and wait?

Do you drive hard enough to take advantage of the marginally better traction characteristics? If yes, that's well beyond posted speed limits and what's considered safe driving practices.

 

400 tread wear is mandatory. All else is optional. Personally I like the all season P zero nero's I have on mine. They're actually sized for a XF, a little taller and fill the wheel wells well. I have absolutely no complaints.

Summer tire tend to wear faster, leaving black marks and empty pockets before their time. Blocky tread patterns tend to run louder as well.

I look at all season tires as having a million little spring loaded finger that massage the road to propel the car. Summer tires are like erasers, they give up some meat to move you forward. Each handle differently in the wet. Summer's are less forgiving.

 

This is what many here have been try to tell you both politely and otherwise.
You are not even remotely in the same emotional station in life as an owner of a new sports car, who in his mind's eye has a supercar. You may be at a more sane disposition, nevertheless you dont share anything in common with someone who has a sports car that thinks its the bees knees. Look at this guy, he wont drive it in the rain. You dont have that emotion, which makes you the least qualified person in the world to be dispensing such righteous and irrelevant opinion.

I also dont understand how someone would read every post in a section their car does not belong.

The question you asked would be perfectly normal of some sedans. This guy has a 510hp handling beast that he pampers.

 

Q&C-

Get off your high horse. You have no idea what kind of vehicles I own, how I drive them or what my 'emotional state' is.

Jeeze.

 

Mikey,
You can refuse to accept my factual observation, perhaps it will sow a seed.
You dont share our car nor our emotion and thats all that matters.
Moreover, if it is my delusion to not drive my car in the rain, you should not be the one to rob us of our delusions. Its just the gentlemanly thing to do.
Call it high horse if you like, why must you be the one to try and cut us down to size.