I'm very pleased with my Hankook's so far. They're a real bargain compared to my previous Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Much better grip thathe Michelins - they were squirrely scary when half worn. I couldn't wait to replace them. And I'm expecting to get much more life from the Hankooks.

Are the Hankook's noisy? How do you expect me to tell with the top down and fuse 19 pulled? All I can hear is that glorious exhaust note!

 

I bought the last set of tires (on the Lotus) from the local dealership. That way they can own the problem if something happens. They are a TireRack reseller, so the price was the same as online. They charge a little more to mount and road force balance, but it's an Aston Lotus dealer - what do you expect?

 

No, different places. The first set was straight from a Sears Auto Center. Those were the A/S3 set. They lasted for crap, and man did the performance suck. Maybe comparably, as I had Pirelli P-Zeros before that. I went to a Discount and they got a prorate to get the Super Sports, which everyone already knows my feelings on THOSE.
The Second time Michelin Customer Support sent me to a different Discount. The store manager got Michelin to do a 100% refund because the Pissy Stupid Shorts were in such deplorable condition after 2700 miles. Again, the traction was horrible, probably again comparatively. It wouldn't have been so bad except for the huge chunks of rubber coming off. Michelin verified the serial numbers before they agreed to it. No counterfeits there. I never queried about the validity of the A/S3 set.
Regardless, if I DID get counterfeits, I'd from then on avoid that company on the chance that I'd get them again. I seriously doubt that happened.
Of the one manager and three employees that I spoke to during the last fiasco, all of them stated that Michelins were now garbage and they somewhat dissuaded customers from purchasing them. Three of those same guys said they had the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 tires and they loved 'em. I gave those a shot and have been happy thus far. They grip like a roll of inside-out duct tape and I've heard no excessive noise, even with the top down.

 

Interesting. Everyone raves about those tires on the Porsche forum and it's ranked #1 out of 29 tires in its category on Tirerack. Seems like your experience isn't typical. Unfortunate.

 

I am baffled too, it would be one thing if he went to a Made in Germany, Usa, Japan tire. But Korean. In fact I have heard the very thing about Hankooks. Look if he is the Hankook distributor, I dont mind supporting him, but where is our club discount.

Have you seen their ad, 'Be one with the road and it will be one with you' Ancient wisdom for squirrels.

 

I realize this thread is about the Michelin Pilot Super Sports tire, but since Cee Jay brought up his negative experience with the Michelin Pilot A/S Plus tire I decided to add this to the discussion. My experience with that tire was the same as his.

Copied below is my 7-4-2013 post #26 from this thread in the X100 Forum: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...g-82025/page2/Also, like Cee Jay, I've been very pleased with the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's on my XKR. But if I tracked my XKR, I probably would justify the far more expensive Michelins. Per TireRack.com, a set of 4 20" staggered Hankooks are $727.90 compared to $1,128.30 for the latest version Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, or $400.40 (55%) more. I noted that TireRack.com does not show the Michelin Pilot Super Sport to fit my XKR, but DiscountTire.com does show them; they're even more expensive. Are the Michelins worth the premium price? Not for me.

Stuart

 

Michelin has had tire quality issues? I took a set off my VDP that looked like absolute crap when I got them. Chunks of tread missing along both edges and worn like the tires were under inflated, but coming apart. I thought they were old factory tires at 75k and they were 80k rated tires until I looked at the spare which was a Pirelli. The tire paperwork next to the owners manual confirmed the factory tire was Pirelli, so I don't know how long the Michelins were actually on the car.

Same with the Lincoln. Exact same tires on it that were on the Jag when we got it, though two were newer and replaced as a pair at some point. The car while older only has 53k miles now. The newer tires even have spiderwebbing cracks in the sidewall, but it definitely doesn't look like typical dry rot. I don't think the tires are very old given the depth of the tread. I bought new wheels and tires and pulled the factory wheels as soon as I noticed this. The Jag now has Hankook Ventus Noble2s and the Lincoln has Goodyear Eagle LS2s. I prefer the Hankooks to the Goodyears but pleased with both. I put Hankooks on our previous S-Type as well and while I'm not buying for performance applications so far Hankooks are the only ones I've been consistently pleased with. I've had more off brands like Federal at one point on a GTO, but found them to be noisy.

 

I think what's going on here is that there have been 3 versions of a/a super sport.

Yes Costco is the only place to buy tires. They stand behind it no matter what. Depending on location, very competent and caring. Plus lifetime balance and rotation where applicable. That itself is worth more than price of tire. Also they don't try to sell you stuff you don't need.

 

I am big Costco guy, if I can buy it there first, I will. They did not have tires for XK when I was in the market. Ended up going to NTB.

 

Too funny. I'm not laughing at your experience, but the reference to the tootsie-pop was classic. I have MPSS on mines and though I don't agree with you on performance, these babies hug the road and are very quiet...I do agree with you on wear and tear.....good luck getting 15k out of them. I've had mines about 10 months now and I'm buying a new set probably next week an the rear is worn. I may go with the P-zeros if the MPSS are still not available...yes, I'm going to go with them again.

 

Are you still happy with the MPSS tires? I have the noisy Dunlaps on my new used 2011 xkr. I also notice it tends to grab on an imperfect road surface. Makes it look like I am swerving a little. Did you have that issue too? Did the MPSS tires do it too? Maybe my front end is loose....

 

Yes thanks, I would certainly buy them again. I haven't experienced the grabbing you describe but I see you are getting it checked out next week.

I do find the front end of the XKR more floaty at speeds over 100mph compared to my old X350.

 

Make sure your insurance is paid up...

 

My Dunlops did the same as you are describing (run flat Dunlops); I think it was called tramming. In any event, my Michelin A/s 3 are significantly quieter and exhibit none of the 'tramming' I had with the Dunlops at around 14K miles .

 

Last year I had to put new tires on the rear and went with Conti's DWS and have been happy with the ride quality. I had the Dunlops left on the front and could tell the difference of the ride . My car is in now in for an alignment and they are replacing my fronts with the DWS so I'll have the set. My priorities are a smooth , quiet ride for cruising so we'll see if the fronts will compliment the rears. I've asked the service manager to zero in the front so I'll get as neutral handling as possible. As I mentioned in my other post they need to do some work to bring the camber back to spec so once it is done we'll see how it rides.

 

Jagtoes, I'm trying to decide between summer and all season. I have the all season Conti DWS on another car and they ride just fine. However, I'm thinking that the Conti DW summer composition might offer better traction. I don't drive the XKR in cold or snowy weather, so I don't really have to have all-season tires, but I do like the higher wear rating of the DWS (580) vs DW (340).
So, how's the rear traction with the DWS? My OEM dunlops have 20k on them, so almost anything would be better, but I'm vacillating between summer and all-season.

 

The DWS are fine until pushed hard, then they are kind of shitty. If you just cruise around I would go DWS as they ride better and last longer. If you don't drive in bad weather or cold (as you've indicated) or you push the car hard from time to time the DW's would make a good choice.

 

I guess the gating factor is the type of driving that you do. I'm a cruiser so my normal driving is 5-10mph over the limits and don't overdrive the twisty country roads so the DWS seems to suit me . I am a 3 season driver and unless I get stuck in rain or snow I don't drive in those conditions. I have only put maybe 3000 miles on the rears and they still look new . Unlike the Dunlops I never lit up the rear tires but I suspect they would handle it without to much of a problem. Time will tell on how long they will last so I'm keeping an eye on them . Performance is great for my driving.

 

I agree these are the worst tires I have ever owned as well. I put a new set on my Porsche 924S and within a year they have all developed some deep cracks between the tread lines. They only have 3 thousand miles on them and they all have to be replaced now. I called Michelin and they blamed the weather. Thanks Michelin- for nothing. Never again will I buy those tires.

 

I guess you should keep them in the house, don't let them go outside and play, then they'll last forever.