Can I have your house when you die?

 

so i had the Michelin pilot sport ps2 tires mounted and they are clearly an upgrade from the oe dunlops. the tires look beautiful as well. they were pricey when compared to so of the other manufactures but i think i will be happy.

a note: i did not really do the research when comparing various Michelin offerings and while the super sports are cheaper and have a harder tire tread wear rating, they seem to be considered better performers than the ps2 (which was the oe tire for the 430 and gt3 rs. i wish i had done more research as the supersports were cheaper, perform better and will last longer. oh well...the car drives perfectly...onward.

 

*crash* and *burn*

 

Resurrecting this old thread to ask about temperatures for summer tires. I live in upstate NY and try to drive my 09 XKR from March to November - I need new tires and would like to get the Michelin 4S summer performance, but I read this article https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...jsp?techid=273 and was warned that driving in temperatures in the 40s can damage the tires. I would guess that in my driving season I might drive in 40 degree weather for a total of a few weeks, maybe a few in late March and maybe a few in late Nov. Pirelli p-zero was on the car when I bought it 2 years ago but I don't know if these tires sustained any breakdown/damage due to colder weather (not sure how to tell tbh).

Can all you all tell me if I should go with something like an all season Conti ExtremeContact DWS 06 instead of a summer performance tire because of this risk of damage to the tires in colder weather? Or, is the potential for tire damage with the limited cold weather exposure low enough that I shouldn't worry about it? Don't want to spend a good chunk of change on Michelin 4S and then cause premature wear. Thanks for your insight.

 

The answer to "which tire?" depends on what type of driving you do, what tread life and ride qualities you expect and, of course, what's in your wallet. Tire designs and tread compounds are compromises across a broad spectrum, and there is no single tire that can do it all. Tell us about your driving style, what factors are most important to you, and if you track your car, and we'll be better able to give you our opinions.

Tire opinions are like a$$#oles. Everybody's got one.

 

Hi Stuart, I drive fairly aggressively and go out on speedy country-road jaunts but don't track the car. I do prefer quieter because of the convertible and would prefer summer performance - would like to keep cost down but driving is something I really enjoy so am willing to splurge - tread life is always a concern but not my top one. Mostly just wondering if I have to be worried about summer tires cracking if I spend a few weeks driving them in 40 degree weather - I read some more and I think I should be OK, but curious if anyone else has had damage to summer tires from driving them in colder (above freezing) weather. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

I still have the original Dunlop SP Sport 07 Js that came new with the car. At 11,500 miles I'm probably ok for another few thousand miles or less on the rears. The tires perform fine and tread wear is not a priority. I don't want a tire that is going to roar or be super firm. I was looking (at Costco) at the 2 Michelin choices: Pilot Sport A/S 3+ or Pilot Sport 4S which is a summer tire, ok here in Fl. If handling is similar to what I have I'm ok, Just hate roaring, super hard riding tires. I'd even get a pair of the original Dunlop rears, but I'm not sure they are available.

 

I have the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on my Lexus for summer and find them noisier at highway speed than my winter X-Ice tires.

 

Thanks for the feedback......I'd imagine on a Lexus the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ would be noticeably noisy... I'm not sure which model Lexus you have, but if it's a larger luxo model, the Pilot's could be too noisy. I wonder if the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tire might be quieter for me. I'll have to do more investigation before purchase.

 

I replaced the OEM Dunlops on my 2013 XJ 5.0LSC with the Continental DWS-06 from Discount Tire and am very pleased with them. Quiet, smooth riding, handle well, and good tread life (staggered fitment) at a much lower cost than Michelins.

When it comes time for new tires on my XKR, it'll be the Conti DWS-06. It's All Season (Dry-Wet-Snow).

Summer tires typically have a softer, stickier tread compound for maximum grip, but they wear faster. I'd rather have longer tread life than maximum grip.

 

Stuart....what differences if any do you notice over the original Dunlops?The Continentals also get a good review on Tire Rack coming in #3 in it's category (Ultra High Performance A/S). They mention the ride is softer with some road growl. I assume most tires from this category are noisier than a grand touring tire. Bottom line, it's all subjective....All I know with certainty is what I have now... Once the purchase is made for the tires and for the most part.....you own them. PS....I just noticed that you replaced them on your sedan and not the XKR. Does anyone know if the OEM Dunlops SP Sport 07 J S on the XK are still in production?

 

My XJ has OEM 20" wheels and the ride is very comfortable and controlled, even in Dynamic Mode, which firms up the ride a bit, quickens the steering, and raises the shift points in D (it has the 8-speed, which is great). I never hear any tire noise, but occasionally there's some growling when my wife is in the car!

P.S. The OEM Dunlops had very poor grip after being about half-way worn out. My XJ has 470HP and develops 424 lb. ft. of torque at 2,000 rpms, so it's quite powerful off the line. The Dunlops were OK at first, but when a bit worn the traction control would always come on when accelerating quickly off the line. I haven't had that problem with the Contis except, of course, when the road is wet.

 

My Lexus is a 2014 IS 350 AWD, so the current generation of the IS, which is on the smallish side. The A/S 3+ tires came on the car when I bought it, and I replaced the fronts last year due to excessive inner tire wear prevalent on IS’s (much discussed on the Lexus forums, and I have replaced the LCA bushings to mitigate it).
I have the Conti DWS-06’s on my XK, and my a$$#ole tells me it was a poor choice, but I’m stuck with them until they wear out.
Some folks like them, and I bought them based on user likes in other threads of this forum, but they’re too soft for me, and while increasing PSI will make them less soft, it will also make them louder (bong bong over bumps). These are on 20’s. I much prefer the stability of the Bridgestone Potenza’s on my 19’s (but like the look of the 20’s better). If these Conti’s ever wear out, I’ll probably try the Mich 4S, or whatever has replaced it by then.

 

Regardless of which brand you choose, remember that "Summer" tires will try to kill you if the air and/or road temps are under 50F/10C. Between 50F/10C and 70F/21C they are still not great.

 

No worries about that happening here in the blistering heat of S. FLorida

 

FWIW I have just replaced the rears (Pirelli P-Zero) which still had quite a bit of tread with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and can already report that whereas the Pirelli's always felt twitchy at the back, were awful when cold and were quite noisy the PS4's are noticeably better and quieter. Not all of this is attributable to being new, I replaced the Pirelli's before they needed to be as I had no confidence in them and went to the PS4S as the Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2's were not available in that size that I could find.

 

How many miles do you now have on the PS4s? I want a relatively quiet tire that still handles as an XK should. Is that unreasonable for a performance tire?

 

Not enough to properly judge characteristics when aged. Very happy at the moment, though.

 

I see you're in the UK - when you say "awful when cold" can you elaborate - what typical outdoor ambient temperatures do you drive in when it is "cold" outside? (Or do you mean when the car/tire is "cold" i.e. rubber isn't warmed up yet?) I'm still trying to decide whether I should go with summer tires or a/s. If temps 50-70 F are still "less than optimal" for summer tires, as noted above, I would have to lean toward all season - evenings and early mornings here can regularly be 60-70 F. Need to pull the trigger soon, want to get the cat out of storage and current tires are badly worn.

 

As in, awful when not warmed up and in low temperatures e.g. 2-10 C (35 - 50 F), not much better when they are 'warmed' up at that temperature. The PS4S's are an improvement at similar temp, it's only edging towards 15 C here (60 F), up and down of course, I can't wait to experience them when they get really hot and sticky. Disclaimer - I care not a whit about getting 50K+ miles out of them, my life is worth more than a couple of tyres.