...by flat spots on your tires? These Bridgestone Potenzas are turning my steering wheel into a jackhammer at times. I'm getting flatspotting after 30-40 min sits in parking lots while I'm in the store! Really bad in the morning after sitting all night, can take 6-7 miles to smooth out.

Miss my Michelins...

 

Took off some 50% tread wear tires for exactly the same reason. My tire artist claims that flat spotting is more a function of speed rating than manufacturer. That was the reason I backed down a couple of classes and went to symmetrical tread. I know I am never going to go 130mph so why pay for tires appropriate for that speed.

Tight Wad Tom

 

Mine has sat for two days without problems.

FRONT: Dunlop SP Sport 255/35 ZR20 - 6mm tread - 32 PSI
REAR: Pirelli P Zero Asimmetrico 285/30 ZR20 - 5 mm tread - 34 PSI

Ran P Zeros on my last 2001 XK8, getting 10K out of the fronts and 12K out of the backs. Even standing for a couple of weeks, they didn't give flatting issues.

The Dunlops are as fitted on this one when I bought it. Interested to see how they perform and last against the Pirellis.

 

Hi GGG I am running at 32psi all round seems ok but my dunlops spin on take off really easily.

Is 10/12000 miles all we can expect out of a set of tires? Thats terrible!!

Destitute Al

 

Al,

Original tread depth is 8.0mm on the P Zeros. I run tyres to 4.00mm before replacing them so it's possible to get a lot more out of them if you want to take them down closer to the legal limit.

Graham

 

Hi Not too bad if you could get three years at 8000 mls per year That would be ok.

Whats the going price on the rear 20"?

Cheers Al

 

I've got the following supplier bookmarked as the cheapest I can find in the UK:

Pirelli 285/30ZR20 99 Y PIRELLI ZERO A

Anywhere for less would be good to know.

 

Some good news, I managed to work a deal this morning with Discount Tire for them to give me 50% credit for my Potenzas towards a set of Michelin Pilots. Needless to say I accepted their offer and ordered the tires on the spot! I was really surprised how understanding they were about the whole flat spotting issue.

Nice to see the end of the road on yet another sorting out issue. I hope one day I'll be able to relax and just enjoy the car for a while.

 

I have Michelins and Pirellis and never had a flat spot even after setting most of the winter.

 

Amazing result on the 50% credit
Give it a month after you sort out all the issues and you'll be trading it in for another challenge. Jaguars aren't just for driving.

Graham

 

Thanks Graham good contact.will keep my eyes open as well on any good deals.

cheers Al

 

Another happy ending I don't know how you manage it! Well done be interested to see how you rate the Mitchelins

Al

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support!
I do see the end of the road up ahead, the list is quite a bit shorter than it was a few months ago and we have slayed some big dragons with this case! I do agree with GGG that these cars are not for everyone lol...
Al, no one was more surprised than me when the manager approved the "customer sat" return of the Potenzas, especially since it wasn't a safety issue. Personally, I think these particular tires were defective somehow in the belts. The manager pulled up the history on the computer and saw quite a few rebalancings since November when I bought them and I think that helped my case.

 

Skid
I've got Pilots on right now. Love the tires seem more performance oriented than the Pirellis. They stick like glue.

 

Our XK8's fronts are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus with about 8/32 of tread remaining. They seem to be good, solid tires in the nearly two weeks we've now owned the car. I'm just not willing to pay the premium required to replace our rear Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tires with them when the Pirellis bite the dust by mid-year....

 

Have tyres taken a major price hike in the US recently? UK prices on premium tyres have gone up more than 15% over the last twelve months.

The best deal I can find over here on P Zeros is £247 ($387) for the fronts and £263 ($413) for the rears. That's over £1000 ($1600) for a set.

Graham

 

Yes, tire prices have increased in recent months like everything else, but not to the degree that you are experiencing in the UK. I would guess that in our neck of the woods, tire prices have increased by perhaps 5% to 7% during the past twelve months....

 

boy, lots of tire threads lately

All I can add is the 19" Hancook ventus v12s on my car have never flattspotted on me.

 

Glad to hear that, looking forward to getting back into some Michelins. Had them on my '92 Mitsubishi 3000GT for 14 years and my first XK8 for 5 years, never had a problem on either car.

You live where it's warm during the winter, which is a big plus (in a lot of ways lol).

 

Tires that have some specific synthetic materials, especially Nylon, will spot. Doesn't matter who makes them, it's a fact of life. Ever notice how a nylon thread shrivels and shrinks when heated? Nylon is used in performance tire cords to pull in when the tire heats up and maintain dimensional stability. Also keeps the center of tire from 'growing' at speed and wearing prematurely, it used to be a huge problem. The warmer a tire is when parked on a cooler surface, the worse the spotting will be. Once the cord warms up concentricity returns. Short drives where the tires don't get much chance to warm up will result in little, if any, spotting.