Hi All,

i know the XK should be kept in the garage while winter but it being a mild winter around here with temperatures above zero (celsius) i was thinking to buy a set of winter wheels/tires. just for some occasional trip because in europe if you're caught on summer tires in winter the fine is big.

so i was thinking if i can get something thinner than the 245/50 ZR 17" official setup of my XK8. what do you think? would it affect the ride? driving in winter is not spirited anyway...anybody tried this? Any recommended rims/tires setups? i was thinking trying something like 205/50 17

i know i can just buy 4 winter tires and throw them on the rims but i would prefer having separate sets.

what do you think?

thank you

 

Not sure what you would gain with thinner tires. Assuming you have a Traction Control button, You may be very surprised how well she does in the snow. I was stunned. 2 inches didn't phase her - no noticible tire slip.

I turned Traction Control off to see the difference, she pretty much performed like my 1986 XJ6 - a hockey puck!

I just re-read your comment about EU laws, I'd better leave this up to others to comment. I'm OK with with stock here in the USA.

 

For me, it is more a question of tires than wheel width. We normally have mild winters here in the mid-Atlantic US, but some severe snow storms with bitter cold temperature do happen. I have found over the years that "all season" tires have served me well. They stay somewhat soft even in the cold, and can do _some_ snow driving. The issue is that it is not uncommon to have warm(ish) days in the winter, and again, "all season" works well. I have experienced the pain of "Summer" tires, too, when I was pretty much the only one stuck at the bottom of a mild incline on a snow day a few years back. These tires, although more entertaining in the dry, become rock hard in the snow, and next to useless for traction. As long as you quickly rinse off any road salt off the wheels, the finish on the wheels will last a long time. Beyond that, to me, if the snow gets really bad, chances are you will get stuck behind someone else, and a better setup will not really help. Also, no need to find storage for the extra set.

The case against "winter" tires is that, to my knowledge, they become very soft and wear quickly in mild weather. If you have serious winters where temperature are consistently low, winter tires are best I suppose. If you have a mix and winter is all over the place (like here), "all season" is best.

For occasional true winter driving (as for a vacation in the mountains), I would look at temporary solutions like snow chains or nets, but I have not done that for myself.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

It's not only the them being thin it's also about them being a little "fatter". Not sure my post count allows me to post pics or links but i'm seeing a lot of xk8's having this kind of "star" rims which i think are 16 inch. Or are they 17?

I think they would be super cool as a secondary set. I'm looking for a slimmer setup also in terms of costs and availability. 245 50 17 in winter setup in europe is almost non-existent.

Funny thing there are no laws about winter tires in colder American states. Strange to put on snow chains over summer tires...

 

Thin tires are better in snow. Traction is gained by sinking to the road and an aggressive tread pattern 'bites' the packed snow.

I worked for Pirelli Tires in NJ, NY and Chicago in the 1970s. I always had a set of 70 series tires and wider wheels for Summer and regular thin steel wheels and snow tires for Winter.

A bunch of my friends insisted that wider tires grabbed more surface area on snow and they got stuck almost everywhere they went unless they had chains.

I had a 1972 VW Beetle fitted with (4) 155-15 snow tires on thin steel wheels. I could go anywhere as long as the snow was not deeper than the bottom of the car.

People asked why I had snow tires on the front and I told them I liked to decide the direction I chose to drive (it's called STEERING).

I moved back to Texas and it never snows enough here in my area to worry about a different set of wheels/tires.

You could probably find a set of 16" XJ8 wheels and mount some thinner tires for the winter????

bob gauff

 

Exactly my point! Thank you! So i take it the xj8 wheels fit? (Sorry, i'm new in the jaguar world)

Thank you again