Which tires for my 2003 XJ8?

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Ed Jay - 10 Nov 2004 23:48 GMT

It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.

I've read bad reviews on Pirellis (noisy) and Michelin.

What do ya'll recommend I buy?

Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

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Roger - 11 Nov 2004 14:48 GMT

> It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
> noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

http://www.tirerack.com/

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Ed Jay - 12 Nov 2004 00:29 GMT

>> It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
>> noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>>
>http://www.tirerack.com/

Thanks. I had no trouble finding them, but while they offer a lot of
reviews, I only found two that spoke to my questions. They were the ones
that said Pirelli and Michelin were noisy after a short time. I note that
my Jag book tells me to buy Pirelli, so I'm looking for a reasonable
alternative. I bought the car because of its noise and handling
characteristics.

Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

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Roger - 12 Nov 2004 16:19 GMT

>>>It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
>>>noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

On my 2000 XJ8, I installed BF Goodrich Traction T/A H's, mainly because
they came with a mileage warranty. For our driving, the stock Pirelli
tires were a terrible choice and were replaced at 12,000 miles. I have
not noticed a difference in road noise. Here in Phoenix, many of the
urban freeways are being paved with rubberized asphalt and that reduces
road noise a lot.

I tend to keep the tire pressure at 30 pounds rather than the
recommended 28/26 and that does stiffen the ride a bit. My reasoning is
the Ford engineers have already demonstrated incompetence when it comes
to tire and air pressure choices and it gets hot here.

Your mileage may vary.

Roger

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Ed Jay - 12 Nov 2004 18:23 GMT

>>>>It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
>>>>noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>tires were a terrible choice and were replaced at 12,000 miles. I have
>not noticed a difference in road noise.

Thanks. I may try them. The Pirelli's have a terrible reputation, but are
supposed to be fairly quiet for the first 20K - 30K miles.

>Here in Phoenix, many of the
>urban freeways are being paved with rubberized asphalt and that reduces
>road noise a lot.

I noticed the quietness of your freeways when I was in Scottsdale last
summer. Here in So Calif, the opposite is true.

>I tend to keep the tire pressure at 30 pounds rather than the
>recommended 28/26 and that does stiffen the ride a bit. My reasoning is
>the Ford engineers have already demonstrated incompetence when it comes
>to tire and air pressure choices and it gets hot here.

It may be a bit stiffer, but I'll bet it's like driving on silk.

Thanks again for the info.

Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

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Ed Jay - 13 Nov 2004 00:19 GMT

>>>>It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
>>>>noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>urban freeways are being paved with rubberized asphalt and that reduces
>road noise a lot.

On examination, I found that the BF Goodrich A/H is the highest rated tire
available, and at prices the seem ridiculously low ($80ish). Tomorrow my
baby gets new shoes in the form of T/A V's. I chose the V rated instead of
the H because they profile more closely to the recommended Z, which is
recommended not for the speed, but for the breaking characteristics.

I understand your reasoning to be sure, but why go higher in pressure for
higher ambient temperature?

Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

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Roger - 13 Nov 2004 15:39 GMT

> I understand your reasoning to be sure, but why go higher in pressure for
> higher ambient temperature?

I am not an engineer, but I think low tire pressure causes the tires to
flex more as they roll and flexing causes rolling resistance and
therefore more heat buildup in the tires.

I recall reading somewhere the initial tire pressure recommended by Ford
for the Explorer was 25 pounds, and after the rollover lawsuits became a
burden, the recommended pressure was raised a few pounds. By contrast,
the recommended tire pressure for my 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee is 35
pounds, and the Jeep has a softer ride than the 1998 Explorer. I don't
have much evidence, but to me it seems that Ford has a tendency to
tradeoff over-stressing tires for some other advantage, presumably a
softer ride.

Roger

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Jenna Cain - 28 Nov 2004 17:55 GMT

Buy a set of 20" Detroit alloys and fit the following:

Pirelli PZERO ASIMMETRICO - 285/30 ZR20TL 99Y(J) - REAR
Pirelli PZERO DIREZIONALE - 255/35 ZR20TL 97Y(J) - FRONT

Job Done....

Low noise, good handling, empty pockets....

John

> >> It's time to change my 225/60/16 tires on a 2003 XJ8. I'm looking for low
> >> noise, good handling, and decent tread wear, in that order.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Ed Jay (remove M to respond)

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C B - 15 Nov 2004 14:22 GMT

I ran the Michelin Pilots on my 2001, and never had a complaint...quiet and
smooth, and got almost 30k miles. The original Pirellis developed a flat
spot each time I parked for any time at all, and took forever to round out,
so I replaced them right away with the Michelins.

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