Best Tyres for the Jaguar XJR

Excellent price and long lasting, just don't rely on them to grip like a Michelin :)

My three of my cars have come with PZeros fitted. Jaguar S-Type R - followed lorry ruts like tram lines, noisy, replaced immediately with Continentals which fixed everything. XJR (1) - replaced all four due to pot hole damage and of the new ones two were not round leading to a shaking at 70 that nobody could eliminate. Dealer very unhelpful about getting them replaced after a place with a Hunter machine proved the tyres were defective. Near useless in the cold or 'lightly wet', wore down to 60% in 4500 miles and stopped gripping. XJR (2) - only just got this one, tyres are all down to about 3.5mm, traction and grip are terrible to the point of being unsafe. Will be replacing them with something else. Summary - repeatedly unimpressed, on expansion joints the car will actually skip at normal everyday speeds. Very prone to damage from pot holes, good in the dry but poor in the cold and useful grip runs out long before you reach the legal limit. Obvious QC issues if I'm able to get two bad ones in a set of four - since front/rear wheel sizes are different on these cars and I had a bad one of each it can't be written off as a batch problem. Rim protection is above average on the upside. Newer PZ4 might be better but be warned unless you SPECIFICALLY tell them otherwise JLR dealers will fit these older types by default.

These tyres carry a budget price but not a budget quality. I am on my second set now having forked out a fortune previously to keep to the original Pirellis. The Champiros are lasting 15 to 20 thousand miles where the Pirellis only managed 9 to 10 thousand, There is no loss in high speed performance or feel and these are quieter on the road. Superb tyres.

Superb tyre, I quite enjoy a sporty run in the country and these are my tyres of choice, they are very predictable giving good feedback and I can honestly say they have never lost traction even in the wet, they sail through standing water like it isn't there. Even in the snow I found them to be pretty grippy. Very well priced too and tread wear wasn't too shabby, I highly recommend them.

There were two of these tyres on the back of my Jaguar XJR when I bought it, at first I was a bit sceptical but as the time has passed I have found them to be pretty good, my Jag pushes out 400bhp and 400lb/ft of torque and so far they have coped and kept me on the road, however I've never tried them on the front of the car so cant comment on how they would steer, but I'd certainly give them a go at £70 a corner.

Great tyre overall, they perform extremely well under a powerful and heavy car (370hp/1800kg). I even did a bit of track driving with these, and they were surprisingly good. They did start losing traction after a few laps, but that was expected, as they are not trackday tyres. Less wear after 6000 miles than I expected based on earlier reviews. I will most definitely buy these again!

Previously had the stock P zeros but wasn't impressed by the performance generally especially in the wet. Changed to the RE050A and the wet performance is much improved (which is the most important criteria for me with such a big/heavy car). Turn in and feedback really good too; need to tailor the pressures though. Usually just me in the car so I set at 32psi for the rear and 40psi for the fronts. Should manage >20k for the rears and >25k for the fronts. 70% motorway, 30% normal roads, average driving style 80% spirited 20%.

Truly phenomenal performance in snow, car drives as if the roads are just wet, no problems while all around me were slipping and sliding all over the place.
Performance in wet & dry is comparable to good quality summer tyres.
There is a lot more road noise, but it's a small price for being able to drive normally in the snowy conditions of Dec 2010 in the UK.

I've had these on my 2004 XJR the last 2 winters running and they are outstanding.

On regular dry or wet winter roads they feel, grip and sound like any other premium tyre would during the summer. Once snow and ice comes in they still just keep going. I haven't yet managed to get the Jag stuck anywhere and I'm driving past other vehicles spinning their wheels away.

For reference my summer tyre of choice is the Continental SportContact 5P - great at everything, except winter!

Tip: don't try buying them once you see snow - it's too late, you won't find any. Order them by October ideally.

I had a problem with my XJR tramlining. I changed the standard Pirelli P zeros for Conti sport contact 3's. I placed the part worn Pirellis on the rear axle with 3mm left, thinking I would wear them out reasonably quickly and had the new Conti's on the front. I've only done about 8,000 miles and the Conti's are shot to bits, the Pirellis on the driven axle still have 1.8mm.

The tyres gripped well in both the wet and dry. I was very happy with them for the last eighteen months. Its not until I checked them recently and found they were due for replacement.

On the plus side they cured the tramlining but that has since returned and I have been told its a Jag thing down to being very fussy for correct geometry.

I would buy the tyres again if they didn't cost ?200 each for 8,000 miles. I'm a traffic cop so I stick to speed limits religously in the towns but in the twisties I like to take advantage of the cars performance. Having said that they should have lasted twice as long as they did.

I've got the main dealer to fit four new Pirellis P zeros and sort the geometry. My flexible friend has had another spanking this month.