I hated the set of 255/40 -18 Bridgestone Potenzas that came on the car so badly that I avoided driving the vehicle. They tramlined, pounded, jolted, hummed, wandered, thumped, yanked at the steering wheel, lost grip in the wet…truly awful tires. So I did some research and replaced them yesterday with 245/45-18 Continental Control Contact Sport SRS +
This tire is only offered by Discount Tire and America’s Tire stores and is their alternative to the DWS 06 (which they also sell). I was after a high performance, all-season tire with a slight nod toward comfort and low road noise. I chose the taller sidewall primarily because it fills the wheel well opening better than the original rubber band 255/40. In my book, this tire is a winner on all counts. It’s dead quiet, has crisp turn in response, sticks well, looks right in the wheel opening, incorporates a wheel edge protector, has a “Y” speed rating (186 MPH), eliminates tramlining and harsh bump response, and rides like a Jaguar should. Screw Tire Rack’s current top three boy racer list. Try it, you’ll like it… The XJR is finally my favorite ride…ever.
I had Bridgestone Potenza S03s on my X308 XJR and was very happy with them. They didn’t need to be all-weather since the XJR would never see snow or ice. They did need to perform well in the wet (being in Seattle, WA area) and they did. They were superior to the Pirelli P Zero tires they replaced. Those were the OEM tires.
If you had s03’s and recently changed them, then they were mostly likely decayed from old age. The S03 went out of production a decade ago if I recall correctly.
I then replaced them with a set of Continental Extreme Contact DW XL (not DWS) and was extremely happy with those too. I did prefer them to the S03s though it wasn’t a night-or-day difference, just a bit quieter and smoother. Maybe a bit better in the wet, but not dramatically so. Noticeably better performance and equal or better refinement than the OEM P Zeros.
I liked them enough that I now shop Continental 1st. Current S-type R has the Continental ExtremeContact Sport XL, which are perform superbly in wet or dry and have a good ride.
But I think they are a bit too extreme for my usage - even if I avoid snow and ice, there are times when I might want to drive in 30°F weather. And they stick so much, when turning at slow speed going up a hill when cold, they chatter and leave tire marks on the pavement.
I don’t drive hard enough, regularly enough, to require that much stick, so I’ll probably go DWS 06 at replacement time (which won’t be too long, since these tires wear fairly fast given their stickiness.)
I had an XJR/6 as a daily driver for many years and 171k thousand miles. Tires (and wheels) were a constant problem and expense. Tramlining, vulnerabilty to road damage, and low tread life. I ended up downsizing from 17" wheels to 16" and using a taller profile tire. All problems solved. And, honestly, I’d have to drive like a madman with his hair on fire to notice any loss in ‘performance’ characteristics.
It’s instructive to notice that l race cars don’t use as low profile a tire as some street cars come with: by and large, it’s my considered opinion, that the reason for these “rubber band tires,” as Eric so aptly calls them, is simply a style choice.
The couple of times that I’ve ever driven cars with them, yeah, they went through corners pretty well, and did nothing else particularly well.
At the time of my XJR/6 ownership the tire selection in the size range I need was rather slim. All of the offerings were $200+each and none would deliver more than about 12K-14k miles tread life. I was driving 1500 miles/month. You see my dliemma. Spending nearly $1000 on tires every ten months.
The ultra low profile tires offer little protection against road hazards. I had to replace 2 or 3 tires that were damaged and had to have wheels repaired as well.
Then there’s the notorious XJR/6 tramlining. Depending on the specific tire this could range from a mild annoyance to near-terrifying. I wouldn’t let my kids drive the car if highway speeds would be involved. The taller profile tires eliminated the tramlining completely.
With the taller tires I did sacrifice a small amount of steering crispness.
As for maximum cornerning adhesion, well, I’m a somewhat agressive driver and I simply couldn’t drive the car fast enough thru the corners to lose grip with either the low or taller tires. I’d have to push the car to wayyyyy higher speeds thru the twisty stuff than I’d be comfortable with on public roads.