No joy though for an XJR-S owner who wants a pair of 245/55 ZR 16" - there must be someone out there doing this size… anyone?
Nope. That would be no help what so ever.
Is that a tyre you are struggling to get tyres for? It isn’t one we have been asked about before?
i like Jaguars with an R in the description. I have recently bought a 2001 XJR. The 4 litre Supercharged monster. It is epic. I am going to race it at Silverstone in February
I’m just messin’ with ya. I’m not the concoors guy who paints the inside of their exhaust pipe and demands the exact same tyres that the car was delivered with. At the moment have 245/45 on the rears and 225/55 on the front - all sorts of ways wrong with that combo, but it was all I could get in reasonbly priced rubber at the time. Can’t see staying with 16" rims, better tyre choices in 18", but later Jag rims don’t have the mixed 19mm/33mm offset that TWR put on the XJR-S.
Oo that sounds quite the wrong way round.
A quick clance at one of my period books suggests:
front 225/50R16, which is not too difficult. However about 1/2" smaller in diameter than the tyre you have on the front.
rear 245/55R16, which is an inch smaller in radius that the 245/45 that you have.
I don’t think that is a particularly good set up.
My guess i, that what might be better, is the 16" set up we have for the Testarossa https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/ferrari/testarossa.html
this will give you the correct front tyre, and a rear tyre that will be very marginally wider, but the diameter very similar. And the same tread pattern with a very high speed rating and a carcass that is suited to late '80s supercars.
Well yes, if I had a spare 1,471 quid burning a hole in my pocket I’d be clicking BUY NOW like a shot. But I don’t. So I’ll live with the Nexen N3000s that I have now, although they did get a waved pointy finger at the last MOT. They are at least amusing when pushed a bit, but not for the faint hearted in the wet.
I think I’ll go up to 18" rims, and get some better options. I should be able to fudge the 19mm/33mm offset thing with a spacer. Then I’ll have a set of TWR wheels up for grabs if anyone wants them.
Oo it all sounds a bit of a tricky way to make the car have a more harsh ride… probably better of wading out a large chunk of money on t he 16" tyres. I would think when you look into the 18" tyres you will find they are not cheap too. I have just bought some for my XJR, in just some standard generic comeon tyre size and i think they were about £ 150 + VAT to me at cost price.
My guess when you add the price of buying 18" wheels there isn’t much in it.
Who wants a spacer mounting their wheels? ceratinly not me.
Who really wants an inch less side wall height?
Sorry to be the barer of bad tidings, but i forsee a choice of 2 large bills coming up; either
A top quality pair of Michelin tyres on your 16" wheels that are built for an '80s super car like yours.
or
spend a load of money buying some 18" wheels that will give you a harsher ride, that don’t fit and you then have to spend a load of money or time making a shonky spacer so you need longer studs to mount it in a less stable manner.
Flippin Heck CosmoXL i bet you wish i had kept my gob shut now.
No need to be shy 
The Jag is for my own ammusement. I’ve replaced all sorts of bits, converting to electric fans, outboard XJR8 rear discs, lowered DB7 springs, Gaz adjustable shocks. Originality (and a soft ride) is not top of my list. When I see a cheap set of rims on eBay then I’ll probably jump. And I’m more than happy with the spacers I fabrictated that prevents the oversize 185/70R14 Goodyears on my Alfa hitting the steering stops. Do it yourself, and you know that it is done properly.
you haven’t seen me on a lath
My XJS still has PO tires, 215/70-15. 70 series! So tall.
I think I’ve settled on Kuhmo 225/60-15. Was thinking of 50 series, but wondering if that may look weird, ride harsh, plus load ratings are only 91.
I think the last thing i would want to do with an XJS is mess with the gearing
A 215/70VR15 has a theoretical side wall height of 150.5mm
A 225/60VR15 has a side wall height of 135mm
i would strongly recomend keeping the diameter correct for the gearing, speedo, fuel economy and comfort levels.
i wouldn’t recomend going wider because you will change the handling and fitting wider tyres without wider rims is not good.
Worth remebering that when Jag built that car, they could have easily fitted a 225/60R15 tyre. As early as 1978 Lamborghini were fitting crazy tyres like 345/35R15 to their Countach. But Jag fitted 215/70R15 to its V12 XJS because that was best for the car.
I would fit the 215/70R15 P5 https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/pirelli-collezione/p5/215-70-wr-15-pirelli-p5.html
It was probably OE on your car, all the dimentions are right. But i think the real determining factor is; that is what Jag receomend.
Some of the Pirelli Collezione tyres i sell such as the 215/70R15 CN12, are tyres that i have asked Pirelli to make because i think i can seel them. However the P5 is different. This new batch of P5 tyres is a tyre that Jaguar themselves have asked Pirelli to make, because they were, back in the late '70s a tyre that Jaguar had requested form Pirelli. When the first batch of these tyres were made i couldn’t get my hands on them immediatley because they were with Jaguar themselves, Jaguar were testing them to make sure they were happy with them, which they are hence they are now in production homologated by Jaguar and distributed by Pirelli’s specialist dealers. And i think you will agree the price is good.
why change?
Regarding pressure, the manual says 32psi, and for more comfort, 28psi.
I think this is far too low, especially for such a heavy car!
All my other cars, I generally aim for 34-36psi, and for better performance, usually go to 38psi in the front.
As long as you don’t overinflate, higher pressure is safer too.
I once had a 1963 Oldsmobile station wagon that weighed about 4000 pounds. Spec was for bias belted tires pumped to something like 24 psi.
I’d say 28 psi is fine if you’re after a softer ride and willing to sacrifice some steering response. I run 34-ish on my old Jags…and most other cars as well, personally.
The notion that these old Jags are unusually heavy is a bit misplaced, IMO, but I reckon it’s relative to what you’re accustomed to. In the USA, 4000+ pound cars are not the least bit unusual.
Cheers
DD
You might think the pressure is low, but it is worth noting that inside a 215/70R15 there is a large volume of air. so for instance, if you were fitting a 215/50X17 because there was less volume of air you would need higher pressure.
So it is worth reading what is recomended, and yes if you find the ride a little wandery then you could increase the pressure a bit. But fits ask yourself the question of "is it wandering because i have a too wide tyre on my rim? or is it a lower quality tyre.
Today. Back in the day, that’d be a lead sled. My 1966 289 Mustang weighed less than my current Honda Civic.
I have found Pirelli tyres to be the worst make I have ever come across. They came attached to three cars I have owned and all were rubbish in various, interesting, dangerous ways. Bad wear patterns, terrible wet weather performance, and internal delamination that was so bad the fitter who replaced one of them was surprised that it hadn’t already destroyed itself.
pic of my tires, 275/35/18, got plenty of grip, and many do like the look!
.
not factory!!
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Yeah, but how about, a 1966 Imperial or Electra 225 ? 
Cheers
DD
Base curb weight over 5200 lbs
There is an element of how much air do you need in a tyre to carry the weight of the car, then you can adjust the handling balance of the car by moving tyre pressures front and rear.
However the benefit you guys now have is that Jaguar have asked Pirelli to make the best possible for their cars, which is the P5 https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/pirelli-collezione/p5.html
There are suble adjustments you can make in a tyre to make it suit a certain enviroment better.
Pirelli made the tyre Jaguar asked for. They sent them to Jaguar, who did their own testing and said “yep they are perfect” and gave them the J homologation.
i cannot think of a reason (other than price) to fit anything different.