What on earth has happened to xjs tyres?

What on earth has happened to xjs tyres?

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Discussion

greg2k

Original Poster:

291 posts

232 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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I'm in the early stages of getting an xjs that's been standing for about six years back on the road. The tyres have plenty of tread, but will obviously be unsafe after this length of time, so i looked up prices for some replacements and was absolutely dumbfounded. I paid about £100 each for pirelli p600s ten years ago, the cheapest i can find now cost £270. What on earth has happened, ordinary tyres have gone up about 10%since then. The wheels will need refurbishing, so I'm not sure whether it's worth just giving them to the scrap man and buying some new ones with a greater choice of tyre.

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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IIRC XJSs have a high profile by modern standards, 60-70. Is that the problem?

greg2k

Original Poster:

291 posts

232 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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I don't particularly care whether they're high profile or not, just that the price is mind blowing. I suspect that they're not made anymore and the remaining stock is being sold at massively inflated prices. £270 per tyre is just insane.

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Monday 21st August 2017
quotequote all
Could well be. But you'll need the right profile (ie sidewall height) to keep the rolling radius and the appearance right. So if tyres of the right profile are more than you want to spend, you'll have to buy bigger wheels and get accordingly lower profile tyres. That will make your car no longer original, spoil the ride and might damage resale value as it's got the 'wrong' wheels.

Nobody said big Jags were cheap to run smile

greg2k

Original Poster:

291 posts

232 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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"were" i think is the key word here, they really weren't that expensive just a short while ago

SantaBarbara

3,244 posts

107 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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Tyres made in China are very good value

greg2k

Original Poster:

291 posts

232 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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Are they actually any good now, years ago they were terrible and not to be trusted? This is from a Xiaomi phone user. The only one I can find with a V speed rating is a Vitour.

Edit: There's plenty of choice with 225 tyres, how much of a difference will this make?

Edited by greg2k on Monday 21st August 19:18

deadslow

7,960 posts

222 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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bin the wheels. The P6000s are crap anyway. Get wheels off an X300 xjr. Get some cheaper proper performance tyres.

a8hex

5,829 posts

222 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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deadslow said:
bin the wheels. The P6000s are crap anyway. Get wheels off an X300 xjr. Get some cheaper proper performance tyres.
I don't know about P600s for the older XJS, X300 had P6000 as original equipment, personally I liked them as they were really quiet and gave a great smooth ride on my X300. But I was told a few years ago they'd stopped making them and they couldn't be found for love nor money. I switched to P6 which I didn't like as much.
Wasn't there an issue with some XJS wanting metric tyres which aren't available now?

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Monday 21st August 2017
quotequote all
greg2k said:
Edit: There's plenty of choice with 225 tyres, how much of a difference will this make?
Depends how different that is from what they're supposed to be.

I had Pirellis on an S-Type. Expensive and always getting punctures. I now head for Falken or Hankook. I don't plan on going for a lap record at the 'Ring so the name doesn't bother me too much.

RetroWheels

3,384 posts

270 months

Monday 21st August 2017
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I had the same problem with tyres for the Daimler Double Six Ser III - 215 70 VR15 Pirelli's.
Five or Six years ago they were still readily available at reasonable cost , but it seems that in the last couple of years Pirelli have stopped producing them as a mainstream tyre.
Stands to reason, of course , not a popular size biggrin , and probably now produced in small batches every so often and sold via the Vintage and Classic tyre suppliers.
The one's i was buying for my cars doubled in price when the regular wholesalers stopped selling them.

greg2k

Original Poster:

291 posts

232 months

Tuesday 22nd August 2017
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Simpo Two said:
greg2k said:
Edit: There's plenty of choice with 225 tyres, how much of a difference will this make?
Depends how different that is from what they're supposed to be.

I had Pirellis on an S-Type. Expensive and always getting punctures. I now head for Falken or Hankook. I don't plan on going for a lap record at the 'Ring so the name doesn't bother me too much.
I was thinking more about the difference between 225 and 235

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Tuesday 22nd August 2017
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greg2k said:
I was thinking more about the difference between 225 and 235
That's only 1cm narrower. I'd be OK wiith it but check it won't mess up your insurance. Or how about 245?

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Tuesday 22nd August 2017
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I had the same problem with my Jaguar XJ40 recently. The last time I replaced the tyres was in 2011 (I replace them thorough age, rather than wear, since I only do a small mileage) - and the Pirelli P4000s in 225/65 ZR 15 were then only about £100 each. I looked into it again a short whole ago and noted two things: first that they were now vey hard to find, and second that they were now very expensive. The same thing is true for the 235/60 ZR15 P6000s used on the XJ-S. I believe Pirelli have stopped making them - and the last of the old stocks are being offered at a mighty price.

IIRC, the XJ-S was originally offered with P600 Pirellis with 15" wheels, as were certain XJ40 models with 16" wheels.

My solution was to switch to 16" wheels, since the choice of tyre offered even in Jaguar's slightly eccentric 225/60 16 size used by my car is fairly wide. Tyres are also much cheaper in that size - and importantly for me as someone who does a small mileage, the tyres would be recently manufactured, rather than made in a batch a year or two ago and stored since. That could be a consideration for your XJ-S if you are not planning to cover many miles in it.

I fitted a set of Michelin Crossclimates to my car in the end, tyres I chose not for the all-weather ability but for the narrow section width, which is important on an XJ40 since the wheel wells are a bit tight on 225/60 16 tyres and some modern tyres with a very wide section can rub. This consideration may be completely irrelevant to the XJ-S.

I have been pleased with the Crossclimates though. They are better than the P4000s in every way - they grip markedly better, especially in the wet where my XJ40 used to be a little feisty on the P4000s and now feels very sure-footed, they are quieter and softer riding. In fact, the car now rides better on the 16" wheels than it did on the 15" wheels which came as a very pleasant surprise.

If you do decide to move to a 16" wheel, be careful with the offset of any wheel from the XJ40 or X300. Some of them are not suitable for the XJ-S (IIRC they foul at the front). I know the 8J 16" Jaguar lattice wheel with an offset of 33 does not fit the XJ-S, whereas the 7J 16" lattice wheel with an offset of 28.5 does, for example.


I should imagine a 225/60 15 tyre should be OK. There are tyre size calculators on the internet. If you google them, they will be able to tell you how a change in the tyre's circumference will affect the speedo.

Mark-C

5,010 posts

204 months

Tuesday 12th September 2017
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Just looking for new tyres for mine (1991 4.0 currently on P7000s) and found the following at http://www.kwecars.com/tyre-types-and-sizes-for-th...

Up to 1993 the XJS was fitted with 15? wheels, mostly the ‘lattice’, but also ‘starfish’, ‘pepperpot’, and ‘Kent’. The very early cars had 70 profile tyres but in the mid 80’s Jaguar decided on a sportier feel with lower profile 235 x 60 x 15 Pirelli P600 tyres. By modern standards this is not a brilliant tyre and yet many owners try very hard to obtain it because it is specified in the handbook. It is perfectly ok – and indeed better – to fit modern 225 x 60 15 tyres such as Falken ZE914. While the width is 4% narrower, its modern design means there is more tyre on the road anyway.

In 1993 Jaguar changed to 16? wheels for the XJS, most commonly the simple 5 spoke. Others were the 20 slot Turbine on the 6 litre V12, and Celebration 11 slot. Tyres were 225 x 55 x 16. Again, we find the Falken ZE914 or FK452 are excellent, but if you want to pay more for expensively marketed brands you can choose from Michelin, Yokahama, Continental, Pirelli and more.

There are some 17? Jaguar wheels available with the correct offsets and bolt pattern, notably the XJR which can be fitted with 255 x 45 x 17 tyres (but we cannot guarantee there won’t be fouling on the rear wheel arches), or more reasonably 225 x 45 x 17.

We have even fitted Azev 18? wheels with 225 x 40 x 18 tyres which gave tremendous handling if a noticeably harsher ride. These wheels are no longer available sadly.

A look at Black Circles suggests the 15” (and I’d rather not change wheels) Falkens are £79 plus fitting http://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/falken/ziex-...

Edited by Mark-C on Tuesday 12th September 23:56