Simple tyre question for XF

[Dimski]

Good Morning.

I'm in need of tires for my XF on standard 18' wheels.

I have been assuming that I need XL reinforced tires (even my mondeo required them) but can't see any mention of it in the handbook...

It's currently on 245/45/18 96Y rated tires (I can't see XL on them...) and I'm looking at getting some Falken HS 439 245/45/18 V for winter.

The manual gives two brands and a few sizes, at 245/45/18 96V.

I notice that even the Falkens come as 245/45/18 100V XL or 245/45/18 96V. Which would be better?

[dave87]

96 is the load rating, followed by the speed rating (Y or V)

So some tyres will be described as XL due to the higher load rating, some aren't, and just have the higher rating.

So yes, it appears your car currently has XL tyres on it.

[Dimski]

dave87 said:

96 is the load rating, followed by the speed rating (Y or V)

So some tyres will be described as XL due to the higher load rating, some aren't, and just have the higher rating.

So yes, it appears your car currently has XL tyres on it.

Cheers Dave.

So as long as I'm getting replacements with a load rating of 96 (or higher) they should be fine, right?

I must admit, I thought I remembered a garage telling me (when I had tires done a few years ago on my mondeo) that the load rating was not the same as whether the tyres were reinforced... but I could be remembering that incorrectly. Which was why I was confused! It seems logical however, as the XL ones have a load rating of 100, the others 96.

[craigjm]

My 2008 XF had specific Jaguar rated tyres on it with a J on the tyre spec. The tyres are the only part of the car that touches the road, why not replace with OEM tyres?

[Simpo Two]

craigjm said:

The tyres are the only part of the car that touches the road, why not replace with OEM tyres?

That's what they want you to think... just like you're supposed to put Mobil One in a Rover V8...

[Dimski]

craigjm said:

My 2008 XF had specific Jaguar rated tyres on it with a J on the tyre spec. The tyres are the only part of the car that touches the road, why not replace with OEM tyres?

OEM on mine was Pirelli PZero, and I would like something that will allow me to travel home to the highlands at christmas (almost regardless of weather.)

I asked at the last service for prices, but the price that they came back with was circa £235 per tire for Pirelli/Dunlop Winters. Forgive me, but £400 extra just to have the tires from the manual from a Jag dealership seems steep.

And while the manuals might recommend this or that, just before I bought mine, I looked at a used XF D S with tires fitted by the dealership that had it for sale. They were Vredestein. So it seems where they can save money, Jaguar dealerships themselves do not fit OEM tires.

Finally, plenty of people seem to have tried Falkens on their Jags, and are perfectly happy with them. I'm only trying to make sure that what I fit is suitable, and if I can save some money (and by many reports increase longevity) I will do. I just want to ensure I'm not fitting anything that would be stupid.

[dave87]

The higher the number, the stiffer the side wall will be - so it is best to stick as close to what is recommended as possible - saves any adverse effects of having too hard sidewalls.

A load rating of 96, if that is what is recommended/already on there would be fine.

I've got Falken FK452s on my BM, and they're pretty good - not tried their winters yet though.

[Dimski]

dave87 said:

The higher the number, the stiffer the side wall will be - so it is best to stick as close to what is recommended as possible - saves any adverse effects of having too hard sidewalls.

A load rating of 96, if that is what is recommended/already on there would be fine.

I've got Falken FK452s on my BM, and they're pretty good - not tried their winters yet though.

When re-reading to check, I've noticed the manual recommends both the 96V and 100V. I missed that when I read it before my first post.

Ordered. Assuming we actually get some snow this winter, I'll see what they're like.

Thanks again.

[craigjm]

They were Dunlops on mine. You don't have to go to the dealer to get J rated tyres. I got mine when I had a puncture from Event Tyres.

[Dimski]

craigjm said:

They were Dunlops on mine. You don't have to go to the dealer to get J rated tyres. I got mine when I had a puncture from Event Tyres.

Ok, thank you.

I'm still not going for the Pirelli/Dunlop tires, but I have ordered the same size/profile/load and speed rating listed in the handbook. It recommends V rated winter tires, and the car came with Y rated summer tires (PZero), which I will go back to after the winter.

By the way, searching a few websites, J isn't a tyre speed rating I can find. Are you sure it isn't Y?

Tyre speed rating

[craigjm]

Dimski said:

Ok, thank you.

I'm still not going for the Pirelli/Dunlop tires, but I have ordered the same size/profile/load and speed rating listed in the handbook. It recommends V rated winter tires, and the car came with Y rated summer tires (PZero), which I will go back to after the winter.

By the way, searching a few websites, J isn't a tyre speed rating I can find. Are you sure it isn't Y?

Tyre speed rating

Its not a speed rating it is a Jaguar approved rating much like the N rating on Porsche tyres. If you still have the originals on your car take a look and you will see they have a J marking on them

[Deva Link]

Dimski said:

By the way, searching a few websites, J isn't a tyre speed rating I can find. Are you sure it isn't Y?

J means they're Jaguar approved.

Mercedes do the same with MO, but no tyre manufacturer can tell you what it actually means. Methinks it's marketing bollux.

[craigjm]

Deva Link said:

J means they're Jaguar approved.

Mercedes do the same with MO, but no tyre manufacturer can tell you what it actually means. Methinks it's marketing bollux.

Well there is that but some like Porsche go as far as not honouring warranty claims if they are not wearing N rated tyres. I think the thing for me is that in the past I have messed around with tyres and other bits and never felt that the car was as good as it was no the original setup. I may be foolish thinking the manufacturer knows better than me when it comes to tyres/ suspension setup etc but I have been proved right in the past.

[Deva Link]

craigjm said:

Well there is that but some like Porsche go as far as not honouring warranty claims if they are not wearing N rated tyres. I think the thing for me is that in the past I have messed around with tyres and other bits and never felt that the car was as good as it was no the original setup. I may be foolish thinking the manufacturer knows better than me when it comes to tyres/ suspension setup etc but I have been proved right in the past.

Yes - the thing that's different about Porsche N rated tyres is there are different versions, N1,2, 3, 4 etc.

With Jaguar, Mercedes, and BMW to a limited extent, they claim you must use approved tyres, yet the car could be 10 years old and the tyre model it was supplied with has long gone, so once the car is a few years old you can't reproduce the original set-up anyway.

Mercedes seem to push this the most and say the tyres are "tuned" to the car's characteristics - which, considering the range of vehicles MB make, is plainly ridiculous to suggest that the same tyre could suit every type of MB made over they last xx years.

Edited by Deva Link on Saturday 19th November 17:50

[Dimski]

Deva Link said:

craigjm said:

Well there is that but some like Porsche go as far as not honouring warranty claims if they are not wearing N rated tyres.

Yes - the thing that's different about Porsche N rated tyres is there are different versions, N1,2, 3, 4 etc.

With Jaguar, Mercedes, and BMW to a limited extent, they claim you must use approved tyres, yet the car could be 10 years old and the tyre model it was supplied with has long gone. Mercedes say the tyres are "tuned" to the car's characteristics - which, considering the range of vehicles MB make, is plainly ridiculous to suggest that the same tyre could suit every type of MB made over they last xx years.

That worries me slightly (or a hell of a lot!).

There is no mention in the manual regarding summer tyres and specific brands, but there is for winter ones. Warranty? Hmmm, having already had serious problems and a fair bit of to-and-fro ing with Jag warranty over my previous Jag...

[Simpo Two]

Dimski said:

That worries me slightly (or a hell of a lot!).

There is no mention in the manual regarding summer tyres and specific brands, but there is for winter ones. Warranty? Hmmm, having already had serious problems and a fair bit of to-and-fro ing with Jag warranty over my previous Jag...

It may be that EU regulations would allow the warranty to stand if you fitted tyres of an identical spec to those specified. IIRC they did this with garages - ie you are not legally obliged to use a franchised main dealer for servicing to meet the warranty conditions if you use a competent independent one. No doubt the dealer will bh and squeal though - and that is the golden handcuffs of a warranty. But if you went in for, say, a problem with the interior, would they really refuse to fix it under warranty because your tyres didn't have 'J' on them? That doesn't make sense.

I'm quite sure that the Pirelli salesman rings up Jaguar and says 'We'll give you tyres at Trade less 50% if you specify us as OEM' - because they know people will then be frightened or forced to buy new ones at Retail less 0% for years afterwards.

[Deva Link]

Dimski said:

That worries me slightly (or a hell of a lot!).

There is no mention in the manual regarding summer tyres and specific brands, but there is for winter ones. Warranty? Hmmm, having already had serious problems and a fair bit of to-and-fro ing with Jag warranty over my previous Jag...

I'm not very familiar with Porsche but I think it's more of an isurance issue than a warranty issue. There's no point in getting into a Porsche warranty discussion, but it's hard to imagine there would be a problem if push came to shove as long as the tyres were correctly rated. I've seen comments that sometimes Porsche rated tyres aren't easily available so what are you supposed to do then?

How many Jaguar approved tyres are there available? I can't recall seeing them very often, but you do often see the Mercedes MO tyres.

[Dimski]

Deva Link said:

I'm not very familiar with Porsche but I think it's more of an isurance issue than a warranty issue. There's no point in getting into a Porsche warranty discussion, but it's hard to imagine there would be a problem if push came to shove as long as the tyres were correctly rated. I've seen comments that sometimes Porsche rated tyres aren't easily available so what are you supposed to do then?

How many Jaguar approved tyres are there available? I can't recall seeing them very often, but you do often see the Mercedes MO tyres.

They only mention brands with regard to Winter tires...

Dunlop wintersport M3 or W240 Pirelli Sotto Zero. For 18's it states two options for each of those, both 245/45/18, but 96V or 100V.

But surely if bought from Camskill or Mytyres or wherever they wouldn't have the 'J' mark anyway. Although I know mercedes tyres are listed on Camskill.

[Dimski]

Simpo Two said:

It may be that EU regulations would allow the warranty to stand if you fitted tyres of an identical spec to those specified. IIRC they did this with garages - ie you are not legally obliged to use a franchised main dealer for servicing to meet the warranty conditions if you use a competent independent one. No doubt the dealer will bh and squeal though - and that is the golden handcuffs of a warranty. But if you went in for, say, a problem with the interior, would they really refuse to fix it under warranty because your tyres didn't have 'J' on them? That doesn't make sense.

I'm quite sure that the Pirelli salesman rings up Jaguar and says 'We'll give you tyres at Trade less 50% if you specify us as OEM' - because they know people will then be frightened or forced to buy new ones at Retail less 0% for years afterwards.

Well exactly.

I can't understand how they would be able to claim that if I'd fitted any summer tyres for winter (even 60-70 quid abortions) my warranty is fine, but a set of semi decent winters, for use during winter isn't.

I think I'll not concern myself about it.

[craigjm]

They do have the J rated

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m61b0s315p72965/DUNLOP_T...

They have the Pirelli's too