Winter Tyres! An emotive topic at the best of times.


I had a quiet day at work yesterday, twiddling my thumbs waiting around for a single event to happen and having recently purchased a set of "winter wheels" I decided to do a bit of research on what tyres I would be fitting to them.

For this research I chose to use the website www.tyrereviews.co.uk

First off, I searched for winter tyres available in the sizes 255/35 R20 and 285/35 R20.

The eagle eyed ones of you will notice that I've chosen a 35 profile for the rear, rather than a 30 profile which is standard.

When I bought my car, it had 295/35 profile tyres fitted to the rear and if I'm honest I haven't noticed any degradation in the handling from my previous car, which was fitted with the standard 285/30 tyres and the 295/35 tyre, IMHO fills the rear wheel arches a little better.

I posted this article at the time https://www.xkec.co.uk/xkforum/viewt...p?f=38&t=37340

The car passed its last MOT with these tyres fitted, so the size change doesn't appear to be an issue.

I've gone for the 285 width rather than the 295 as "narrower" tyres are thought to improve grip, and although 1 cm (3.4%) is not a lot, it's a step in the right direction.

Another criteria I factored into my research was that the tyres on all 4 wheels had to be from the same manufacturer and had to be from the same line.

Initial research indicated 5 identical tyres available in both sizes and a 6th available in the same line (Michelin Pilot Alpin) as a Mk5 for the front and Mk4 for the rear.

I’ve tabulated my results, hopefully in a logical order:

Available Tyre Sets
1 Continental WinterContact TS 830 P
2 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
3 Michelin Pilot Alpin 4(R)/5(F)
4 Pirelli Sottozero Serie II
5 Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero 2
6 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3


Pricing of Fronts 255/35 R20
2 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D £172.00
6 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 £188.90
1 Continental WinterContact TS 830 P £191.00
5 Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero 2 £199.20
4 Pirelli Sottozero Serie II £194.80
3 Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 £202.00


Pricing of Rears 285/35R20
1 Continental WinterContact TS 830 P £186.00
6 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 £225.80
4 Pirelli Sottozero Serie II £230.30
3 Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 £250.78
5 Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero 2 £290.30
2 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D £309.80


Price of a Set of 4 to Fit
1 Continental WinterContact TS 830 P £754.00
5 Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero 2 £829.40
4 Pirelli Sottozero Serie II £850.20
3 Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 F / Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 R £905.56
2 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D £963.60
6 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 £979.00


Average Ratings on tyrereviews.co.uk
86.1 Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 F   )£905.56
94.7 Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 R  )
85.0 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 £979.00
83.6 Pirelli Sottozero Serie II £850.20
81.2 Continental WinterContact TS 830 P £754.00
80.1 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D £963.60
69.1 Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero 2 £829.40


Has anyone had any actual experience (not opinion) with any of these tyres please?


At the moment I’m leaning towards the Michelin’s as they’re in the mid-range price wise, but also the ratings of the rears in particular, are above all others.

Did thread go anywhere or was this the only post?
I bought a 2010 XKR during the summer (2021).
I've just come back from a weekend down south to visit family on the 1st bad weekend of the winter.
To cut a long-story short; I hadn't engaged winter mode on the gearbox, and some slushy snow on the run into Sheffield caught me out at 40/50mph.
A pretty spectacular and thankfully damage & injury free tank-!Removed!!!
I've had a selection of reasonably high performance cars over the years (MB E350 AMG, ML350, Renault Megane R26, etc), but this is my big Jag1 and even in the dry, it's a bit of handful.
On my previous cars, I have fitted winters, sometimes on smaller alloys, other times not. I typically put them on anywhere from end October to beginning of December and take of in March. 
Yokohamas and Contis have been the best for me.
My problem at the moment is actually finding any in the recommended size for 20" alloys.
I'm not sure if it's worth or even possible to fit 18" or 19" wheels as the space between the rim and the brake calipers is limited.

I'm interested to hear your experience. Or should I just put Jezza (the Jag) under a cover for the winter.