tony rigby

Hi there,

I have Bosch wiper blades fitted to my 2014 model.

Sp21 on the passenger side and Sp21S on the drivers side.

As you can see. both mine are the same size, but the drivers side is fitted with a spoiler.

Hi Barrie,

These cars tend to skip at the front end when on full lock, especially on chippings or gravel.

I bought my first X150 in 2012 and I am now on my second.

Both have exhibited that tendency.

As advised on another forum I replaced my rears (Pirelli) with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S about 6 months ago and I'm delighted with them.

When I bought the car, it was fitted with 295/35 R20 Y tyres, so I replaced like for like.

I bought them from Blackcircles at £350 for the pair including fitting.

I've got my 2014 (64) XKR-S booked in for a 90,000m / 6 year service on Friday.

This is classed as a Major service and will cost me £400 all inclusive (inc VAT).

My last service (Minor) was £254.97) all inclusive (inc VAT).

These prices were i.a.w. the Jaguar fixed price scheme for cars over 3 years old, but not all franchises subscribe to this.

Hope this helps.

If it was me, I'd still take the cover off and have a look with my MK1 Eyeball.

 YouYou need to gain access to the "Touring Lever" for each headlamp.

Looking at Page 68 of the owners manual, this appears to be part of the Bulb mount.

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.