The Voices

Recent Tyre test from Evo

Russ, I am currently paralysed by indecision ! Just keep reading more and more contradictory tyre reviews and going round in circles (no pun intended !) The major problem is that the reviews from customers have no 'scientific' basis, just opinions. Such a wide variety of cars and driving styles that there is no common ground ? There are people complaining that they 'only' get 40k miles out of a set of tyres (are they used to tyres made of plastic not rubber ?), this for me is absolutely irrelevant. How they grip in the wet and dry is what concerns me. Auto Express and some of the German car magazines have conducted in depth tests (but not on anything close to my tyre size, usually on front wheel drive cars and with much less power), the premium brand tyres tend to win hands down however. My first choice for an affordable tyre was the Kumho LE Ecsta Sport KU39, based on 'word of mouth' In the German tests, best rating was only 'satisfactory' worst was 'not recommended' ! I can get a pair of the N'Fera Su1's for £180 delivered (then whatever it costs to get them fitted), seems like a bargain but still concerned about the 'soft sidewall' comments. The only tire I can find that gets universally good reviews is the Michelin Pilot Sport 4, £334 delivered for a pair is the cheapest I can find so far. Still think this is expensive for rubber do-nuts ! Got a 'trade' price for various brands at work via our (Jaguar nominated) tyre supplier, all more expensive than I can buy them online ! My current XE is on 19" alloys and has the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx RT's fitted. They seem decent but only pushing 180ps through them on the XE, so not really an indication of how they would manage with 400 bhp to play with ? If Continental did the Sport Contact 5 in 275/35/18, I would seriously consider a pair to match the nearly new ones on the front. In an ideal world, I like all four tyres to match so that the handling characteristics are the same, but I am not really willing to replace the fronts just because of this.

I now have the replacement headlamp washer jet cover ready to fit (our 'smart' repair specialist painted it for me as a favour) Already have the 'upgraded' aluminium cruciform fittings, just need to get round to fitting the cover.

Hi Joe, Looks like someone has already come up with the info you need. Sorry about the delay, work was hectic today so did not get chance to speak to anyone in the parts department.

Price now reduced to £1,295, I could use the space !

No problem ! More than happy to help a fellow Jaguar fan.

Wet weather grip is a big concern, no use having the power if you can't get it down onto the tarmac !

Problem solved ! The smaller pad fits the 326mm rears on the STR and 4.2 XKR. The larger ones certainly fit the 5.0 XKR rear brakes, disc size is noticeably bigger than the STR. Luckily I had one of each car at work today so I could do a comparison !

Hi Russ, Glad that you got them at the starting bid, that was a real result ! A single rear went for £350 a while ago ! I did consider looking at tyres one size wider or narrower than the 275/35/18 on the back but I think it will be as a last resort ?

Hi Russ, was it the set of 'staggered' Vulcans on ebay ? If so, a result at the price ! Steve, here is a link to some uprated back boxes for sale, doesn't say what make, but they are for the 3.0. http://www.jaguarforum.com/showthread.php?t=94108 At some point, I will try to get a quote from Longlife / Powerflow to make a set of back boxes, there is a branch just down the road from my dealership in Kendal.

Cheers Steve, I will be interested to hear their reply. I have been having a look at other performance exhaust suppliers and they all seem to list the 'R' as a separate part number to the other 'S' models.

Any one else got any good or bad feed back on tyres for the 'R' ? I have seen tyre tests where they mention that the side wall on the Kumho KU39 and Nexen SU1 is softer than usual on a sports tyre ? This may depend on the tyre profile that they tested of course ? Sidewall flex is one of my 'least favourite' things ! Probably more noticeable on front tyres and these are going on the back, but at some point I would like to run matching tread pattern all round ? The previous owner spent a considerable sum on a pair of Continental Sport Contact 5's for the front (245/40/18), the only problem is that Continental do not do this tyre as a 275/35/18 for the back ! Great job genius ! It will take me another 5 years with my mileage to wear them out.

Any one able to shed any light on this ?

Hope the gearbox service goes smoothly, made a difference on my 2.5 when I had it done.

Ademesh website lists the 'R' versions as a totally separate product, I think the 'R' is the only S-Type with 60mm exhaust pipework ?

That is interesting Steve, just checked again on the website and Adamesh list the 'R' versions as a separate item ? I was under the impression that everything but the 'R' uses 50mm pipework, so they can be swapped between petrol and diesel, 2.5 V6, 3.0 V6 and the 'non-supercharged' 4.0 and 4.2 V8. If it is just 10mm larger pipework and you plan to purchase the STR at some point, it might be worth buying the 'R' versions and getting the fitter to use an adapter to fit onto the 50mm pipework ? As an alternative, I plan to get a quote from a 'Longlife' or similar exhaust fabrication company. The backboxes are only two silencers with tailpipes and a short length of pipe with one bend ?

I have been searching over the weekend for replacement rear pads for my recently acquired 2006 '56' S-Type R. It is a minefield with all sorts of contradictory information. My car has the 'Teves' (ATE) calipers rather than the earlier Brembos. As such it should have 326mm vented rear discs, this appears to be the case. There are two types of brake pad listed which appear to have the same mounting shape but one has a larger surface area ? Wondered if anyone has any practical experience of which one is correct for my car. Some of the XF models apparently use the same rear caliper but with a 300mm disc, wondered whether this could be the difference in the pads (ie. bigger friction area for the 326mm discs) ? Attached pictures show the pad dimensions, I will also check on the Jaguar part numbers when I am back in work on Monday.

Hi Gary, The more you look at the more idea you have about the general condition and what you get for the money. Only strange thing about the car you went to view is that it has the 16" Helios alloys, the single most hated alloy wheel in Jaguar world ! (with the possible exception of the 'Flute' alloys on the original XK8, which are so hideous that the mechanics have to approach them using a mirror to avoid being turned to stone !) What is weird, is that they were never fitted to the SE model, previous owner probably picked them up cheap with decent tyres ? Hope the links are of some use, everyone is looking for something different in their next car !

Probably a good idea Russ, they are meant to be 100k replacement intervals but can't hurt to take a look ! Now......where did I put that plug spanner ?

Russ is right, the more time you spend, the better the results ! I did the lenses and put uprated bulbs in the 2.5 which made a vast difference.

Oil and filter and air filter done yesterday. Fuel filter to be done when Andy has time. Plugs were 'supposedly' done at 112k in October 2013 but no definite proof ?

Quick update, car is (obviously) now running much smoother. Checked for pending fault codes again but everything is still clear. Hopefully I win one for a change ?

Hi Steve, I don't think it is the original as it is a 'pattern' replacement, heaven only knows how long it had been in there ? What seems strange is that I have spoken to the garage that has looked after the servicing for the last 50k miles and they have been very helpful and offered information regarding what has been done to the car ? They seemed to know what they were talking about but how long does it take an air filter to get into this condition ? On the other hand, I 'assumed' that it had been done due to the service stamps in the book and was looking for a more serious problem !

I used to work at Farnell Jaguar in Farnworth, my friend Andy is one of their master techs, I left on good terms so he is still allowed to look after my cars.

At least another 100k, perhaps I can just blow it clean with the air line ?