Still shopping for mine, and waiting to see exactly where DCX will go with their "summer desperation" pricing. Assuming that I won't qualify for one of the super-exclusive "Chrysler executive only" deals (short-term lease with unlimited mileage, including insurance, "fresh" from the Baltimore docks...), I'd need to settle for stock on the selected dealer's lot.

Now, it appears that the great majority of XF's actually delivered come with the $185 extra all-season tire option (Continental Touring Contact). I prefer the standard summer tires (Michelin Sport Pilot 2 or Continental Sport Contact 2). Sure, a dealer could switch these between existing cars, but the legally-required "Mulroney" window sticker lists the car as either having this option or not. Are dealers actually allowed to legally make such a swap?

Rob Gold

 

Dealers add options beyond what's on the window sticker all the time. Most of the time those include a wheel and tire upgrade for about $2K. If they can legally pull those rip offs, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to swap the tires out. They could just put the all seasons on the other car and add a dealer add-on sticker for the option. The only legal problem I see is that they would technically be putting used (even if they only have a few miles) tires on a car they are selling as brand new.

 

THE Continental Sport Contact 2 do not come from the factory on these cars.

 

~ they sure do... on some '05s. i have seen many at the local dealer. a factory/oem issued tire.

 

So what exactly are the best tires you can buy for this car?

I want to get a tire that has good performance, but lasts longer. I know these are Z rated tires, but do you think I could push 35k with a certain set?

How are the Continental tires?

 

i highly recommend the conti sport contact 2. what a great performance tire thus far... but not intended for the snow covered areas.

i had the optional conti "all-season" tires prior. i ended up getting 25k+ out of the all-season tires.

the longevity and mileage have a lot to do with your driving habits. but i would predict 20k or so out of the softer contact 2's.

 

Yes they do...I have them on my roadster and they seem like a very good tire. Although I haven't had the car very long so will withhold my opinion until I get more miles on the car.

 

They are on my '04 straight off the dealer lot.

 

This is as emphatic a response as can be made. Several have already contradicted your comment, but I'm curious. There is a basis for your statement and I'm interested in knowing what led you to make it. Those in the contrary camp received their cars from the dealer's lot...and not from the factory. So do you have a basis for asserting that the aforementioned tires are applied after delivery?

 

My factory window sticker has the high performance tires listed as printed from the factory, not as a dealer swap or add on.

After all, what is the dealer going to swap them on to??? And I picked mine up on a promotional lease, so there's no way the dealer would incur a cost just to put a better tire on the car.

 

Based solely on customer reviews at Tirerack, the Michelin PS2 is the best "maximum performance" tire you can buy for your crossfire (OEM tire size). However, they are expensive and not necessarily the best value. When I replace my tires, I may go with the 2nd ranked tire, the Eagle F1 GS-D3, and save a couple hundred bucks. If you plan to push your set of tires to 35K on a Crossfire, consider looking at "ultra high performance" summer tires instead because they tend to have a longer treadwear life.

1. Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
2. Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE050A
4. Michelin Pilot Sport
5. Dunlop SP Sport 9000
6. Continental ContiSportContact 2
7. Pirelli PZero System

 

So to get around 35k, I should get which one of those tires?

I was really wanting to get the Goodyear F1's.

Let me know how you like them.

 

if you want to have a chance at getting 35K miles you should select a tire that has a reasonable treadwear rating. the F1 has a rating of 280 (the higher the number the longer the tire should last.) some tires in the class have as low as 140 ratings. the F1 isn't the best dry weather performance tire out there though it's among the best. where it really excels is in wet traction. the conti sport contact 2 is towards the bottom on dry pavement, but is also really good on wet pavement.

here's a link to a car and driver test if anyone's interested:

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...y_f1_gs_ds.pdf

note how the F1 finished first, but despite the testers subjectively not liking the continental as much as many of the other tires it still finished 2nd. but for just $10 more for a set of 4 the F1s are simply the best value amongst maximum performance tires. but don't buy them because if everyone starts getting them the prices will skyrocket by the time i need to replace my ps2s in a couple years.