JAGUAR OWNER SUPPORT

Tires should never compromise performance. So tire suppliers are chosen to develop and tune unique versions of their designs to suit the individual performance requirements of each vehicle.

Tires fitted at OE have to meet a balance of performance in many key areas:

- Handling/grip in wet and dry
- Ride comfort and noise
- Wear
- Rolling resistance (fuel consumption)
- Snow traction
- Resistance to parking flat spots (vibration)
- Tire pressure optimized to meet requirements for speed and tire loading

The construction and materials of the tire are tuned to optimize the driving dynamics, while maintaining good tire life. Testing and development is carried out around the world on a variety of tracks and road surfaces.

Winter performance is also an important feature for all-season and winter applications. To make sure these tires meet Jaguar winter traction requirements, rigorous testing is carried out in Sweden under extreme conditions.

Because the tires interact directly with the safety systems within the vehicle (Antilock Braking System (ABS), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Roll Stability Control, etc.) exhaustive testing in both laden and unladen conditions is conducted to validate the performance.

The wheel design also has to be strong enough to carry the front and rear axle loads of a vehicle loaded to GVW condition. To make sure the wheel paint finish meets a stringent corrosion resistance specification, an exacting test program is performed on each wheel to ensure its strength and resistance to corrosion.