www.jec.org.uk

Faced the other day with the immediate need for four new tyres on my X350R, a decision had to be made quickly at my excellent local tyre dealers, Tyremark in Caterham, Surrey. With rear tyres suddenly down on the wear indicators with one having a fast puncture, one front tyre with a bulge and the remaining tyre looking non too clever, I rapidly needed a good, reasonably priced set of boots with correct spec and reasonable grip factors. My tyres were in good nick nine months ago. Then the other day, they were not! It just shows the need for regular checks on tyres especially if the car is driven hard for most of its time on the road. Mine certainly is. As I`ve said before, it must be a hard life being a tyre! No point in posting any images of tyres. We all know what they look like.

Mark the MD of the company took me out to see his head technicians Porsche fitted with Jinyu Gallapro JU63 tyres. John, the technician had nothing but praise for the tyres saying he could not fault them. The tyre is of Chinese manufacture which initially made me slightly wary as it is classed as an upper budget product rather than a premium product. Trusting Mark and John`s judgement not for the first time, they fitted me a set of 255/35/20 tyres for £400 with new valves, rim sealant, balancing and VAT. Had I gone for Dunlop Mxx or Avon ZZ5, the invoice would have been at least £650. The tread style is pretty conservative but rim protectors are present together with prominent red and yellow spots to denote balance points for the tyre fitters use.

So did I make a wise choice? A bit skittish for the first fifty miles on slippery, greasy November roads, the situation changed completely once break in mileage had been covered and the remains of any mold release agent had been washed and worn away. Now with three hundred miles run, I`m very impressed indeed. These tyres run beautifully smoothly, are very, very quiet, grip well in frosty, wet and dry conditions and have a more than satisfactory and compliant general ride. I`ve not experienced that before with just 35% low profile tyres. Certainly better in my opinion than any other set of tyres I`ve previously driven. In heavy rain, deep puddle and Kent muddy country lane conditions, there is no tenancy to aquaplane and steering is absolutely direct and without fault. The last of the very slight front brake vibration experienced slowing down on a motorway slip road has also vanished completely. I`d suggest that the old front tyres had quite a bit to do with that miserable and tedious issue.

OK. So not many miles covered yet, but so far, so good with even my Mother remarking that the car seemed to progress in a much smoother and quieter fashion. To date these tyres have indeed exceeded my expectations by a very big margin. It will be interesting to see how they continue to perform, especially as they become worn. As a marker gauge, a pair of new Avon ZZ5 tyres fitted to the rear of the XJR lasted around eighteen months and 10k miles. Do bare in mind that this XJR is modified for grunt, so tyre life cannot be expected to be that high....especially in my hands! I bought a high performance car so have to pay the price. Anyway, it is nice to have a new set of boots every eighteen months or so even at the expense of having the Christmas fund unexpectedly raided!!

Mike K

Any update on these now it's been a year or so?

Nothing to report about these boots other than to say they are still in great shape (round) and doing what it says on the tin. No problems at all.

Mike

Can I ask how many miles they've done now, and what load rating did you go for? I'm looking for a quiet and soft riding tyre for my 20" Sepangs ( on a 4.2 SOV LWB)and they seem ideal from what you've said. I have Pirellis at the moment with plenty of tread but I've never been a fan of them on any car I've had.

Mike, did you miss the post above?

I think I must have missed your post.

The tyres have done about 4k miles only. Without looking, 97Y comes to mind with extra reinforcement. The ride is not harsh in any way. The SWB XJR has Sepang rims and Sport spec firmer dampers. I drive that car quite hard on occasions and the tyres have never shown any tenancy to let go even in the wet. I run at 34psi which gives a very acceptable ride.

We also have a Peugeot Tepee mobility vehicle on the fleet here. This is a converted ex-van which has been stripped out and re-lined and fitted for wheel chair access. This came with commercial tyres fitted for typical high load an use. My disabled Father found the ride nauseating on the commercial tyres. I had those tyres removed in favour of the Jinyu equivalents as fitted to the XJR. I no longer get complaints from my Father as a result. That vehicle is relatively short in wheel base length so one wouldn`t expect the ride quality that one might get from a vehicle with a longer wheel base. So the Jinyu tyres saved the day again and softened the ride to acceptable levels for passenger comfort. The vehicle is certainly improved and again I hae no issues with tyre performance from a driers viewpoint either.

Mike

Many thanks Mike, exactly what I was hoping to hear. I’m
not fussed about wear rates or ultimate grip, just the ride quality and noise levels... these sound bang on for my needs.

Thought I'd update this thread..
On Mikes findings, I've had these fitted on my 2007 4.2 LWB with 20" Sepangs. I've done about 700 miles now and the difference is frankly astonishing. No more tramlining, skittishness, road noise reduced massively and the steering self centres much quicker yet smoother.
I've obviously no idea about wear rates but at the price it's barely relevant.. very happy!

That`s good to hear. I have to say I do like these tyres...and the damage guarantee where by if you wreck a tyre, you get a new one for "free" and only pay for a proportion of the tread you used before the tyre became scrap.

At about a £100 per corner, new, valved and balanced and with no apparent charge added for disposal of your old boots, it is not going to break the bank if you needed to buy more at a later date. Lets face it, the 20" Sepang rims and low profile tyres are very vulnerable to pothole damage so regular new tyres really have to be seen as part of the joy of owning a car with excellent road manners when driven briskly. One expects to have to cough up money if damage occurs. In any case, I like new tyres every couple of years. A new carcass has to be better than an old one. Tyres have a hard life and I`m glad to re-boot every two to three years.

Rob Jenner is of the opinion that 19" rims offer a more compliant ride than a car fitted with the lower profile 20" rims and tyres. Yes, I can believe that but personally I`m happy to sacrifice a bit of ride comfort in exchange for a bit of extra road handling. Each to his own.

What I can say through experience is that my old S-type fitted with 19" Custom, five spoke ex X350 rims and suitable low profile tyres to preserve the correct rolling circumference, suffered appallingly when I spent six months living on the Isle of Wight. The roads over there were in generally evil condition and I had to replace three tyres due to damage oer that period. Tyres and rims are horses for courses. Rough roads? Then go for higher profile tyres. The Jinyu range seems very good in that respect. Most common sizes are catered for.

Like you, I also noticed within about half a mile of driving on these tyres was the reduction in vibration, increase in smoothness and exceptionally low tyre noise. In the wet, these tyres have been completely predictable and even pushed harder in those conditions, any break away is mild and very controllable. Value for money, you just can`t knock them.

Mike