Wheels - how big can you go & what fits?

[bigpigpants]

Apologies if this has been discussed before but I've looked through the various threads & I can't see it - I also can't decide if it should be in 'suspension' - 'steering' or 'general' - so here it is in 'general'

I would like to try a set of bigger wheels on my xj-s. I understand about PCD, I understand about offset & I understand the relationship between tyre width, sidewall profile, rim size & overall circumference of the tyre - BUT what I would like to know is what wheels will fit the hubs on my xj-s, I think a 245/35/19 tyre is perfectly feasible as the overall circumference will be very similar to a 245/40/18 which is also very similar to the OEM 225/55/16 - all I don't know is which rims will fit the hubs. I've just had a lucky escape from a set of 18" (XK8)rims & tyres, that despite having the correct centre bore & offset, weren't deep enough (from front to back) for the hubs.

Any help or information would be appreciated. I've seen Bernard Embden's website which is applicable to my question but he fitted 17" rims & I would like to go to at least 18" rims or preferably 19" if possible.

Thanks in advance

Andy.

[PaulE]

Have seen several XJS's on bigger wheels and rubber bands instead of tyres so it must be possible, but think of the ride quality, one of the car's main attractions. I think that low profile tyres are the daftest affectation to plague the car scene for years. Who needs them? They have even been put on the Range Rover making it useless for its proper role. Save your money.

[Mr.Ian]

Yes going up in rim dia and to lower profile tyres will stiffen the ride, obviously it's up to the owner as to if it'll be ok. Handling in corners will be improved a lot BUT it's a lot of money wasted if it's not liked afterwards. Best bet if poss is to have a ride in one with a similar set up.
My daily driver at the moment is an MG ZR with low profile tyres and uprated suspension and to say I feel every bump and thick paint line in the road is an understatement.
You pays your money and takes your choice.

Comfort or improvement in handling.


On saying that though I think the lower profile tyres and larger wheels do look the part.

[bigpigpants]

Fair points all - got to get it out of my system though, modernise the xjs - innit, 18" wheels as a minimum

** Post edited by moderator **

[Patfallon]

Hi
my experience is only of 16x8's-33 offset using Toyo 235x50 tyres. this fitment is as wide as will go under the standard arches, however, mine is approximately 30mm lower than standard as well. There is extra harshness but only on potholes etc. A bit of tram-lining but not bad. and extra tire roar (not too much of an issue as, it's a convertible) I think your biggest problem may be getting wheels . Even with the relatively small size of wheel I wanted, aftermarket suppliers able to specify at all for the xjs were few and far between.

[J44EAG]

Low profile tyres are definately a double edged sword.

I have ex X350 19" rims fitted with 245/35/19 tyres on my early pre face lift 02 V8 S-type.

I changed from the incredibly bad 225/55/16 rims on standard comfort spec springs and dampers.

The 19" rims helped stiffen the ride. I then fitted lowered uprated springs which stopped a lot of bouncing, banging and harshness. Now the overall performance is vastly improved. Further details in the April 2010 magazine which will be with us in a few days. Read about the mod in the S-type Forum pages.

If I were to make one further mod, it would be to fit slightly stiffer shocks at the front. There is still just a touch of exess bounce at motorway speeds. Nearly right now but not quite.

The low profile tyres have improved cornering ability greatly. Understeer even around town speeds is improved and tyre wear seems less on the outside edges of the tyre carcass. That can`t be bad.

The negative side of the low profile tyres is exteme vulnerability to curbing and damage to the tyre and possibly the rim in pothole incidents.
I dropped the car into one of Birmingham Highways Departments finest pieces of neglect on Saturday whilst attending the S-type Seminar. Just before the Spitfire Roundabout outside the entrance to the Fort Dunlop site. Beware!!!!

Where is my Solicitor when I need him? I know! In his Club!!

That excursion just cost me £176. Luckily the rim escaped damage. Hats off to Jaguar Heritage and the Security guys at Jaguar Castle Brom for their assistance. They organised a tyre guy to come out and fix my battered Jag whilst I attended the seminar. Top people.

The car can tram line on the worn sections of the inside lane on a motorway. So straight line ability is improved on decent sections of road but more concentration is required if the car gets planted in groved sections.

As in all things in life, there is usually a compromise required. In the case of tyres and suspensions, it is fair to say that you don`t get something for nothing. The trick is to decide just how to mod the car to get it to do what you personally require and are happy with. This is frequently by trial and erorr.

And before anyone says it. I`ll spoil their fun. Three wheels on my wagon....

Mike Kennedy. S-type Co-ordinator

[PaulE]

Page 45 of the current club mag may help - the April one which arrived this week. (26th March).

[bigpigpants]

Thanks for the replies - both the ones that say, save your money & the comments from members of other model forums.

I'm surprised though that there aren't any members who have commented on actually fitting larger wheels to the xj-s.

I suspect that the early DB7 wheels will fit, if I can find a set in decent condition at a fair price. A while ago there was a facelift xjr-s for sale on Ebay with, I think 18" alloys fitted.

There must be people out there with 17", 18" or 19" wheels fitted, please, just let me know what size & type?

Thanks

A.

[Patfallon]

I did reply about fitment of larger wheels and tyres. I know you are looking at fitting 17, 18 or 19's but I thought you might do a bit of extrapolation. if you check out the toyo web site it gives you all sorts of info regarding overall diameter, width etc. On my car the tyre, wheel combination just fits; in fact on full lock in reverse the tyre will contact the inner bodywork. (something I need to look into). The tyre size I used is 235x50x16 on an 8" rim. Although the width as written is the same as original, the actual width of the new tyre is around 255 on the car. So I guess you can go up on rim size and reduce the aspect ratio accordingly and be fairly confident that, using 33mm offset, they will fit. No guarantee from me I'm afraid.

I understand your problem; I had the same headache when I changed my wheels. I should post some photos but I've not yet tried.

I know the revolver wheels will fit, several of the Toyo race cars are using them.

Image wheels do several designs and fitment for the xjs. BBS had nothing to offer when I called them. Compomotive I think had one design in 17" for the jag. Hope this helps and doesn't just confuse you more.

[Patfallon]

Sorry, I just went back to the original question and you obviously already know most of what I put in the last post. You probably know then that spacers were sometimes used on one end of the car (at the front ?) when using 4 wheels of the same offset.

[bigpigpants]

You probably know then that spacers were sometimes used on one end of the car (at the front ?) when using 4 wheels of the same offset.

Hi Patfallon,

Yes I 'discovered' the spacer situation with the 18" XK8/XKR wheels that I had - I'm pretty certain that I could have got them to fit, IF I had bought a pair of 15mm spacers & a set of extended wheel studs to accommodate the 15mm spacers. I decided at that point that it wasn't worth the hassle of dismantling the front hubs & brake discs in order to fit the extended wheel studs.

I've recently seen a set of 18" penta wheels from an XK8/XKR on an 'L' plate xj6/xj40 & I wondered if these would fit the XJ-S.

A.

[Patfallon]

This is really a test to see if I have the upload, copy and paste image thing sorted. If I have then this should work./Users/admin/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2007/Jaguar 14:06:07 KWE/IMG_2651.JPG

[Patfallon]

So....................that didn't work then. So much for copy and paste

[ptjs1]

Pat,

Unfortunately you can't just do a copy and paste of a pic into a BB post.

To post pictures in BB posts, you need to do one of two things:

- either load the pic into a photo hosting site such as Photobucket
- or put the picture in the XJS Forum Gallery

You then reference the photo location when you write your post. if you have a look at this post from webman and the following links, then hopefully, it will explain it:

http://www.jec-xjs-forum.org.uk/xjsbb2/ ... .php?t=700

If you still have problems, please drop me a line and I'll see if I can help out.

Paul

[dhdove]

Patfallon

Posting pics onto the forum BB is a bit of a black art which can seem impenetrable at first

Go to the main page, find the gallery and read all the FAQ's there so that you get the general idea.
In my experience the most common reason for failure is that the image is too large.....so I would advise that you resize your images before you upload them. You can do this in Adobe Photoshop etc. but I use a rather nifty and very simple free download called "VSO Image Resizer" you'll find it easily with Google.
Resize all the images you want to post and THEN upload them to the site following the instuctions given. Be aware that the upload process is quite slow so I would start with one or two images until you have success and then go from there. Once you have got it to work it's easy to understand.

Good Luck
Tony