I won’t take my F-Type out into a snow storm, but I will happily exploit its all-wheel-drive rain/ice/snow mode to take it out onto plowed roads -- including over ice and slush.

I live in The Minneapple.
We. Get. Snow.
And Ice.
And Slush.

Before I go on, I want to give a shout-out of gratitude to Unhingd of JaguarForums.
He helped me a number of times through this learning curve.
Thanks again, Unhingd.

The OEM summer tires on the ’16 R are 255-35-20s front, and 295-30-20s rear.
The OEM 20” wheels’ widths are 9” front, and 10.5” rear.

(The SVR uses 9.5” and 11” wide rims. And for reference, F-Type R offsets are 55 in front and 38 in back; I don’t know if the SVR has different offsets, but the bolt pattern of all F-Types is 5 x 108.)

Winter tires should be narrower -- to cut through slush. And of course the rubber compound and tread should be designed for winter conditions. Those changes make for an astonishing difference in winter drivability – even on dry roads because good summer tires get hard as hockey pucks on pavement under about 40 degrees.

For narrower tires in back, you’ll need different rims. Since you’ll need different rims in the back, you may as well have dedicated winter rims, all four. Then, since narrower tires perform so much better, make them the same size front and back and get the bonus of being able to rotate your winter tires.

Therefore, you want dedicated rims for your winter wheels – not only for size, but also for how well their finish holds up to winter road-spray. More on rims below.

For winter tires:

I recommend a size or two narrower than the front OEMs. I went one size narrower, 245s. Also, go a size taller, and go to 19” rims, for even taller sidewalls. 245-45-19s. This delivers not only better traction through slush and snow, it also makes for a smoother ride over winter roads.

(19” wheels did fit over my R’s steel brakes, the larger ones. 380mm in front. Unhinged reports that not all aftermarket 19s will clear them. Certainly, none will fit over the optional carbon ceramic brakes. Those require 20s. More on rims below.)

(Correct me if my tire-size math is wrong: 245-45-19s are 0.7” taller than OEM. That’s an increase of the tire diameter by 2.59%. When the speedometer reads 65, the actual speed will be 67 mph.)

I was happy to learn that my favorite tires to handle plowed winter roads are available in that size. I like Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2s. Fantastic ice and slush tires. I believe they are the state-of-the-art non-studded tires on ice. (Wonderful technology of ‘crystals’ blended throughout the rubber that function like molded-in studs.) I’ve put that tire on my SUVs for years; it performs miraculously on ice and it cuts through slush with control and stability, as promised: $285 in 2018 October.

Rims:

Over the years, I’ve learned to use dedicated rims for Minnesota winters. They should be completely powder-coated, no machined surfaces or edges, no clear-coat. Winter roads eat clear-coat. Powder-coating holds up.

I. Shopped. Rims.
Hard.
More on my shopping travail below, in case you’re interested, but here’s my recommendation:

For an inexpensive aftermarket rim that looks good, with a finish that will hold up, TSW makes a few. Some black, some silver. A few different offsets. (More on offsets below.) TSW’s website has a good configurator. And Niche makes a couple beauties; look at the Niche Misano M117, and Altair M192. Those are offset 40. They need hub rings. More on hub rings below, too. All these wheels are priced under $300. (2018)

Spacers for the rears:

This set-up with rear wheels as narrow as the fronts results in those rear wheels’ faces mounting an inch-and-a-half inboard of the fronts. Too far inside the rear fenders. Fugly. So, get spacers for the rears – technically hub-centric adapters – an inch-and-a-half thick, to bring them out to the fenders to match the fronts’ stance. $140 for a pair of them custom-made, black anodized. From Motorsport Tech, 280 S Rock Blvd, Ste 100,Reno, Nevada 89502 775-351-1000. Lenny. Good guy. Did a couple group-buy deals for JaguarForum members in the past. http://www.motorsport-tech.com

Regarding offsets:

If I’ve done my math correctly, to get the face of an 8.5”-wide wheel to where the OEMs’ are in front, the rims would need an offset of 47.5. That means the common offsets of 40-42 will move the face of the wheel and tire outboard of where the OEMs sit, approximately a quarter-inch.

Some of the JaguarForum guys have pushed their OEMs out 15 - 17mm, plus lowered their cars, and have found there is still no tire rubbing.

In other words, regarding offsets, you do have quite a bit of lee-way.

Say, for instance, you go with 19 x 9s. You could get away with only a 40 offset. (Although, since that would move the face of the wheel outboard a bit, it would make for more winter road grime on the side of your car.)

I bought a 19 x 8 rim with an offset of 40. So my rims’ faces are just a touch further outboard than the OEMs. On those rims, the 245-45-19s clear the front fenders just fine, even at full lock while turning to enter a driveway.

Hub rings:

The Jag’s hubs are 63.40 mm diameter. Most of the non-custom wheels I found have larger center bores than that. So, you put perfect-size rings on to keep the wheels centered properly. Hub rings. TSW offers hub rings. I don’t know if Niche does, but I bet they do (although the two Niche wheels I listed above both have the correct center bore diameter: 63.4.) The rings offered by aftermarket wheel manufacturers are typically made of plastic. They won’t last forever, so buy a set of replacements to have on hand. They’re just a few bucks. Or better yet, have some made of aluminum, to last. Motorsport will custom-make those for you, too. Or this place just might have some in stock: https://www.uswheeladapters.com/hub-rings/ They make custom hub rings, too.

Those are my recommendations for driving your F-Type in the winter.



TSW Jarama, 19 x 8, refinished to have no clear coat for winter wearability

...with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2s. Fantastic ice and slush tires.

TSW Jarama rims are offset 40 millimeters. That puts their faces slightly outboard of the OEM wheels. These 245-45-19s clear the front fenders just fine, even at full lock while turning to enter a driveway.

TSW Jarama rims are offset 40 millimeters. That puts their faces slightly outboard of the OEM wheels. These 245-45-19s clear the front fenders just fine, even at full lock while turning to enter a driveway.

I put the 245-45-19s on the rear, too -- for better cut-through-slush ability. That meant spacers on the rears. 1-1/2"




In case you might be interested, and to save you struggles if you want to shop harder, here is more on my personal rims shopping “adventure” and learning curve:

I much prefer a lip on my rims.

I found that rims with lips that fit the F-Type are rare and difficult to find unless custom made. I didn’t want expensive, custom, forged rims costing $800 - $1,300 each for my dedicated winter wheels. So, I shopped and shopped and shopped. I had to go “outside the boxes” to find less expensive rims.

TSW makes one 19” that has a lip with the correct bolt pattern. It’s a 5-spoke. It’s 19” x 8” with little, stainless-steel bolts to give it the look of a two-piece. They call it their Jarama. $310.

(Technically, TSWs are one-piece, cast and then rolled-forged. That’s a good way to make an aluminum rim. It’s arguably the best way for weight-savings and cost-effectiveness.)

My car is a white convertible with black top, all black exterior trim, and black interior. It looks best with black rims.

But TSW Jaramas are not available in all-black. They have machined-mirror lips to look like chrome or stainless steel. Clear-coated. Clear-coat won’t do for a winter rim. So, I decided I’d have them re-finished in order to get a durable finish and the kind of appearance I prefer.

Although having them refinished would cost me quite a bit more than any of the pre-finished rims they offer, in order to have lips on my rims, this is the least expensive way I could find to get the look I wanted. It would still be a lot less than having customs made. It would also get them on the car sooner than customs take. A lot sooner.

But get this:

TSW insisted they wouldn’t fit on my R. They insisted those wheels fit only the base F-Type. They didn’t want to send them. They wanted to steer me to their other rims. But the wheels’ specs indicated they should fit the R with steel brakes. I had to talk Discount Tire into talking TSW into selling me a set, returnable, just so we could try them on to see if they would indeed clear the brakes. They did. Just fine. As the specs indicated they would.

Their center bore is too large, though; it’s 72. The Jag’s hub is 63.4. Hub rings handle that difference easily and safely. Hub rings are easy to find. TSW even had them in the perfect size in stock, fercrinoutloud. But they didn’t volunteer that they did. Plastic.

Dear TSW: 19” Jaramas do fit the F-Type R (not the SVR); at least let your reps know they’ll fit with hub rings. (And while you’re at it, get the management to decide to offer them finished in all black and all silver.)

But there is another pain-in-the-*** hiccup to my TSW Jaramas learning curve:

In order to powder-coat these rims, first the little, steel bolts need to come out.

But. There. Is. No. Driver. Made. To. Fit. Those. Bolts. W.T.F.

I had to learn that the hard way: by searching for an 8-pointed-star driver the correct size afterI finally managed to get to someone live at TSW in an effort to get answers to a few questions about my quest to refinish the Jarama in all black and have the little steel bolts remain stainless steel color.

The TSW rep on the phone first said he couldn’t help me find a tool for them. He was obviously trying to brush me off. When I asked more about them, he said removing them would ruin them because they were plastic. I pointed out that they are actually metal. Then he got curt with me. “No, I can’t help you find the driver for them. … They are not threaded; they’re pressed in, so trying to remove them will ruin them. … No, we don’t sell them as replacement parts. … Yes, I guess you are right; it seems that does mean you cannot powder-coat these rims. … And. I can’t help you.” When I mentioned that I would share that on JaguarForums, he back-pedaled and said they were metal and they actually do sell them as parts – but just to dealers. But, no, you can not get a set of TSW Jaramas without the rivets (he called them “rivets”) -- not even a dealer can.

(I did then get Discount Tire to call their rep and they did then verify those things. They could get me replacement bolts.)

So, I shopped further, hours, looking for a tool to remove the little bolts. No such tool made in that size by anyone, not even Snap-On.

I paid my wheels refinisher to make a tool. (Wasn’t expensive; just ground down a socket-driver so as to use a square in the 8-point opening.) He cranked on them to try to back them out, but they would not budge. He didn’t dare put more torque on them. He decided to refuse to refinish these rims because of it.

That far into this “adventure,” I wasn’t going to just give up. In an effort to find a cost-effective way to remove the “rivets,” I had Discount Tire order me a few of them just so I could see if they were threaded or not. Took a week for them to arrive from TSW.

They’re bolts. They’re threaded.

So, I found a machine shop and I told them I’d pay them for their time to try to remove one. If torqueing on the bolt ruined it or ruined the wheel, I’d pay them anyway. I talked them into making another square driver by grinding down another socket wrench adapter to fit. It didn’t take a ton of torque. The bolts backed out. They are glued in, but with a little extra elbow grease, they backed out fine.

They were even re-usable.

Then I talked that machine shop into middle-manning getting the rims powder-coated satin black for me, and then replacing the little bolts.

In the end, the cost through the machine shop was no more than I was going to pay the first wheel-refinishing specialist. $150 a rim.

That learning curve and time investment was a pain in the ***. It cost $600 more than off-the-rack rims, but still much less expensive than even the least expensive custom wheels I could find.

What a man won’t do for lips on his rims.

(If I wasn’t mostly retired, I would not have spent all that time on that learning curve; but there is my write-up so that if you’re interested, you can get a similar job done in much less time and much less dain bramage. You’re welcome.)

They are my kind of look. They look good.

I now have wonderful winter tires on durable, dedicated rims -- lipped 5-spokes with matte black finish and stainless-steel bolts for my white-with-black-trim convertible R with all-wheel-drive.

Watch out, Minneapple winter drivers; this cat has claws that help it take off, take corners, and make stops better than most other vehicles in the winter, too.

And the ride is noticeably improved.

Who else is running winter tires on dedicated rims?


Post script:

Just in case you, too, would like winter rims with lips, but you don’t want to go through the hassle of having the Jaramas re-finished, you’ll need to go custom-made.

Here’s the result of my shopping custom-made rims:

US Mags’ Standard Concave U500s -- $1,300 a piece. 8-10 weeks to make them.

Expensive for winter rims, but are they ever nice. They’re 5-spokes. Sort of the “old school muscle car” look. Reminiscent of “Cragar Mags,” but with soft lips. Their centers are forged and CNC machined, bolted to spun-forged rims. Any finish color(s) you like, since they’re custom-made. I was tempted by these, particularly because they could have matte black centers and gloss black lips. I like the old “Cragar” look. Beautiful.

Just too spendy for winter rims for me, though. (I could see these for my summer rims, but I love my OEM Blades for my summer Michelins.)

Strasse rims. I like the R10. Multi-spoke. They cost a little more. 6-8 weeks to make them.

All forged. Lighter weight, if that’s important to you for your winter rims. More of “today’s” look. They are gorgeous.

Foose does a semi-custom for less money, but they don’t custom-finish for you. Pre-determined colors only. So after you buy Foose rims that cost over $800 each, you still have to refinish them for your winter wheels. Nice wheels, though: Nitrous SEC F317, or Nitrous SEC F302. And “8 weeks.”

Lastly, don’t waste time shopping Beyern Munich Wheels. They make great-looking wheels that showed up on Auto Anything’s fitments list for F-Type Rs. I would have bought their black, five-twin 10-spoke with a lip. But then Beyern’s web site indicated they won’t fit the F-Type. Their rep verified they won’t, too.

(So, I drilled down into the internet on those, too; it turns out Beyern’s are TSW rims re-branded and bolt-patterned to fit BMWs, only, with center, hub covers that say Beyern. That’s when I learned that TSW also does a re-brand for Jaguars, called Coventry; but get this: not everything TSW makes that fit F-Types are offered through Coventry. Coventry wheels are offered in only a couple styles. They do offer one of them, their Ashford, in an all-coated gun metal color with gloss black face. It’s a 7-twin spoke, a Y-spoke. Coventry’s center, hub-covers do have a good-looking emblem of an abstract leaper on them. But if you use the TSW configurator, these show up there, too; along with a few others that are all-black or all-silver coated: https://www.tsw.com/alloy-wheels-configurator/)


So, who else is running winter tires on dedicated rims?
Let’s see some photos.

 

 

A nice, quick and easy solution.

Hey, let's meet for a coffee and a cruise. I'm in Plymouth, near Wayzata.

 

Thanks for the thorough write-up! I went with the Pirelli Sottozero 3's for my stock 20" R wheels. I'm pretty sure the car's ride height will be more limiting than the tires for me - so it's nice to keep the great look of the 20" wheels through the winter and not need a second set of wheels!

 

Blizzak LM-32s on Coventry ashfords that I had refinished to a dark gray. Stock size and offsets so no need to futz with hub adapters or spacers. I even pop in the growler center caps from the stock wheels when I swap them.

 

Nice. How about a photo.

 

Here's the wheel but with a different tire mounted.

 

I really like the look of the black pack with black or off-black rims on the F-Type. Lookin good.

 

Hi Nati,

I assume you are running 20" rims? When I had Discount Tire call TSW/Coventry I was informed that their 19" wheel will not clear the 380 mm brake. Is that your understanding as well?

Peter

 

TSW did tell me that, but I proved their 19" Jarama clears my R's larger, steel brakes, 380mm, just fine. Those are my photos, above.

 

Gotcha. But I meant with the Coventry line which would not require spacers if using the the stock tire size (i.e. the Pirelli's)? I was told they don't work...I suppose that is 'fake news' too! ;-)

It's really too bad: It's nearly December and my need is immediate so I ended up doing precisely what I didn't want to do: keeping my OEM wheels and using expensive and questionable Pirelli winter tires. I am now hoping that my additional wheel warranty is legit and that Pirelli has actually made a decent winter tire (surprisingly, they do seem pretty good so far).

As an aside, Michelin offers the Alpin 5's in the stock OEM size but for some reason when Discount called Michelin, I couldn't get those either! They are even on the Michelin website as the recommended winter tire for our car! More 'fake news'!

 

Coventry is made by TSW. They don't need spacers or hub rings. My TSW Jaramas needed hub rings --offerred by TSW (but you have to point that out to their rep!) I put spacers on the rears, only; not because they were needed to clear the brakes, but because I wanted the same size wheels and tires both front and back, and that would put the rear faces inside the rear fenders. So, spacers to bring them out to match.

 

I just bought a set of OEM 18 inch rims to decicate for winter tyres. In summer I run 20 inch.

 

Yeah, I had no luck convincing Discount Tire and TSW that their Coventry rims work. Part of the issue is that they ordered rims for me before and they didn't fit. So they just weren't willing to try another set after that experience. Now, I am really bummed!

 

You need a new tire shop

 

"I just bought a set of OEM 18 inch rims to decicate for winter tyres. In summer I run 20 inch."
Dirk, give us your impressions as to ride comfort and handling of the 18" vis-a-vis 20" inchers.

 

While waiting for Dirk's answer, I'll volunteer this:

My 19's for winter with the larger-diameter winter tires do give a noticeably smoother ride. The lady of the house noticed, and remarked that it was more comfortable, during her first ride. The pavement cracks and expansion joints, in particular, are less noticeable.

(245-45-19s are 0.7" taller, or greater diameter, than the summer OEM 255-35-20s. In other words, the sidewalls are 0.85" taller.)

As to handling; I went with the narrower in the rear as well as in the front. Much more noticeable is how much less sticky they are. The car's additional over-steer is much more noticeable than the ride difference is. These narrower winter tires are for having the all-wheel-drive rain/ice/snow mode on.

 

Those are 19s, same as the factory wheels on the V6S

 

Definitly smoother ride and ! do not approve on Keith's statement of less sticky. I have pirelli sottozero instead of Pzero and they perform much better in temperatures below 10°C, althow they winters are 275 wide instead of 295 summertyres.
Noticeble difference when switching from normal mode into dynamic concerning the suspension.

 

Didn't want to start a whole new thread.

So I picked up some 19x8.5's (that clear my s brakes, don't worry), and the requisite appropriately sized hub centric adapters.

Haven't picked up rubber yet.

Now, a friend of a friend offered me a steal on some barely used winters of the above mentioned dimensions. Originally bought for infinity g37.

I really wish they weren't staggered, but they're practically free.

Is this setup feasible?
Mind you Vancouver winters are quite short... but I still want to have the setup in place during the risky months.