Hello everybody
I write from Italy.
Since I bought Zeus Alloy wheels (used in R performance as per brochure), I'm wondering if it's possible to install Front: 245/40 - 18 X 8; Rear: 275/35 18 X 9.5 in my X200 3.0 V6 2001 S-type.
My VIN is: SAJAB02L31FL92252
In Italy you need an official document from maker that states all combination possible (usually a list of installed combinations comprehensive of standard and optionals) in order to legally use them.
I wasn't able to get it here in Italy so I was wandering if anyone has something which can help me with the issue...
Thanks a lot in advance anyway.
Warm regards
S. Sgroi

 

Well they should fit OK BUT you have the Gen I S-Type and the R version was only released when Jaguar introduced the Gen II S-Type.
The problem I see with the government is since Jaguar did NOT make an R with those rims on it in 2001. I am not sure they would approve? I mean those rims were only installed on 2003 and up STR's and you have a 2001.

So if they are playing hardball I can't see them approving this?

Those are also staggered rims and I think for the car you have it would be better to get 4 front rims. Since they are 8" wide and keep all 4 the same as that's how Jaguar equipped the 6 cylinder cars from the factory. You "might" get rubbing putting those 9.5" wide rims on the back? Not sure?
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Hi,
orry for late reply but my wife has been sick so didn't have that much time to deal with a lot of things.
I completely agree with you about the idea of using 4 "front" rims since it become my second choice when I was not able to sort the problem out.
But I was not able to find 2 front rims at a decent price online so I'm still stuck.
What irritates me is that I can't contact Jaguar; in Italy they use a local company to manage omologation and stuff like that but of course the local company is not the maker therefore relies just to their database which is useless since it considers only omologations they did and those rims do not match their database for the reasons you pointed out.
Only Jaguar itself could state in a document if those rims can fit the specific car but it's not possible to get in touch with them.
That's really annoying since I had the exact same problem with rims for a Mercedes SL500 (R129) and solved the problem in a week since I just had to send an e-mail and they immediately answered asking me exactly what I needed and then with 50 bucks I got via mail the official document signed by their technical office which stated the list of possible wheels combination for the car. With that, I had no problems to get them approved by local italian motor office.
I solved in the same way a similar issue with rims for a Mercedes CL500 and had no problem to get the document from Mercedes.
So in my opinion the problem is Jaguar doesn't deal straight with customers so you can't get in touch with who has the infos and the right to generate such a document.
On the other hand, there is no reason in my opinion why those rims shouldn't fit my car; I don't think at all they completely rebuild the wheels drive and suspensions when the Gen II was released.
Most likely it's just a matter of people competent to release the document but since Jaguar has not an heritage program such as Mercedes has (and a lot of other makers have) where you can get in touch with the maker's office straight, without local proxies, there is no way to get the document.
So again I'm stuck.
Of course it's my fault since I was sure (according to previous Mercedes experiences) that Jaguar had a similar office where I could get in touch with them but I was tragically wrong.
I don't know if this depends from current Tata property policies but to me that's not a correct behaviour so this will be my only and last Jaguar since I think it's not the right way to behave.
Those are to me play cars, my hobby, they are not the cars I use day by day so I slowly improve and make them better and better but it's the first time I can't get in touch with the maker to get an answer...
I've got no problems with Mercedes, BMW, Toyota/Lexus, Alfa Romeo Porsche...
Just Jaguar thinks customers have no rights to deal straight with the company.
So in the end, so be it...
Since it looks like there's no solution nor way to talk to Jaguar folks, I'll try to fix this problem most likely buying a set of 16" or 17" original rims then I'll sell the S-Type, the Zeus rims set and the Range Rover Classic 3.9 I bought a while ago, since I don't think a maker who doesn't care of it's customers is worth invest in.
The lesson I was taught is to check in advance the maker's policy BEFORE buying any car otherwise you'll risk to find yourself stuck as I am, with a car I cannot use because not law compliant, although she instead probably could drive safely...
Anyway, thank you for your fast reply to my previous post, it was very unpolite from me not to give you at least just a fast ping and then follow up when the dust for my wife settled.
Warm regards
Salvo

 

Not a wise thing to do (as well as probably illegal) - you would put heavier wheels with different characteristics on, so the suspension/handling will be badly affected.

Jaguar redesigned the suspension for the newer cars from 2002.5MY (such as STR) and the STR got extra changes on top of those changes.

 

In my Italian document of the car are listed 16", 17" and 18" rims.
The 18" x 8" are supposed to accomodate 245/40 ZR18 tyres as per the same document.
So 18" rims were available as well for my car.
Comparing Zeus rims specifics the difference would be only in the rear axle where zeus rims are 9,5" instead of 8".
So yes, the rear rims are for sure heavier then front rims.
On the other hand, although I did my search I didn't find data on redesign of rear suspension in Gen II but that would for sure be my failure in retrieving correct data.
Having said that, all other considerations from my POV remain valid.
Thanks a lot BTW to spend the time in answering and providing useful infos; I'll dig deeper to find correct infos about suspensions redesign just for my knowledge, as a car enthusiast.
Warm regards
Salvo

 

Information about redesign is readily available and posted on this site so keep looking if you care.

When the car was introduced (i.e. your model) the max rim was 17"

You're also suggesting a wider tyre than was suitable at the era of your car.

 

Aren't there any Jaguar clubs in Italy you can contact? I'm sure they would have been through this before. Maybe they have a solution? Or an inside at Jag?

 

How many people even bought that era 3,0 S-Type in Italy and then wanted to fit wheels which were not even an option, are too big, costly, etc? My guess: none.

 

Oh man, this is really weird.
I'm not so skilled on Jag topics since it's my first JAG but attached you find the document is provided by the government to legally use it in Italy.
Every time you sell the car they reprint it with updated data downloaded from the database they have, which for each car is provided by the maker.
So if you take a look at the left lower part of the document you'll find all the allowed tyres measure for the car.
As you can see, there are the 245/40 R18 tyres as possible option along with 16" and 17" sizes.
This is not made by me but from the government office which manages cars documents in Italy.
And this is why I assumed 18" rims and tyres were a possible option for my car.
So the question is: if 18" rims/tires were not allowed by the maker for my car (and I have no reason to doubt about your statements since it looks like you're pretty skilled about the topic) how is it possible that the 18" tyres are listed as possible options to legally ride in Italy with the specific car?
Looks like Jag and it's local company which manages omologation proces did quite a mess...

 

I didn't get replies about the topic in an Italian Jag forum.
I know a Jag dealer here and asked him in the beginning and that's when I got the info that Jag uses an external local company to manage omologations and they do not answer directly to owners questions/issues, not even via a dealer.
So I'll try to search for more italian Jag forums and check there too but in the end I think it's better I do a search for the 17" rims set and sell the 18" Zeus set...

 

Have no answer to this...

 

Looks like more than one might expect.

Used Jaguar S-Type cars Italy (ooyyo.com)

When I wanted to import a BMW K1300R to the US from Canada (I had a K1200R) I needed a "permission" letter from BMW NA saying the K1300R was 100% OK for the US market. It was only after I checked with a local BMW Club/forum did I find out the K1300R was completely OK for the US BUT BMW did not want that bike in the US and would NEVER send a confirming letter. Local clubs can be very useful.

 

That's a shame...
I found another Jag forum and posted there too...
Crossing fingers...

 

Italian forum...

 

Monaco 18" 8J wheels with an offset of about ET60 and 245/40-18 tyres were fitted to the Series 1 S-Type Sport from the factory. I have a set of Melbournes on mine (also 18"x8J ET60) and they work fine. The Series 1 Sport 3.0 included only cosmetic changes, so 18" factory wheels are clearly not an issue.

I expect that getting the overly wide rear wheels/tyres to be accepted might be a step too far, however, why not ask the authorities whether any original Jaguar 18" S-Type wheel would be acceptable. If that is the case, your choice is a lot wider and you can sell the Zeus set which will probably more than cover the cost of a more standard set.

 

As per Italian law, every rims which accomodates the tyres mentioned in the document I attached are considered regular, so no issue on that.
You need a maker's document which states they're ok with your car onlly for different tires size (and therefore rims size).
So no problem to instal Monaco or Melbourne rims but the fact which they are almost impossible to find in good shape and a price which is reasonable...
I didn't expect all those problems in getting in touch with Jag otherwise I would have never trade in my rims for the Zeus set...
So in the end just have to wait until I don't catch a 18" rims set as staded in your message.
Thanks for the additional infos.
Take home lesson: NEVER buy anything before doing homeworks and deep researches on the topic...

 

This is so true!

According to all tables I found, a 9.5J wheel can take down to a 245 width tyre. So you might even be able to use the Zeus wheels with the standard 18" tyre size. Might be worth looking into a bit further. The offset is correct so the tyre sits in the correct place and shouldn't rub. The only issue will be whether the tyre bead sits well in the wheel. If we look at what most manufacturers do - they take the narrowest wheel they can get away with for the tyre size (sometimes even one size smaller than usually recommended) - so you would be doing the opposite.

 

I already went that path; most likely it works (is the current set up since that moron of the tyres vendor didn't tell me anything abot the issue of the 9.5" rear rims and since it was a friend of mine who isn't skilled in cars to get the car there and bring her back home he didn't notice.
When I got back a month later I discovered the mess and complained with the tyres vendor who told me he would replace the 2 rear tyres just paying the difference. But that was when I had the problem getting in touch with Jag for the document...
In the end, yes most likely it works but:
1) it's really estetically an abortion since you immediately notice the rims are too large for the tyres
2) I'm not so confident that in case of an emergency manouvre the tyres remain at their place since the width is too big so it doesnt accomodate well the tyre...
Looks like the only option is to replace the rims as suggested

 

If you don't mind the potential hassles of buying from the UK, ebay.co.uk throws up S-Type wheels quite often and there is even some new stock here: https://www.sbwheels.store/wheels-s-type

Ebay.de is also worth a look.

Aftermarket wheels are problematic for the S-Type because of the very high offset. I found only a couple of options that are anywhere near: https://www.reifen.com/de-de/felgen/...95075/15195075

I fully agree with you that wide wheels with the narrowest tyres look odd. For the ordinary S-Types, the standard 18" wheels with the correct offset and the 245/40-18 tyres look right. Some people have fitted wheels and tyres of Xfs but they have the wrong offset and affect the scrub radius plus the tyres are also bigger. The immediately look wrong. The staggered setup on the S-Type R does look good as long as the car also comes with the extra go.

 

No problem in buying in UK if it wasn't that after Brexit the are import taxes which makes very difficult finding a good deal.
On the other hand I prefer keeping the car with original parts so aftermarket wheels are not an option otherwise I would have already solved the issue.
I did like the staggered set so that's why i went for it but I didn't think i would enter this kind of hornets nest...
So againg, tought the lesson and wait to find the right Monaco set of wheels.
It's really annoiing since i did a total refurbish of the car keeping her completely original and can't use her because of the stupid rims issue