I bought these from a member of this forum (horror story here) and immediately had to buy new tires, which I finally got installed this morning.

I'm considering lowering the rear just a hair, as the gap is a little wide for me, but so far I really like how they look.

The wheels are 21" Niche Essens, 9" +35 in the front, 10.5" +45 on the rear. Tires are Hankook Ventus V12 Evos, 245/35/21 front and 275/30/21 rear. I would've gone wider on the rears but really wanted to try the Hankooks and these are the only 2 21" tires they currently make (strangely, slightly different diameters). Hopefully they start doing 295's at some point, I feel like that size would be perfect.

Coming from 19's, there's an obvious change in the dynamics, particularly when steering at low speeds. It's much sharper in turns and the ride is slightly harder, but not unbearably so.

My only issue is the TPMS fault warning, which I expected to go away, but it hasn't. I bought VDO sensors from Rock Auto and fear that they may be incorrect: The dealer told me that my car takes 315 Mhz, but I don't know how to verify it. Input is appreciated on that piece.

 

Good looking wheels and they do show off your brake caliper covers nicely.

So can one "trick" the rear air suspension into lowering your car slightly from its present ride height?

 

Thanks! I was going for a slightly more aggressive than stock look, which I think this achieves.

I've read elsewhere on this forum that the rear can be lowered by relocating the sensors, but I haven't tried it.

 

Wow that looks very clean! Love the brushed look of the wheels.

 

Thanks! I'll take better pics when the 68mm Jaguar caps I ordered arrive - I feel like they're the missing piece.

 

mate , they look superb !

if you come to holidays to Europe and have a lot of excess weight on your miles card, come with your OEM wheels that I'll buy them off you

best aftermarket wheels on a XJ that I've seen so far, they look really good !

ps : what a bummer that horror story with the seller !

 

Thanks! I'm from Ireland and go back at least once a year, but I'm not sure it'd be worth hauling these heavy *** wheels with me - I didn't even want to haul them back and forth from the tire shop

I appreciate the kind words!

 

I like these wheels.
Where did you get your caliper covers?

 

Probably the nicest aftermarket wheel i've seen on an XJ. We have the Hankooks on my wife's 2014 BMW 650i M-sport convertabe and they are very nice. I put Michelin Pilot Super Sport's on my XJ (265/35ZR20 & 295/30ZR20--XJR size) and swear by them as the best tires out there. I am curious as to why you didn't use these on your 21" wheels as they are available in 265/30ZR21 and 295/25ZR21?

 

Thanks!

I had Pilot Super Sports on my M5 and wasn't that impressed, they wore very quickly and weren't good in the super low temperatures we see here in the Midwest. Also, the wheels had 295/25/21's on it when I got them and I felt the sidewall was too small, they looked a bit silly. That said, if the Hankooks don't wear well, I'll likely go with them next time.

 

I ended up taking your advice on this. The sidewall on the 275 rears was just way too small - it looked wrong and the car just didn't feel as confident in corners.

I ordered Michelin PSS and it's a HUGE improvement - Tirerack is taking the Hankooks back on a ride warranty. Thanks for the tip!

Anyone else considering 21's - do 295/30/21 on the rear, 275's don't work on this car.

 

Glad you like the PSS's and to the point of how well the XJ feels and handles, Michelin is now offering the Pilot Super Sports in in the XJ's "normal" 20" sizes of 245/40-20 and 275/35-20. IMHO they are the best tires made!

 

They're better in every way - my steering is lighter yet way more confident in turns. I'm pretty amazed by how cheap they are too - far less than PS2's.

I had a really hard time finding front tires - they're on a nationwide backorder, possibly due to the fact that the Tesla Model S uses the same size and goes through tires like almost nothing else on the road.

 

Interested in the TPMS issue and how its solved. Please respond asap as i have the same issue.

 

I responded to your PM: I solved it by putting my stock TPMS in my new wheels, they work as they should.

The new TPMS I was trying to use were for an SWB car. I didn't realize there was a difference, but apparently there is.