A couple of quick questions if I may... I would like to upgrade my exhaust and wheel/tire combo. Can I get 20's on this car... I like the look of the XJR... that will probably be my next upgrade. But until then...

Also... is the Mina exhaust the best system or can I just get a good cat-back system. Thanks for your help.

Richard

 

Yes you can get 20s on this car. In fact, many of the original wheel packages were 20".

 

You may want to test drive an XJR with 20" wheels before you change yours. If your streets are in as bad shape as here in Denver, you many not like the ride. I prefer smaller wheels until we are able to improve the quality of our roads.

 

Not to mention the damage you might do to the wheel over ever bump and pothole you hit.

 

20's DO hurt the ride and are VERY susceptible to damage!!
I want my XKR purchase to have 19's as 20's on our roads is suicide! I'll give up.01G on the skidpad!

 

One thing about 20's I've discovered is that the cost of tires are a good bit lower for 20's than for 19's for the XJR. 255/35/20's are less costly than 255/45/19's. FWIW.

 

Apparently 19" is a very odd size, which is why tires are more expensive in that size versus a 20".

 

I have found the same info regarding 19" wheels/tires. You either go 18 or 20.... a lot more variety in both of those sizes... I just like the way the 20's look on the XJR's. Do ya'll really think that the ride will suffer that much... meaning... does the ride suffer that much on a XJR with 20's from the factory ??

 

i second supertrav, 20 are expensive (a fact alloy wheels merchants always try to hide)

 

This summer is a decision time for me because my summer tires have to be changed. I am looking to upgrade to 20 inch wheels and have seen that the 20 inch tires are cheaper than the 19 inch. I have also found a good deal on e-bay for 20 inch chrome OEM copy wheels at approx. $900.00 for a kit without tires at USARIM.com.

I have seen them on a XKR and they should look great on my black 2005 XJR.

 

The 20's will harm the elegance that is Jaguar's suspension and ride quality IMO. Also, the calipers on the XJ are not much to look at, so why expose them more?

 

My prior car was a Porsche 964, so I was used to, shall we say, a firm ride.

I didn't like the soft ride of the XJ8, but I loved the firm ride of the XJR (Not to mention the big "Go" button on the floor). From what I was told, the ride is mainly due to the 20" wheels and the sport shocks. The big Brembo brakes are also nice and fill out the 20" spokes on the XJR. Tires are more expensive, and you have to drive more carefully to avoid rim bending potholes, but IMHO it's totally worth it. But, as others have mentioned, it's a tradeoff. I've always driven sports cars until my two boys joined the family and I had to get a car that took baby seats.

It would be interesting to know if 20" wheels overwhelm and wear out the standard shocks quicker than the sport shocks. Can you retrofit sport shocks without reprogramming the ride height settings? Even retrofitting wheels and shocks, this will never be a cornering or track car IMHO. But that is what motorcycles are for.

Mark
2004 XJR
1991 Ducati SuperLight

 

Thanks.... I will probably pull the trigger on some 20" wheels in a week or so. It's a challenge to find some nice "non-chrome" versions... but I am sure I will enjoy the larger footprint of the car. Thanks for all of your input.