Attached are photos of the 20” Callisto wheels I removed off my 2008 Jaguar XJ Super V8, with approx. 80,000 miles.





Wheel 1 was the first identified to have a problem. On the onset of cooler weather the tire on this wheel started to go down. The problem was traced to two fractures on the wheel. This occurred on a Friday. As a temporary measure I had the tire weld repaired. The Repair shop was surprised to find the wheel perfectly round!


On the Monday another of the tires started to lose air and this wheel was also found to have a fracture.


I ended up replacing the wheels with aftermarket Coventry rims which will hopefully hold up better than the originals.


At that point I found that a third wheel also had a fracture.


None of the wheels were out of round and only ONE had slight damage at the point of fracture. I believe it is a fatigue issue, so if your tire's keep going down, check your rims for fractures!

 

Great article - Thanks. If you looking to off-load the Callisto's I am intertested. Have a project car to have the wheels sealed and chromed and looking for an extgra set. Also what rim style from Coventry did you get?

Albert

 

Very low profile tyres on large diameter wheels will stress the wheel castings as the tyre cannot absorb the energy from hard bumps.

 

If I get rid of the wheels I will let you know, but be aware that any weld repair on an aluminum alloy wheel will most likely weaken the rest of the wheel, and you will be fighting fractures forever!


I replaced them with the Hornets because I liked the simple 5 spoke design of the Calistos...and easy to clean too!


Attached are photos with the Calistos and with the Hornets.

 

To some extent I agree Fraser.


If I had a large Truck like SUV and put on cheap aftermarket large wheels/low profile tires, then I am asking for trouble.


However, if I have a luxury car with highly sophisticated suspension, and wheels that retail at $1200 each, I would expect that a good degree of engineering would have been done to make sure that this problem does not arise.


Looking at the number of issues all luxury car manufacturer's seem to be having with this issue, and jaguar by no means appears to be the worst, I presume the industry does not meet my same expectations.

 

I had a dent in a Sepang, have had it heated and straightened.


It isn't a Jag specific problem. It appears to be so common because the desire for a tiny tyre on a big wheel is incompatible with resilience and dent avoidance. The innermost edge of the barrel is nowhere near the spoke disk so there is nothing to brace it, and the tyre depth is too small to absorb a big shock.


I have been giving very serious consideration to swapping to a set of 18" wheels if I get another buckle.

 

Hmmmm .....similar problems.

My wheels seem to be slightly buckled, car on a ramp and in drive you have to look very very closely, but its there.

Considering getting them refinished in a colour change with refurb to "round" them back to as new at the same time.

They look awesome on the car, but with 35 profile tyres they are prone to damage with the state of the roads, potholes etc etc