I've had my 2000 XJ8 for about 3 weeks now. I really like the car and it rides very nice with the factory wheel/tire setup. However, I am crazy about the XJR wheels on the lower profile tires. I've started looking on ebay to find a good wheel/tire combo for sale.

My question is how much comfort do you give up by going to a set of XJR wheels with the low profile tires? Obviously, I know there is a tradeoff, but I want to avoid the 89 IROC Z type experience in my Jag.

Thanks for the input!

 

I can't comment on this exact situation of putting XJR wheels on a XJ8, I feel like the ride of my XJR is very soft, but if the road surface is bumpy, the bumps can be harsh. the XJR has adaptive suspension which adjusts the harshness, the XJ8 having a fixed suspension hardness I would imagine would remain relatively soft with the XJR wheels.

I think there are several people on here with XJ8s that have put on XJR wheels, hopefully they will answer this

 

Do it! The XJ8 and VDP's 16" rims look really dated and bad these days IMO. I have read many people speculate that the XJR 18" rims would make the ride much worse on the XJ8, but I took the plunge anyway on my VDP (it has the same suspension as the XJ8). The ride IMO actually IMPROVED! The ride on the 16" rims was way too soft and felt less stable over rough roads. The XJR rims make the steering wheel slightly heavier (it feels much better), and the overall car feels more planted to the road while still being very smooth. The only complaints I have is these rims bend easily and huge, i mean really huge pot holes seem to make the suspension bottom out a bit more easily than the 16" rims (probably due to the increased unsprung mass). Overall, I'd say the car feels slightly sportier and slightly closer to a Benz in terms of ride/handling. I never plan on going back to the hideous 16" rims my car came with. I even looked a some old pictures of my car with my old rims and thought "wow my car doesn't look too great". Check out my pictures to see how the XJR rims look great on my non-XJR Vanden Plas.

 

Rofl. I used to have an Iroc Z....

 

Really? I have driven a few Mercedes and found that they don't handle too well. After the journey I actually felt relieved to be out of the car. I don't rate Mercedes at all, I really don't like them. I have the 17 Inch Celtic wheels on my XJ8 which are a slightly wider profile and I like them a lot. I'm looking at getting them restored after the winter.

 

These cars are sensitive to suspension changes. Wider tires will tramline more and give a mixed response.
V-rated standard tires (stiffer sidewalls) at the upper tire pressure will be pretty good. Jags will never be German jiggly in the suspension department. But they still handle well. It's part of their charm.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

I will continue to look for a nice set for my car. A little more road feel and less floatiness (new word) is exactly what she needs.

 

Hi Stoney, here my 2c worth.....albeit not on an XJ8 or even a Jag but a similar story in the same vein.......

Audi A6 SE on 17" 225 x 50 tyres and rims......really comfortable and looked pretty ok, but.......I wanted the bad boys as on the RS4 which are as follows

19" alloys with 255 x 35 profile.
The tyres are much wider and the profile quite a bit lower.......I was a bit scared that once fitted the handling would be totally different and I wouldn't like it, but, took a chance.

They actually hole the road so much better in the dry, not so good in the snow / ice though. With the softer SE suspension the ride has hardly changed at all, only really noticeable if I hit a really deep pothole or similar.
No other changes to speak of, no rubbing, no road noise etc, they can tramline a little sometimes her n there but all in all for the look......a really good trade off

 

My XJ Sport has roughly the same suspension setup as the XJ8, and the rides, in comparison, seem to make a fair amount of difference. I have driven the standard car with 16"s, but never my car, which has the stiffer springs. Like I've said before, Burmaz too, the bigger wheels give the car a Mercedes-like ride quality. The stiffer sidewalls of a low profile (40) make sharp bumps worse, but overall there isn't tyre slap or too much noise over rough roads. In Orlando, I rarely came across really bad roads, but in Tulsa now I'm feeling the comfort missing sometimes. Bad roads.

Overally, I would say the cosmetic trade-off is well worth it, which is why I went for the XJ with the sportiest normal suspension.

 

I did it to my XJ8. Originally it comes with 16" wheels,it is floating a little too much for my sporty taste.
Putting 18" from an XK8, with 255/40/R18 Continentals (this spring) was improving a little the speed behavior had them for 4-5 kmiles already,but:
-from the first mile, the gear changes were more obvious, shaking a little, giving the impression of something wrong with the gearbox
-the potholes are biting them a lot, already 2 tires are damaged having deformations (don't know the exact word)
-tramlining is also very evident, the first 10-15 miles from start are very unpleasant

I am back to my 16" two days ago, with the winter tires:
-no more shacking during gear changes, it is very smooth and continuous, soft like an electric car.
-the handling is a little difficult at high speed
-no evidence yet for the tramlining, but the tires are now 255/60/R16, higher profile.

For the ride comfort, I have the solution of fitting a rear sway bar on the rear to keep the car more stable.

 

Adding a sway bar might be the way to go.

I fitted one and while the ride is largely unchanged, the car feels more "planted" on the highway and is more level on the corners.

These cars are sensitive to tire pressure. Make sure they are at the upper settings (or 2 psi higher in my experience).