Hi there. Since I've sold my Oldsmobile FWD Sleigh, which I was going to drive this winter instead of the new Jag, I've decided to buy a set of 4 Jag OEM wheels and have snow tires mounted. In the search, I've found a nice set of VDP-style wheels, but one has a small imperfection: a slight bend on the inside edge of the wheel. I'm concerned that this might cause a vibration.

Pictures are attached.

What's your opinion? Would that bend cause any sort of issue?

Thanks,
Nick

 

Just my opinion Nick, but I wouldn't mount these unless you have a way to get them trued up. Why start with a problem?

 

Only that one wheel has a defect, the others are fine. I emailed a local wheel repair company about the wheel, and sent the picture along to get a quote for repairing the bad spot.

Winter seems to be coming quickly, and wheel sets for XJ40s, even just in fair condition, appear to be hard to come by.

Thanks Lawrence, it's not as severe as most pictures I've seen when Googling "bent wheel", but I'd rather not have an bushing and joint issues because of a wheel that's not perfectly true.

I'm going to wait for the response from the wheel repairer.

-Nick

 

So the wheel repair company wants $125 to repair the bend in the wheel. No thanks...

I bought the three good, unbent, 36-slot wheels that were online, and picked one up at a local salvage yard today. It was sad seeing that racing green '93 XJ6 sitting there helplessly... They sent me out to check out which one I wanted, and I took the best looking one (was probably the spare), and it even came with the center cap and a really nice Pirelli P600 tire. I might mount it on my spare wheel as my spare tire is starting to crack with dry rot.

I purchased a set of 4 General Altimax Arctic snow tires, and will have them mounted on the 36-slot wheels.

After the winter, I might think about getting a set of Summer tires to replace the Dunlop All-Seasons I have now. They're okay I guess, but wet traction is lacking, and road noise is intense.

My car is spec'd for 205/70R15's. I noticed 1993+ models are spec'd with 225/65R15. I'll be keeping my factory 15x7 teardrops for the summer. Would the 225/65 be a better choice for a summer tire? They seem to be very close in size, so I won't have to worry about the odometer, but are they too wide for my wheels?

Thanks,
Nick

 

Hi Nick, I think the '93+ MY cars are spec'd with 16" not 15" wheels!

My '94 driver's handbook recommends 225/60R16 98W's.

 

Oops, I meant 1993 models. You are correct 1994+ are 16". The Pirelli on the wheel I picked up yesterday is a P500, 225/60R15. It's a fair bit wider and looks like it would give quite a bit more traction than my 205/70's on my car now. TireRack sells the P600 in one size, I think it's a 235/60, but they're quite pricey at almost $250 a piece...

 

I'd stay away from the Pirelli's, Nick, the rubber is very soft, so good for a short time but wears out and becomes noisy pretty soon.

I like Kumho Ecsta Platinum, good grip, super quiet, long lasting. Very happy with mine.

 

Good info, Lawrence. I bought a set of 4 Kuhmo Solus KR21 whitewalls for my Oldsmobile. They had very good traction in the snow and rain. I didn't like how the sidewall black/white rubber was separating, and the white was bleeding through. Build quality seemed just okay.

The Dunlop SP50's on the car now are so noisy, are very harsh riding, and seem to have terrible wet weather handling.

I guess as long as I go by the survey ratings, I should be fine. I'm definitely going to look into getting a wider tire, but once past the OE 205/70 size, they seem harder and harder to find.

Thanks,
Nick

 

Hey Nick, I looked at the Solus but went with the top of the line 98W rated Ecstas, at $101 each from TireRack it was a great deal - 5 for $500 - PLUS - I sold the 4 noisy old Pirellis P6000's for $150 so total out of pocket cost around $350 ...not bad for 5 new shoes!!!!!