Hi, looking to purchase rims, choices are limited for 5X120.65 Found TSW's Coventry and looking to put TSW's Beyern Multi Chrome (matches grille, right center cap) 18X8.5 on the car. Will need to bore center to 73.9 (from 72.6) Offset of 15 doesn't fit front or rear, appears as though I will have to order an offset of 30 for both (choices are 15/30/40) Any advice/experience on the offset on the series III?

 

The Jaguar wheels are a bit unique. First you need a wheel with a deep back space for example if you have 17X8 wheels you need at least 5.75 inches of back spaceing and you will have to trim. You also need to mind the center bore but back spaceing is very important. Many aftermerket wheels are designed for multiple vehicles and most have over sized center bores so they fit multiple cars these days.

I used off the shelf American Racing Torque thrus wheels 17X8 with 5.75 inches of back spacing on the front and back. This is a front wheel size for a many 90's GM cars and they were readily avaialble. I had to trim the inner fender well with an Air saw for clearnace in the rear of the car. If I would have gotten 8 inch wheels with 6 inches of back spacing then I would not needed to trim but that size would be custom. I also was able to use 235/55/R17 tires. They have a larger diamerter than stock so I was able to keep a complient sidewall and they fill the wheel wells more so the car looks a bit lowered. everything is close but I have no rubbing. I also turned down my hubs to the chevy size on a lathe becasue I was anticipating a hubcentric wheel but this turned out to be unnecessary. That's what worked for me. American Racing Torque Thrust wheels...They are polished and have a classic hot rod look and are similiar in design to the 5 spoke Jaguar alloys from the mid 80's.

 

Just FYI, I did get these to fit, however If I could make my own perfect fit, I would have chosen an offset of +35. (Wasn't interested in +40 with a spacer) Second change is if I could have had +35 I probably would have been able to put 50 series tires vs 45s but quite happy with these after being bored out to 73.9 center bore. Last thing to do is pull the bearing cap on the front wheels to see what option I have there. To bad TSW doesn't support what I have done.

 

Look great! How is the ride? Any other suspension work?

 

FastKat, thanks I spent a LONG time looking for rims that I felt held the class of the car. Absolutely no loss of comfort on the ride, I was pleasantly surprised with going to 45's.
I have yet to do anything else to the car as I'm in the planning phase of what I would like to do to it. (balancing wishlist vs sensibility vs being so very factory original clean)
I looked at the KW-Hydraulic Lift System but they were obvioulsy not interested in even talking with me let alone selling me anything (both the manufacturer and a reseller). 4.5cm lift/drop while driving but I wanted it to lower the car and lift on the fly so that I would still be able to get into my driveway. Wasn't really interested in air technology.

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks for the info! Yea, those do look good. I like the way that there is enough wheel in front of the brakes that it still leaves something to the imagination. There are people that swear going to an 18" wheel absolutely destroys the ride, but again, thanks for the info on that.

As for suspension, all the hydraulic and air stuff is foreign to me. The air systems I have seen take the place of the springs and seem pretty adaptable and straightforward. I don't think that the hydraulic systems would work the same way - not sure about what they do for springs.

For my own car, I bought a set of lowering springs (about 30-35cm, I think) and KYB shocks. I look forward to putting them on next week. I'll post back when I have some pics.

 

Fastkat, just fyi on the ride, realize that my car has the 28 year old original suspension that has clunks and ...who knows what, but based on that I didn't find a change. Maybe I will if/when I change the shocks/struts. And yes, I would like to see a couple pics of your springs etc as maybe that will do my job of lowering the front a little.