My Dayton wire wheels (7x15) arrived today. Please, no flaming over this. Now the question is tires of what size? I know the 215x70x15's are what I'm riding now but I was thinking of going to a 245/60/15 BFGoodrich Radial TA's. Bit of the muscle car look. Tire size is a bit wider and a bit lower. Anyone ever run a tire of this size? Will I encounter problems (other than bad taste maybe)?

 

I had 235/60x15s on my Ser III with no problems....but it was close in the rear

As for raised white letters on a Jag.....well.....um....I wouldn't do it, personally. Tires with a musclecar look belong on musclecars.

Cheers
DD

 

nice..it will look stellar. i had wires on my xj6 until the weight of the car proved to much for them.

 

I was afraid of the extra width and the 245s to get the diameter closer to the 215s is even wider than you ran at 235s. Great input. Save me a mistake it looks.

 

I've not heard before of the 2 tons of this cat being too much for the wires. Anyone else have such a failure?

 

Over the years I've heard of some problems with wire wheels. Broken spokes, loose spokes, balancing problems, and the like. Wire wheels DO sometimes require some repair and maintenance over the years.

For many years Dayton was the big supplier of the add-on wire heels for these older Jags. At some point they were offering a stronger wheel as an upgrade....at little or no charge to the owner....as their early offerings apparently lacked strength. I think this was a matter of 60-spoke versus 72-spoke. I can't remember all the details....it was ages and ages ago....but the point is, there IS some concern over the strength of the wheel.

Many have used wire wheels happily with few or no problems; others not so much.

Using the word "failure" requires some clarification, I think. Some loose spokes or a vibration problem is one thing. A wheel collapsing at 70 mph would be quite another.

Cheers
DD

 

The 'early' ones were 60 spoke and not sure if they were Dayton or not. The Daytons out now are 70 spoke, which I've bought, hardly used for $225 for all 4. Makes me wonder now why they came looking 'hardly used' and in good tune? I've had wires on my Triumphs, MGs and the Healey before and know the issues of cleaning and keeping them tuned. Much lighter cars however. For what I paid for them they were a steal but only if they work under the load of the big cat. Will be keeping the chrome Kents in storage just in case.

Now back to the size of the tires issue......?????

 

Are 225x70x15's too big?? Is there anything to be gained going up one notch to that size?

My wires are in and I will probably make the decision in the next few days. Any and all size limitations issues and pointers would be most appreciated to help me make at least the right decision on sizing.

 

I'm sure I've seen a couple old Ser IIIs with 225/70x15s. It should be doable.

Cheers
DD

 

A lot of tire talk on here today!

By no means trying to dissuade you but I did have one experience (two, really) that might inform your decision:
When I was running oversized tires on a hot summer asphalt toll road at 80-85mph, I had a blow out. Obviously that can happen with any size tire but the tread separated slightly from the core of the tire and because of its larger size, a portion (still connected to the tire but protruding out from the wheel well) was flapping around against the exterior paint of the wheel well. In just the 5-8 seconds it took me to get to the shoulder and stop safely, the paint job on the wheel well was basically ruined with tire markings.

Its an old picture from a bad camera but even at 10 feet you can see the black markings up above the rear driver's wheel well:


In contrast, when running properly sized tires, I have experienced two other blow outs in XJ6s over my driving history and neither of them has caused any damage to either the exterior paint nor the interior "undercoating" (more aptly, flakey rubber stuff) in the wheel well.

You certainly don't want to plan for a tire incident but boy was it disappointing to lose quality paint because of a blow out.

I'm sorry I don't have sizes/brand/dimension specifics or reccomendations - this was before I kept digital records and all paperwork is wherever the new owner and this car are (hopefully cruising around Texas with a new paint job and suspension).

Again, not trying to dissuade you directly, especially since I don't have all of the facts and it might have just been circumstance, road conditions, driving, or chance that caused the differences in the tire blowout experiences. All I do know for sure is that the ones which marred my paint were oversized and the others were not.

 

Saw some pics of the 225/70/15's and way out of proportions! Definitely not the direction I'm after.

Just want something not as traditional but a slight mod.

Anyone know if 235/60/15 on front and 245/60/15 on the rears would fit?

I'm not concerned with rotating them as I have staggered on my XK8 and can't do it there and it's fine.

 

It's really hard to say. 245s might be very close.

One thing to remember is that there is no official tire size standard. Or, if there is, it's very loose.

That is, if you looked up specs....the *actual* physical dimensions ....on 245/60x15 tires from six different tire companies, none of them would be the same. Sometimes only a few mm difference, but sometimes 12-15mm difference in width or diameter. It can be enough to make a difference if the fit is already tight.

It's a bit like shoe sizes. Some "run big", others "run small". For example, BF Goodrich and Michelin tend to "run big", in my experience.



Cheers
DD

 

My 1985 XJ6 has 215/70-15's and they fit fine. However, it's an unnecessarily tall tire, and that's coming from a guy that thinks the SIII's look great with a lot of tire.

My next tires will probably be in the 225 range, but something a little shorter. I have my eye on a couple sets of 225/55-16's that I think are going to be perfect. I could probably do a 245 if the offset was just right.

This might not help much, but I had a 245/45-17 on the rear of my car using a 1995 XJR 17x8 wheel, and WOW was it a tight fit! I also had a 345/50-17 on the rear using an earl XK8 17x8 wheel, and it rubbed the quarter lip.

 

Last summer, I was given a pristine set of XJS lattice wheels by a pristine Kiwi with a pristine XJS and home!!!!

It was time to replace the old rock hard tires that were on the car when I bought it in 2001!!! Ancient is more like it. Good tread and no cracks, but......

The 7" lattice wheels got new 215 x 70 x 15 B F Goodrich T rate tires at America's tire Store. Great price and great service. They fill the wheel wells and no scrape anywhere.

A tad more squiggly than the old rock hard tires. But, I got used to them and they ride well and handle decently. I am no longer going to cruise at 125 mph +, so the touring class is just right.

My old Kents repose in my former office!!!

CHJ

 

Yes every mfg has a bit different sizing. I did check the Discount Tire sizing calculator. The 245/60/15 vs 245/45/17 shows the 15 inch tire is taller by 0.89 inches but of the same width, therefore filling the wheel well more. Given FastKat's info on running the 17 inch set up being extremely tight I must concluded my hopes to run the 245/60/15s just won't work. Darn! Input? I want to go get new shoes on the wires but know I've got one shot. Could throw in the towel and get the 215/70/15s and be safe BUT I really am hoping for something a bit more current in rubber.

 

Been beating this horse for a while but think I've found my answer. Been trying to fit something around 215/70/15s I've got now but found an old XJS forum discussion and the later XJSs were running a 235/60/15. That was somewhat noted in one of Doug's responses to this inquiry where he ran that size on a Series III. The original stock XJ6 205/70/15s (XJ12's actually had the 215's) run at the same overall diameter of 26.1 inches as the 235/60/15's only the 235's of course are a full 1 inch wider. I get the extra width but the same stock 205 diameter by going with this size and with Doug's experience, they fit. Solved. Thanks guys for the input. Now to buy some tires and see if this actually works. Any recommendations now on brand/type??

 

Your choices are very limited as few companies offer that size nowadays.

Pirelli still offers the P600 (at least on a limited-prodction basis) the 235/60x15 at about $250-$300 each. "W" speed rating "98" load rating. A performance tire.

BF Goodrich also offers a 235/60x15 in their standard "T/A" lineup at about half the price of Pirellis. "S" speed rating "98" load rating. This is a pretty ordinary tire. Nothing exotic, but nothing wrong with it, either.

Those are the only two I know of. Others will chime in.

It dawns on me that wheel offset hasn't been discussed, and shoud be. If your wire wheels have a lot of negative offset ("deep dish" look) your plans might be thwarted.

Cheers
DD

 

These are the Dayton BB5E157 in a Bead Lace High Offset. I can't contact the tech people as it's too late but they are what were made for the old XJ6s so I have to assume it's within limits. Now when I'm planning to push the limits a few mm can mean a lot I know. I believe I've decided on the Goodrich Radial TAs. 235/60/15 for the rear and 225/60/15 for the fronts. Not a stock look but I gotta wonder if it'll look all that bad. Discount Tire out the door for about $725 for 4. Funny, I bought some real meat Firestone 500's for my XK8 a couple of months back and they were a bit less. Go figure.