Got a Christmas present for my '94: AutoAnything had a 15% off special on TSW wheels, so I yielded to temptation and bought some 17"x8" Coventry Whitley Hyper Silver wheels for my '94 XJS 4.0 Coupe, that had been sporting TearDrops.

Specs are: COVENTRY WHITLEY 17X80 5120.65 ET25 CB 73.9 HYPER SILVER W/MIRROR CUT LIP TSW ALLOY WHEELS, 1780COW255121S73.

I mounted them with $75 Sumitomo tires from TireRack. Specs are: 225/55R-17 SUMITOMO HTR A/S P02 (W-SPEED RATED) XL.

So, for ~$1000, I got a beeeeauuuuutiful set of rims w/ tires. OMG, they are gorgeous. Plus, I can eBay the TearDrops and/or the Daytons off my '90 parts car and gain some of that back.

So without further adieu:



With 17" rims, I chose the 225/55 tires so that the overall diameter would match the OEM 15" or 16", approximately 26.8". With a quick drive and GPS speed test, the speedometer matches perfectly.

However, there is some rubbing on a *full lock* steering wheel turn on the front tires, back of the wheel well. I have some 10mm spacers to try if I can't figure out another solution (hammer). I'm glad I didn't try 235 or 245 tires.

I am very very pleased with the new looks and how it rides.

Recently, I've replaced the water pump, IAC valve, heater valve, removed the air pump, and swapped for a 160* thermostat. Replaced a few hoses and chased down the coolant leaks (my fault on tightening the clamps). Also swapped the spark plugs and did a compression test (looks good). Really helped to smooth out the idle and drive characteristics of the motor (137k+ miles).

Issues remaining:

- A/C blows reasonably cold, but only on "3" and Defrost. Heat now enters the cabin, but only low volume. I don't want to have to get behind the dash to look at the fans, vents, motors, potentiometers, etc., but I fear I may have to.

- Still have a slight vibration at 70-75mph. It's 95% better than it used to be, but I want to fix it if I can. I did the steering rack and sway bar bushings, but next up to try is the wheel bearings. Then maybe some of the other suspension components. Step by step.

It really drives nice now. And on my test drive, I was getting 28mpg HWY. I found a place nearby with ethanol-free gas, and just put in a tank. I expect that will improve things as well.

Did I mention that I'm happy?

Merry Christmas!

Padre

 

Very nice look, and I do agree with you the overall diameter is about right. These cars need fat tires which fill up the wheel arches, it is part of their design.

 

May I suggest you look very carefully at the ball joints top and bottom on the wishbones? I had exactly what you describe and in the end that was most of it. The rest was the proshaft, which is a steel inn/rubber/ steel outer bonded tube affair, and does go a touch out of balance after about 120,000 miles, but only under load and at a particular speed..
Gre

 

Sweet looking car! Love those Whitleys on her.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

Thanks Eric. Some people are putting 18's on, but I like the look of the 17's. The extra sidewall makes a difference.

I'll move that up my list, then. I'm going to have a shop look at the wheel bearings next week, and I'll look into the ball joints - they're not that expensive.

Padre

 

Looks fantastic love the old English White

 

Whitley's look nice on the old girl!!

 

After being so used to 15 inch wheels, those look almost Photoshopped. Surprised 225 mm rubs - that's pretty standard (and width remains constant over wheel sizes) and if the overall diameter is the same... Why the rub? Aye, that's the rub....

(Further ado....)

 

I guess it is the wider rim (8J) compared to the original 6.5J, making the tire bulging a bit more on the rim lip, perhaps ....

 

Pulling it out at the inner edge, you mean? Could be. The photos look fairly flat, mind.

 

Here's the culprit, the "protrusion" on the rear outboard side of the driver's (LH) side wheel well. Just need to figure out what it is and whether it can be "adjusted".



And here's a visualization of the 15" vs. 17" look:



Padre

 

I have an idea. My car is an XJwuzza 6. But, Jaguar's resemble each other a lot under the skin. The panel, just aft of that front wheel can be removed. It seems to have been intended to keep road debris from accumulating in the lower wing edge. It soes exactly the opposite. Removal to excavate is recommended for folks like me that own the sedans.


Same for the XJS, can't say for sure, but, I think so.


Therefore, remove it entirely or remove it, clean the cavity and reshape it before reinstalling it.


MERRY CHRISTMAS


Carl

 

thanks for sharing. i find the look very agreeable. my xjs is going to be getting a fairly large boost in horsepower so i have been thinking about rims for a while as not much selection of stickier tires in 15 inch rims and not many rims that in larger sizes look as good as the lattes rims imo.

 

Merry Christmas to you, Carl! You were, of course, correct.





Pulled it out, no rubbing, and no protection, but I'm sure I can get creative.

Padre

 

What is the offset value of your wheels?
Standard value for XJS is ET28.5 (for 6.5" and 7" wheels). ET33 is used for the rear 8" wheels of the XJRS but only ET19 for the front wheels (probably with a modified geometry).
Departing substantially from these values may be responsible for increased wear of the bushes and/or for rubbing under the wheel arches (at the rear) and interaction with the suspensions on the front.

Also an increased tyre dimension may be responsible for rubbing.
The standard tyre size for 7J16 wheels (from 1994 onwards) is 225/55 R16 for the coupés (and 225/60 R16 for the cabs to have maybe a softer ride).
This would correspond to 225/50 R17 (and 225/55 R17 respectively).
Your dimension of 225/55 R17 on 8J wheels is therefore certainly on the high side wrt rubbing issues, especially if your offset has been modified.
Fortunately for you, it seems that light tweaking may resolve the issue.

Look at that thread which explains in detail the tyre/rim/offset issues:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-wheels-65576/

 

Thanks. That's a great thread, probably one of the first I ever read on this forum.

TSW's Coventry wheels are, of course, specifically made for Jaguar, and seem to match the recommendation from the "Ideal Offsets" thread at 25ET:

Main thing I was looking for was to match diameter with OE specs so that the speedometer would match. I compared it to TireRack's recommendations for 15" and 16" wheels. 50's would be almost an inch shorter, so I went with the 55's. But that also gave me a little wider tread width, which may be the difference. Plus, recommended rim width is 7", so mounting them on 8" changes things up a little as well.

Either way, as they say, "close enough for government work."

Padre

 

Indeed, with non staggered wheels, ET 23-25 is the ideal offset and 8J the widest wheel that can be used for the XJS without having to modify the wheels' rear arches and/or put spacers in the front.
There were specific Fondmetal alloys that were produced to equip some XJS Lynx that were 16" 8J ET23.
A staggered set of 16" BBS RS wheels was also specific for the XJS (RS020/027) with 7.5J ET30 and 8.5J ET30.
17" is also probably the biggest rim that still suits the XJS in terms of look an riding comfort.

 

Great post! Just ordered these but what about lug nuts? the ones I had on my peeling 5 spoke chromes are 2" and I hate the faded chrome clicky cover on them. Would 2" make them flush on these like they did on the 5 spoke wheels? I'm thinking of chrome to match my chrome package or dark red caps (i have the burgundy 2+2).
Thanks!

Found a product description these are the same ones i have Lug Nuts
I assume if I get the thread and washer diameter right I just throw the wheels on and then buy whatever color and length i wand from there?