Ok gang. So I decided that before I drop another $4k on some wheels I would give $300 H&R 15mm spacers a try. It looks about how I imagined it. More beefy and muscular. Closer to the stance I want. Rear is perfect but front I think could stand another 5mm to 20mm. Excuse the rainy cell phone pics. Will take more another day.

Although it looks great I don't think it is better than a clean set of 5 spoke concave wheels aftermarket wheels would look. But it will hold me for a minute. If I decide the XKR is a long term toy I'll likely order a set of wheels.

The real surprise is the ride. Although the car was by no means twitchy or unstable it definitely feels more planted and sure-footed. I don't think this is in my head because I really wasn't expecting or looking for a difference in the ride. I suppose another 1" of track could do that.

Big thanks to Dennis for helping me install them. We thought we'd have to cut the studs some but didn't need to!

 

Yay well done. That back end looks fat and juicy!!!

It difficult to tell from the picture if the front sits a little bit further in than mine? Maybe the offset is slightly different on your MY. It certainly emphasises the rear though, love it.

 

Yes, I used the 20mm all around first but, changed the rears to 15mm. I would say that is the perfect wheel stance for the XK/R. I find that both the handling and the ride have actually improved with the spacers. Jaguar should have placed the wheels further out for better handling and more aggressive stance. On my 2012 XJL the wheels are out in the right place and the F-type wheels also appear to be placed correctly.

Albert

 

Thanks Johnnnnny. Axr6, you say you did 20mm on the front. Was this a 2010+ XKR?

 

It is on a 2008 XK. 20mm is perfect for the fronts.

 

I'm tripping out about how often you say you're buying wheels, post comments or start threads asking for input, get pages of conversation and opinions, then turn around and announce you're not getting them.

Like the boy who cried wolf, next time I won't even read pay attention if you recycle this episode, its a rerun I'm not interested in seeing again.

Next time, just buy your wheels and surprise us.

I'm just having a little fun at your expense. The car looks good as is. No need for wheels if you don't really want them.

 

Please delete post.

 

Guilty as charged. Literally every car I've owned I put aftermarket wheels. It wasn't until I began seeing all of these cars with spacers that I began to doubt if I really needed aftermarket on this car. So I went soft.

Tnt110, delete what post? I'm not aware of any posts that have a 2010+ with spacers. Hoping this will be of some value to others. Why do you say delete it?

 

I'm with you on the debate Evoking and feel your pain, these cars are exclusive to start with, even harder trying to find them modified. This makes it super hard trying to find pics of XKR's with aftermarket wheels to give you an idea what suits.

It's not a common VW Golf etc where you can find hundreds of pics and a plethora of input on forum.

I say well done for constantly asking questions and for not wasting $$$$$ on something that could have looked terrible.

 

Johnnnnny, we do have some examples of what these cars look like with wheels.
The tuning companies Arden and StarTech have taken the XKR to another level. Prior Design also has done some amazing things with this car.

Evoking, you're just making excuses. It's obvious you don't really want wheels. Thats cool....just stop torturing yourself and stop posting so much about your search for wheels knowing you aren't getting them.

For me its in the blood. I've been doing it about 30 years. Changing from stock ensures there is no other car exactly like mine anywhere. No other mod creates that individuality more than wheels.

But its cool to run stock. Unlike the past stock wheels have come a long way and look nice. They just aren't as aggressively spec'd as I'd like. But you've compensated for that with spacers. It looks nice. If nice is your goal, job done.

 

You have to admit, still a very small selection pretty rare!
I'm a member on a VW forum and every other thread is showing yet another new wheel with different size, offset, colour.
I can only recall seeing this a couple of times on this form + I had to wait months to see just one person reply showing a story and pics about spacers.

I said before Ian Callum designed this car, I think he's nailed it on all angles and pretty hard to beat his pen. Making the task of changing the wheels even harder.
Due to rules and regulations (out of Ian's hands), once the wheels and suspension sit in the right place (as per most concept cars), the car looks perfect.

 

Thanks for the compliments. ice350, surely you must be joking and are not really trying to tell another grown-up what they 'obviously don't want'. I don't post for feedback on something I don't intend to do. You didn't see the 6 different email conversations I've had with various wheel manufacturers. In fact, I'm the one that pointed out that Vossen CV3's won't fit the XKR.

You also don't know of the 60+ cars I've owned and modded with wheels over the years. Here is a small sample if you are curious. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/291976/2007-bmw-m Note 12 of the 16 cars shown here have aftermarket wheels! That same ratio continues through the 85 cars I've ever owned.

Nobody should be talking trash about what someone will or won't do as if its their car. especially if they haven't done a single mod, exhaust, suspension, spacers or wheels - or don't even own an XK yet for that matter!

There, I'm off the soap box... and done having a little fun tooshay ;-) at your expense!

 

That's what you were supposed to do, stand up for yourself.
I'll get you back when you post another thread saying you're looking for wheels. LOL!

 

I think it looks really good Evoking. I've been contemplating if the Mina springs are more drop than I'm looking for, and I'm still undecided. Its clear though, that the car looks significantly better with the springs and spacers as opposed to just springs.

 

It will be interesting to see how this affects tyre wear. Did you put the spacers on before or after your latest alignment?

 

Good point. Alignment was before. But I plan to go back to an NTB for re-alignment because I think the negative camber may be more than I'd like anyhow.

 

As promised here are some better pics.

 

The wheels pushed out does make a world of difference.

 

Evoking,

Forgive me if I missed the tread, but is there a 'how to' thread on what you did to accomplish this incredible improvement in appearance?

Are you running the same size (stock) tire?

Do spacers cause the wheels to hit the inside wheel wells, or is there clearance?

Would love to know more: size options, where to buy, what to look out for, how to install... Hate to ask you to write a novel, but would appreciate it if you could steer (hey, steer!) me in the right direction.

Absent significant downsides, I'm all over this. Just make the car look so much more substantial and monolithic. Best of all, you wouldn't really know what it was that was making the car look so much more tough... Great work!


Skeeter

 

I just don't see what everyone else is seeing. Do you have any before and after shots?

*edit: I just noticed this was an old thread. Still, if anyone can point to a good before/after I'd like to see a comparison.