The work is far from over, but I'm gonna pause and relax for a bit tonight.

Car is running great again (knock on wood--lets hope that lasts). And for the first time, I've mounted the BBS Montreal wheels. It was an absolute pain getting the set (wish I'd waited til avos sold his). The rears were used. One was refurbed. The other wasn't--had to send it across the country to get refurbed. The fronts were brand new, but I had to get them from england. Then came the accessories and auxiliary bits: valve bolts, caps, adapters, spare bolts etc.

Then came tires. This part wasn't bad, but it took me a really long time to decide what to get. I ended up with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 (UHP). They seem favorably reviewed, and they were $600 less than the michelins. So far so good on those, but brand new tires are always good in the beginning.

In retrospect, I probably should have just gotten a set of 19" wheels, or maybe even the double fives. But when I put the Montreals on, it was hard to feel any regret. Coming from the revolvers, it was a pretty dramatic transformation, and I'm super, super happy with the way it looks.

So, I'm just gonna take a moment. A couple photos below. The full car shot doesn't really do it justice, in my opinion. But maybe I'll get better pics for a different day.

 

Yeah those are definitely an upgrade from revolvers.

I like the red centers too.

Well worth the time, expense and effort.

Very nice!

 

Well done. An epic saga and the end result is beautifully done! Big fat shiney rims! That’s how you roll.... LOL

 

Nice!!! Quite the improvement!!! IMO the revolvers and Laminas are the ugliest OEM rims in the X100 series

 

Steve, the factory 19-inch Atlas chrome wheels on my wife's 2006 XK8 Victory Edition are hideously ugly as well. She likes them, but I call them the drug-dealer wheels. Sure wish they were the regular alloy Atlas wheels instead....

 

And I should mention--my driver's side window switches are back to normal now, too. Thanks to you! I ended up carefully popping the button out of the switch you sent me and popping it into my car.

 

Looks great! Please report back on your experience with the firestones!

 

I agree, although I'm keeping the revolvers as well for the fall (the tires have under 1000 miles on them). And just in case I bend one these new wheels in a pothole...

 

I too have the BBS Montreal wheels on my XJR.
there are a lot of nice wheels out there but these Montreal ones really suit the jaguar line.
Congratulations on a beautiful car. Ronn

 

Looks gorgeous !

 

I probably have around 3k on them now, which is still a bit fresh. However, wear seems to be good. They're super grippy and capable well beyond what the car will do. I don't think I've ever gotten them to squeal. Also good in the rain (better than the all season toyos I have on the revolvers) and haven't noticed any issues with hydroplaning.

One thing I've noticed is that they tend to flat spot if you let the car sit for a while, but that issue self-corrects once you drive for about 5 mins.

Overall, pretty happy! Not that it matters, but I've also gotten compliments on the way they look.

And the ride quality with the 20" wheels is fine, too. I haven't noticed a huge difference. I just worry about the potholes up here...