I know that I've bored some of you with my Dayton wire wheel fitting project, and a few of you have asked for pictures when complete. Mike (mrplow58) has covered the subject extensively with his own wire wheel project, so this is something of an addendum to my previous posts.

The wire wheels I received were in excellent condition, and even came with Jaguar logo caps. Unfortunately, the vendor had represented them as being 17" when, in reality, they were only 16". But I decided to proceed anyway (naivety and anticipatory visualization of the finished product are two very powerful forces). So I purchased all new 16" Continental tires from Tire Rack BUT DIDN'T CHECK THE WHEEL FIT FIRST! As it turned out, the 16" wheels would not fit over my calipers; something Mike had warned me about. My only two options were to grind some material off the calipers (shudder), or buy spacers. The former was too scary and the latter would have entailed VERY thick spacers. Bottom line; sent the wheels and the tires back to their respective vendors and got full refunds (minus some shipping and handling charges from Tire Rack), then went and ordered a set of 18" staggered Coventry Whitley wheels and Continental tires from an online vendor who is shipping them (free!) to me in about two weeks mounted and balanced, inflated with nitrogen, and including new lug and locking nuts. A little more expensive, but a lot less of a hassle.

For those who are undeterred and wish to proceed, make sure you're getting 17" wheels, and remember that you won't know if the wheels will seal or balance properly until the tires are mounted.

Anyway, all's well that ends well, and proves one of my favorite sayings: "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want".

 

Good follow-up on the thread and useful info to have.

Glad you have it sorted out now, so we will all wait for the final install pictures.

 

That's determination.
but.........



Sorry - it's only the second time I've had the opportunity to use that smilie!

Graham

 

Good for you buddy.....

 

+1 on pics I'll be doing something with wheels & Rims at the end of this season.

 

<p>Max - what color on the Whitley's?&nbsp; hope you have better luck in geeting them&nbsp;in the 2 weeks identified by the vendor.&nbsp; I ordered&nbsp;Whitley's from an online vendor on April 6th and the original ship date of April 30 has been extended now until July 30.&nbsp; </p>

 

Hi Steve,

I ordered the 18" staggered Whitleys in Silver, along with Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires, last Monday from buywheelsttoday.com. Even though they told me two weeks, they're supposedly scheduled to arrive this Tuesday (already on the UPS truck). I'd checked with several other vendors prior to buying from them, and none would commit to a delivery schedule, stating that these were special order only. A big selling point for me was that they ship the wheels and tires mounted and balanced, and include new lug nuts and locks. If you'd like, I'll follow up with a PM after I receive them and let you know if there were any problems.

Max

 

<p>Max - thanks - I ordered the hyper silver as well but non-staggered 18s with Nexen N7000 tires.&nbsp;&nbsp;Before I ordered - called/emailed about 10 different vendors and got the same - custom order so could take up to 60 days.&nbsp; I went with this vendor as they had a set with 30mm offsets which they initially said would work.&nbsp; About 3 days after I ordered, they called and said&nbsp;the 30 wouldn't work and I&nbsp;could either cancel the order or go with 20mm and a 45day wait.&nbsp; Yeah 45days later&nbsp;and still no joy.&nbsp;</p>

 

Steve,

So sorry to hear about your ordeal with you online vendor; can't imagine how ticked off you are with the situation. You might be better off cancelling the order and starting with a different vendor.

My wheels arrived Monday, and I spent the better part of the day installing them. They're 18" staggered, and here's how they look. I'm very pleased with both the look and how they perform. They're perfectly balanced (up to 90 mph!) and it feels (subjectively) like they ride and handle a bit better than the Michelin Pilot A/S on my old Lumina wheels (which are now for sale, by the way).

Thanks for everyone's interest.

 

Very nice, look great

 

+1 look great

 

<p>Max - they look great!!!&nbsp; Yeah waiting on customer service to give me an updated status and if no change will cancel and go elsewhere</p>

 

Steve,


Not affiliated with www.buywheelsnow.com, but they're proabably worth checking out for the Coventry wheels. The guy I spoke with, Jeremy, was very knowledgable and helpful, and I got them about a week after they were ordered.

 

This link did not work, but there is a Buy Wheels Today: Tires, Wheels, Suspension, & Performance Accessories is this the same company ?

 

Sorry Steve, Senior Moment. It is, indeed, buywheelstoday.com; a bit of a cheesy name, but they delivered.

 

Max224,
They look great, good choice.
I ordered 19" polished rim staggered Coventry Whitleys fitted with Contental DW's, just yesterday, and have given a delivery date of Sept 15th! The company Carid.com, called to let me know and said that they been given delivery dates that far out in the past from Covenrty, but that they often delivered much earlier. Probably said as a salve to my disappointment.
They are for my new to me 2005 XKR Coupe, on a transporter and due to be delivered tomorrow, maybe?
Regards,
White Bear.

 

<p>White Bear - so far&nbsp;for me, they are living up to their projected ship date </p>

 

Sorry to hear that. The problem seems to be less with the individual vendor than with Coventry itself. The first time I tried to order them from another vendor, Coventry's website showed no inventory, but new stock in transit. When I did order them, the vendor projected two weeks, then notified me it would actually be a few days (and it was). Hopefully, you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

<p>Max - yeah I&nbsp;had several different vendors tell me these were hard to get from&nbsp;Coventry.&nbsp; Good news though - just got the tracking numbers for my shipment - hopefully will have them this week!!!!!</p>

 

Congratulations, Christmas in July! You're really going to like they way they look. Are they coming mounted and balanced? Makes life a lot easier. They recommend that the wheel lugs be re-torqued again after 150 miles. I couldn't find a torque value for them in my owner's manual, but the vendor had a listing showing 92 ft/lbs. I dutifully torqued them to that value (which seemed very tight), and would recommend the use of good-size wheel wrench if you have to take them off while on the road. I bought a "Gorilla" brand one on Amazon that extends out about 20" and gives you a lot of leverage.


In any case, enjoy!