Sorry to ask such a dumb question but aside from looks, does a larger wheel (say 19 vs. 18) make a difference in how the ride and handling of an xk8?

As a somewhat related question...what are your favorite wheels for your XK8?

 

Yes, thanks to the lower-profile tires associated with larger wheels, ride quality suffers and cornering improves. Mine has 19" wheels and I'd love to trade them to someone, anyone, for a set of 18" wheels! The ride is bone-jarring over all but the best pavement.

These "impeller" style wheels are among my favorites.



I also like a five-spoke design which I have to look for...

 

Here it is. Anyone have these in 18" who wants to trade? (See my garage for Atlas 19s)

 

Yeah, though I cannot comment specifically on the wheels on Jags, as I have only had the one size on mine, it is certainly true that the lower the profile of the tires the rougher the ride will be on every other car I have ever had.

I have seen some cars with those really super low profile tires and I know that every pebble or tar strip has to beat the hell out of you. I much prefer a smooth ride in my car.

 

Me too, and in addition to the performance issues there's the issue of road hazards. With so little rubber protecting the wheels they are far more susceptible to damage from potholes and such. Being more expensive to start with, you have all sorts of implications. I drove my XK8 on city streets today. Never again, or at least not soon

 

Yep, a few years ago I bought a car with some fairly low profile tires. Ran over a board in the highway, had to replace a wheel. Ran over a piece of metal in the highway, had to replace a wheel. Both times it was in some traffic and not far behind other cars with cars on side of me, no choice but to run over them.

I had to have one of the wheels on my Jag fixed when I bought it, as it had what they called a pothole ding. You are right, run over something with some really low profile tires and you are likely to have to replace both the tire and the wheel, not to mention the rough ride the rest of the time.

 

Those are nice, unfortunately, they are from the s-type and xj8 series, both having a different bolt pattern than our xks. No fit, unfortunately, without an adapter spacer...also not good on these cars IMO.

My fav, obviously, are the 19-inch Apollo's , which were only available on some 2003s, then the manufacturer of the wheel went belly-up, so jaguar didn't get to put them on the later MYs...and you don't see too many out there used. Ebay will have a full set from time to time, and for reasonable money too...nowhere near the price of a set of the stellar, 2-piece BBS wheels (20-inchers too)

 

It makes a difference to me.

My 2005 XK8 with 20" Sepang transmits every bump and pothole. The last 2001 XK8 with 18" Impeller on the same roads was a lot smoother ride.

Difficult to make a similar direct comparison on handling as the DSC isn't a like for like setup.

Graham

 

Hello, I have a set (4) of used chrome Jaguar 18" double fives.

They are used and have minor road rash on 2 of them, they would be an excellent choice for those that change their wheels from summer to winter. They are chrome could be re chromed if wanted perfect. I know they are round, checked at discount tires.
If anyone seriously interested PM me and I can take pictures of each wheel. They are now in sitting in actual wheel shipping boxes ready to be shipped, quality boxes.
I was or am going to put on Ebay but I have been busy so they sit for the time being and when I saw this thread it put a fire under me, need the room back. I 'm not going to give away but would make good deal to forum member. Make offer.I would need your email for pictures to be sent. My zip is 85253 in Arizona for shipping calculations.
Thanks and
Happy Motoring...

 

I have the 19" wheels with Michelin PS3's on my 06 XK8 and it really
sticks to the curves. You definitely need to avoid the potholes though.