Saw in a thread on updating wheels that someone was gong to fit 16" Dayton wire wheels on to an XK8. Came across some 15" Daytons with the right bolt pattern, but hesitated because of the following considerations:

How would they look? Retro, Sexy, Sporty or Stupid?

Would I be able to find a 15" tire large enough to maintain the ride height of my 17" wheels?

Would I have to use tubes (as in my XK150) or the rims seal with a tubeless tire?

A picture would be awesome!

Max

 

This is, of course, just my opinion. I personally am not a fan of wires on the X100 cars- I think they look a bit out of place. I have them on my XJS and love them, but just couldn't picture them on my XK. But it's your car, not mine!

One thing I should mention, assuming the 15" Dayton wires in question are like those on my XJS, is that finding summer tires for them that have the appropriate speed rating is a daunting task these days. The XJS OEM Pirelli P4000s, 215/70-15, are out of production. Short of spending $2500 on a custom set of tires, a set of Michelin all-season tires were all I could find that would fit, and the speed rating is lower than ideal. A quick search on TireRack only turned up 7 options in that size, and they're all winter tires.

If you're able to find a 16" set or larger, you'll have a much easier time finding tires at least.

A quick search on Google turned up a few photos. The first one looks close in color to your car.. I'm not sure what size the wheels are. The second photo, according to the page I found it on, shows 18" wire wheels. I think the larger the wheel, the better, for a modern car.

 

 

Here's two previous threads on the same topic:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-wheels-56592/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...t-spoke-44763/

I've had chrome wires on an E-Type and a DB5. Looked great but very high maintenance in time to keep clean.

Graham

 

Thanks Graham,

After reading the threads and checking out the pictures, I'm also of the opinion that vintage wheels belong on vintage cars. Having owned an XK150, I can remember the joys of wire wheels including: frozen knock-offs, rusty splines, having to periodically "tune" the wheels and, of course keeping them clean. But they did look great!

 

I'll admit that I own my XK8 because I can no longer afford an E Type. (I sold my OTS and FHC E Types as a package for $5,000 in the early 1980s!!!) So I really like the wire wheel look. But I also know first hand the maintenance issues with them. I sold my first XK140 due to worn splines and hubs on the wire wheels.
They are pretty costly and a hassle to clean and maintain, but I still like the look!

 

I am putting bolt on Dayton wires on my car, because the front of the car has a strong resemblance to my XKE. The 15" wheels will just barely fit, if you are lucky. The calipers on my 99 stick out 7 1/4" from the center of the hub. For me, that is a little too close for comfort. The Dayton wires are welded and non adjustable, and don't have the pimp ferris wheel spoke, like you see on a lot of the ghetto cruisers. They have the correct cross pattern spoke, like the XKEs had, and do not require tubes. Unless you really love your car, wire wheels do require more maintenance to remain shiny, but I always was meticulous on my motorcycles, so spokes don't scare me. I would stay away from knock off wheels, because you do need tubes with them, and someone who knows how to lace them about every other year, plus the problems with the hubs already mentioned. I already have a Porsche that will scare you with top speed, so I don't need to push my XK8 to terminal speeds. I look at Jags like art, and think wire wheels compliment the looks of an already beautiful car. Do what you want. Everyone has cast wheels now a days, even my kids 4 door Nissan Versa....Just my 2 cents....Be cool.....Mike

 

I agree with all your saying regarding the aesthetic of wire wheels on a Jaguar, and paying homage to the E-type. The only used Dayton wheels I was able to find with the correct bolt pattern (5 x 120.65) were 15" and, all maintenance issues aside, seemed a bit small in proportion to the car's beautiful lines. If I had the money, I would contact Dayton about new 17" wheels, and that's the route I would probably go (if wishes were horses, than beggars would ride).

 

UPDATE: Found a set of 17" Dayton wire wheels with Jag emblem centerpieces on ebay from a 2000 XJ8, and bought them. I need new tires anyway, so I'm going to buy a set of Continentals, have them installed, and hope they don't leak. As a preemptive measure, I'm thinking of putting another thin coat of sealer over the area where the spokes are fastened to the wheel, and then test the power of prayer. Hopefully, they'll look in proportion with the wheel wells and not detract from the overall look of the car. I know that there's a sharp divide on opinions regarding the aesthetic of wire wheels on an XK8, but the appeal of having a one-off looking car has seriously clouded my judgement.

I'll post a picture when they're installed.

 

RUOTE A RAGGI - Ruote Borrani

also two-tone 20" wheels!

look this Borrani X-Ray 2 tone ( black & white ) on Maserati Grancabrio!

 

Go for it Max. Mikes look great and if I could have I would have gone the same route.

 

Not to go too old school here, but what about fitting inner tubes? I assume they still be had. Not sure about how they work with newer radial technology, but worth considering. Had them on my MGA and the tubes were the only thing that didn't leak on that car.

 

These are of a different construction than the original Dunlop wire wheels on your MGA. The spokes are non-adjustable, and are welded to the wheel and sealed with some sort of black sealant. Dayton does not recommend tubes on these wheels, on the reasons being that you would have to put a rubber band around the inside of the wheel to protect the tube from being punctured by the wire welds. I'm hoping that the wheels are in good enough shape not to leak, otherwise chasing down individual leaks will be a nightmare.

 

I had a leaking Dayton wheel, just a week ago, and tubes are hard to find. I found them at Autozone. One tube is made for 15 and 16 inch tires, and says it is for radial tires. I then went to a plumbing place, and they have this SUPER sticky black membrane, that I wrapped around the wheel, where the spokes were welded. NO ONE wants to mount a tube, on a rim anymore, so I watched some videos on the net, and it showed me how easy it was. I bought a manual tire changer from Harbor freight, reinforced the base a little with some angle I bought at Menards, or Home Depot. I sank some anchors in the garage floor, for mounting the changer, and removed and mounted my first tire manually. I can remove the tire changer once I am finished using it, because it needs to be mounted where you can go completely around the tire, and that takes a decent sized circle. Before you try to do this get some tire lube, like Ru-glyde, and use it liberally. I put the tube in the wheel, after I got the back side of the tire down, and pulled the valve stem out with a tool, that pulls regular valve stems through. I put the outside of the tire on, and inflated the tube a few times, so it wouldn't have any wrinkles, when fully inflated. The bead seated just like a tubeless tire. I am kind of wondering now, if I wrapped that membrane around a couple of more times, if I would have needed a tube at all. I'll try that on the next tire, because I found out that the wheels I bought from this kind older gentlemen, who told me the rims didn't leak, has tubes in all the tires. The tire changer at Harbor Freight was on sale for $40 last week. I had an old bubble balancer, in my old tool museum(garage), and balanced the wheel, using stick on weights, I got from....you guessed it.....Harbor Freight. It worked out fine. Just another one of my adventures.....Be cool....Mike

 

Hi Mike, nice to hear from you. Sounds like you went about this in the right way, and tubes may turn out to be the way to go. Your description of mounting tires brings back memories of working in a shop that did a lot of tire business. I mounted and un-mounted more tires that you could imagine, and you're right; it is a relatively easy process (especially with the electric tire changer I used). Key is using the right tire lube, and plenty of it, and not trying to rush the process. I'm having them mounted and balanced at a local shop whose work I trust, and they're going to dunk the tires in a water tank to find any leaks. As I stated previously, I'm going to goop the spoke wheels with a really good sealant first, and hope that that will do as a preventive measure. If this turns into too much of an uphill battle, I may give up the idea of wires entirely and buy some modern wheels. The last thing I need is to worry about one or more flats on an ongoing basis.

 

Guessed that might be the case, but thought I would put it out there.

BTW, my MGA (and maybe the E-Type, don't remember) did have a wide rubber band that went around the inside of the wheel rim and covered up the spoke ends. Basically the same setup my motorcycles had.

 

rims

Did the Daytons actually fit? I have the same situation and have read that the center hole is larger on the xk8 vs the xj. Curious how it all worked out?

 

I had purchased the wheels used from LKQ. When they arrived, I found that the wheels were actually 16", not 17" as described. I wasn't sure that they would look right on the car and it would have also required me to purchase new tires, so I returned them. I ended up purchasing new wheels from Coventry and they're currently on the car.