Well I've had my 98 XK8 for a little over a month....I love the car, but I must admit my first instinct was to change the revolver wheels.

However, as time passes the revolvers are growing on me....I am considering keeping them but getting them chromed or powder coating them in a dark gray....has anyone powder coated theirs? Any pictures to share?

Overall opinions on these wheels? Am I crazy to start liking them? Please talk me out of this....

Tnx!

 

Wheels, like most things, are a matter of personal taste. If you like them, then you like them.

Personal choice aside, the negative is that they look dated. The newer style wheels (impeller, double-5s, etc.) all aged much better.

Search the forum and you will find many threads on wheel stylings, including painting and powder coating. Philhef is the resident expert on redoing wheels. Look for him to chime in soon.

 

Didn't have revolvers but had impellers. I had them painted Dorchester grey to match trim. I think if you paint them gloss black or Dorchester grey they'd look much better.

 

My XK8 came with chrome revolvers and I think they look good with the color of the car.

 

Paint them yourself?

EDITED: Duh....guess I should have read your post more carefully. You had them painted. Did you consider powder coating? or is that overkill?

 

Yes, I do think the chrome looks much better than the current gray. It was also a factory option and I think they look period appropriate....Can't believe I'm actually liking them as I was quite adverse to them a month ago.

The gentleman I purchased my tonneau cover from has these on his...I guess after I saw them on his car is when they started growing on me.

 

Sorry, those just look so tiny in that wheel well...

 

I bought them powder coated black but had them painted the metallic grey. If they're prepped right, they can be painted. Youtube has tons of videos. I'm actually going to sell them soon. Probably 100 each plus shipping. I've got about 850.00 in them.

 

I have a '98 as well, and there are days I like them, and days I don't. Personally, I do not like chrome wheels, and the revolvers look OK when they are clean.

Everyone here has its own preferences and tastes, so at the end it is up to you. If I had the money, I would consider new wheels, but then I am one of those boring people that just keep things as original as I can...

philhef, and other people, have done amazing things to their cars, so there is enough pictures around to see what it will look like!

 

Agreed. If Revolvers were 18 or 19 inch they would not look so dated.

The chrome ones do look better. The finish on the painted ones I have seen in person always looked dull and really dated the overall look of the car.

One thing I always liked about the Revolver design is how the brake system is well hidden.

Another plus is that tires are reasonably priced!

 

I didn't have revolvers (except for the spare tire) when I bought my '97. I had "muscle car" wheels. I put on Coventry hornets.

 

Check out post #32:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...8-88008/page2/

There are some paint options to update the look and keep the revolver wheels:

 

That's to allow for the shockmounts collapsing.
I'm way old school. but if the designers thought they looked ok, who am I to argue? When you look at older cars, they sure don't look modern with skinny tires, etc., but that's the appeal - they're not modern. I won't be keeping mine long enough to be 50 yrs old, but just sayin'. OTOH, I always look at customized cars that are nicely done and appreciate the money and effort that goes into it. I guess the ultimate of that are the street rods, and I always turn my head to look at those. SO, there's room for everyone. 1 vote for the revolvers. Charlie's top photo of paint schemes looks pretty good. Chromes look a little flashy for my taste, but my E-type wires were chrome, so......

 

An inexpensive improvement would be to update the center caps to the style like Phil has in his pic above. That alone would take a few years off the Revolvers.

A little more money could get you a fresh set of solid lug nuts from Adamesh and help a bit too.

 

I almost didn't buy my '99 because of the Revolver Rims. Now I've come to really like them. I know they are old school but, I like the chrome.

 

That's a great blue and the chrome goes really well! Reminds me of the '64 corvette convert blue w/white top and chrome wheels I'll never own

 

THat is one nice looking car! tnx

 

The chrome definitely looks great on your car. I have the same color....so I will most probably get mine chromed. Very helpful. Tnx

 

I always liked the last facelift xjs wheels and thought they would have looked great on the xk8.