Hey guys so I recently put a new set of tires on my car (Continental 255x10) around 19 inch wheels and now the sidewalks are getting cut by the fenders when cutting the wheel to hard "only in reverse by what I can tell". I'm pretty sure the last set of tires were only 9.5inches wide up front instead of the now 10's. Im guessing this would be the cause of the rubbing? Thanks!

 

There are a number of resources to find this out, but the stock tire sizes should be listed under the arm rest lid. Unless you are trying something, you should stick with these sizes, as there are a number of good reasons for them. From memory, the stock wheels are not that wide, independently of diameter.

Separately, crumbling of the upper shock mount makes the front of the car sag, and could aggravate the situation, in case this particular combination of wheels/tires used to work, but no longer does. The tell-tale sign is the shock no longer being centered when you observe the mount from inside the engine compartment. Jaguar has also provided a reference ride height number, from wheel center to the edge of the fender.

PS: You might want to post some data, like the exact tire sizes front and back, as well as a picture of the wheel for us to be able to help better.

 

255 wide tires are generally the same width and should fit fine in front without rubbing. What wheels 19" are you using?


I would think worn out shock mounts or wheels with the wrong offset/wheel spacers would more than likely cause the tires to contact the fenders than the difference in widths between different brands of 255mm wide tires, which is generally within about 1/4".

 

There the Coventry Whitley's made for the Jaguars. By shock crumbling do you mean at the top of the actual shock tower under the hood is crumbling because there is in fact on both sides a red powder like substance that I haven't payed all that much attention to

 

Measure from the center of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch. I think 15.75" is original, and under 15" means shock mounts gone and perhaps even tired springs.

 

You are in luck. Sng.barratt and Welsh enterprises (jagsjagsjags) are having a price war on E-bay for upper shock mounts. They have never been so cheap. Red powder means yours are toast.

That will likely raise the front end up an inch or more and solve the majority of the rubbing.

 

Thanks for letting me know..would you happen to have the link?

 

link below - don't forget to ask for the forum member discount

SNG Barratt - The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Specialist

 

Search "XK8 Shock Mount" on E-bay and sort by Price. Scroll down to the first ones that offer a pair.


Most of the E-bay offerings give free shipping. Make sure if you are ordering direct that the total price matches the Ebay price, which is excellent.

 

But, with that perhaps problem solved, can you de-mystify my understanding of your tyre and wheel size?
Both Jaguar Cars and, to the best of my knowledge, all tyre manufacturers quote sizes in terms of -

• tyre casing width in mm - eg 275 - followed by
• tyre profile ratio - eg 35 (meaning tyre rolling height is 35% of width) - followed by
• wheel diameter in inches - eg R19 (meaning 19" diameter rims) - followed by -
• load and speed ratings.

The mixing of metric and imperial is unfortunate, but universal. Jaguar quotes OEM and Optional rim widths as well as diameters. Tyre manufacturers do not - but they may supply recommendations to support their tyres. BTW, rim widths are quoted as measured inside, not outside. Using your quoted case, 255/10R19 tyres would literally look like rubber bands . . . and no-one makes them.

I am not trying to be pedantic, but you sure have me confused - and it affects the advice given -

• maybe you DO have standard spec tyres (not as you quote), in which case, the front end sag and recommended fix is spot-on, or;
• maybe you have 10" wide rims with all the excess carried outwards, in which case they will clash with the wings/mudguards/fenders and for which, 255 wide tyres sound far too narrow (no amount of sag fix will overcome this), or;
• maybe you have an as yet unknown super-slim profile tyres.

Cheers,

Ken

 

Will do, appreciate it!

 

Sorry for the confusion, I'm not the best with all the fitment measurements. All I know is all four tires are 255 Continentals and the rims are 19 inches and actually I was wrong they're 9.5 not 10 inches wide. Originally when I bought the car it had 245's up front and 255's in the rear

 

With an XK8, you have the choice of 255/35R19 and 255/40R19's.

Both will work fine. the 35's are 26" tall and shouldn't rub, ever. The 40's are 27" tall and will very likely rub if your shock mounts are bad.

Because the XK8 has 3.06 rear gears and doesn't have an over abundance of tire shredding torque, I would go with the shorter 35's.

 

Thanks Kay,

So, originally Contis at all 4 corners with 245/35R19 up front and 255/35R19 at rear - certainly sound original specs, but I am assuming the '35' profile and perhaps with speed and load ratings of 97Y or similar. If your new tyres are same or similar, on the option 19" rims, then the new boots are not an issue and the tower mount R&R is spot-on fix.

BTW, and I don't recommend stripping off tyres to measure, don't overlook possibility that rear rims are wider than front. Dead easy to measure outer rim widths, then subtract 1/2" or so to derive inner rim width. My 20" are just so, and I know a road&track car that wears 10" wide rims at front and 12" wide rims at rear. Road cars tend to stop at 9" wide rims at front and 10-11" rim width at rear.

Perhaps if you DIY the top mounts as suggested, you could start a new thread with plenty of pics?

 

Thanks for the help. If I feel confident enough to do the job myself I will post up a definitely post thread of my experience