Will these fit my '97 or not??
 

Some websites/sellers say yes, others say no. I have always liked this style of wheel. Is the offset correct or a problem?

BMW 17" OEM M-Power BBS 2 Piece Wheels With New Tires Sorry, listing gone.

This seller says they should (scroll down to size/fitment):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-WHEELS-RI...75861563164474

But others say the specific BMW wheel in the same size isn't correct. So....I'm ?????????????????? puzzled.

Bolt pattern for your 97 is 5 by 120.65 (4.75")

Right. I see sources that say 5X120 is ok and 5X120.7 is ok (like the second wheel ad on Ebay), so maybe the only way to know is to actually try to fit the wheel on??

OK...here's some specs we all need to know for our 17" wheels: the 5X120 or 5X4-3/4" bolt pattern and 17 X 8" or 8.5" wheel is followed by the offset, which is 15-30mm for the front, and 20-25mm for the rear. But the center bore is important for aftermarket or later wheels, too because at 73.9mm I found that many later wheels have a smaller bore. So, anything less than 73.9 will not fit over the center spindle shaft end and would have to be machined to a minimum of 73.9mm.

Next question: The tires that are on the wheels I'm looking at are Kumho Ecsta AST ZR rated 235/45R-17. Not exactly a high priced tire, but only a few hundred miles on them. It's going from my current 245 section width down to 235 on the 8" and 8.5" rims that concerns me. All 4 tires are the same size, and he says they are directional. Dunno about being directional, but his theory was to be able to rotate front to back even tho the back rims are wider.

Have any of you decreased your tire width or had any experience with this...or these Kumho AST tires?

Did a little more research on these tires. They are the cheapest of the Kumho ecstas, and are not Z speed rated. I suspect that the seller put the cheapest tires on these rims he could, either to sell the set or sell the car. Not bad tires, but way undersize if it is truly an M5 BMW. Even undersize for a standard 1998 540i. I like the rims, but I don't think those tires are adequate for my (or our) car(s). Any opinions?

I've never heard of anyone directly bolting on a BMW wheel onto a Jag. I'd be careful...ours are 'hub centric' and if the bore pattern is off any, the lug nuts will not fit and you'll be doing all sorts of machining to get them to...which cant be good. These cars are already so very sensitive to any errors in the wheels and is always felt by the driver, especially at highway speeds.

Good point. It's just hard to find many choices of wheels in the correct Jaguar fit. Maybe I'll just get new tires and live with the Revolvers. :(

Rim alternatives
 

Oldjag, I'm not sure what your goal is with the BMW rims but FWIW this is what I just went through. Bought my '97 8 a couple months ago because of the looks, however the original revolvers were close to revolting, weak try at alteration. It became my cause to replace those with something else, did a nationwide CraigsList search and came up with 18" Hydras about 2000 miles away. Did the shipping via BusFreighter and now have something that is more acceptable to my eyes.

I also came across this vendor that has a good selection of reconditioned 8 rims that might give you some ideas as well as reasonable prices, good luck! Drill down to XK8 wheels at originalwheels.com, choose an appropriate year.

I altered my tire size leaning toward improved ride, but, I put 600 freeway miles a week on my '97. The original size was 245/50-17, I got my car with 245/45-17 causing it to set a little low and ride rough (the totally used up front suspension bushings and spring pads not withstanding). I put new 235/55-17 (General AS-3) on it last September and I like the difference a lot. Again, you have to look at my mission profile for justification.

That being said, these tires are great in the pouring rain and the road noise is minimal as well. After 10k they are holding up well and look like they'll make 40k with my type of driving. Haven't had a chance to test them in a few inches of snow.

Mike

I just got new wheels for my 97. I went with 17 x 8 Coventry Chrome Hornets. My problem was I didn't have the original Jag wheel nut. I got the wheels from Discount Tires for a great price that was to include the wheel nuts. TSW who makes the wheel does not stock them. They could not get them locally for a reasonable price. Jag dealer wanted $32 per nut!! They ended up ordering from Adamesh. Price was about $90 including shipping from the UK for 20 . So I am waiting for them to get here to mount the wheels. Tires are 245/45 17.

Please show pictures of your car with the Hornets when installed. I'm still interested in installing the Hornets or Whitleys from Coventry in my car.

Felipe,
Will do. Price was too good to pass at $89 a wheel from Discount Tires.

$89!!!! May this be an error from their part??? Lowest price I have seen is $177. You got a really great deal!!! I will check right now Discount Tires online to see if I get the same price. Good Luck.

Thanks.

Just check prices with Discount Tires online. i didn't noticed in your first post that yours are chrome. Well, the prices on their site for the 17x8 5-120.65 are

Hornet chrome - $280 with a $70 web only savings offer = $210

Hornet Silver - $184 with a $70 web only savings offer = $114

Still, better prices than other sites but very distant from your $89. Absolutely you got a terrific deal!!!

Correction, the $70 web offer is for the set of four, not for each wheel.

My invoice was $356.00 for 4 wheels. I got them from my local Discount Tire store.

Get these from originalwheels.com: http://www.originalwheels.com/jaguar...eels-59719.jpg

Put the 8 inch width wheels on all 4 corners along with 255 tires. Then you can rotate at will. They are $265 each.

Rev, although I love your Apollos, I need to stick with the 17x8 since I have 4 new original Pirelli Assimetrico and driving 4-5K miles a year, will take a time to replace them.

Felipe Pr,
Coventry Hornets installed

Nice, I noticed yours are chrome, still can't believe the price deal you achieved. They are 17' right?? It give the right look to your car. I haven't bought mines yet but will do soon, great investment!!!:icon_toast:

Was considering the "hub centric" fitment of our wheels, and looked at the backside of a bunch of our standard 17" Revolvers presently for sale on Ebay. Interestingly, they are not all the same at the hub/wheel bore hole. Some have an angled taper right at the top of the hole, then a verticle bore. Some have a short vertical bore, then a taper, then a vertical bore the rest of the way. Some of the taper/vertical dimensions didn't even look the same throughout the wheels (all the same Revolvers).

Could this be a front/rear wheel difference? If so, what about rotation? Year-to-year difference from 1997-1999? I've never heard of any problems with mounting either year to any other year.

Then....IF the style of BMW wheel that I like matches the wheel dimensions...including the center bore diamter...is that enough for a match, OR is there still going to be an issue with the "difference" in those revolver bores?

Revolver:
http://images16.fotki.com/v387/photo...meQQ_12-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

http://images51.fotki.com/v102/photo.../596895-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

http://images51.fotki.com/v628/photo...0_large-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

BMW/BBS (all same dimensions):
http://images15.fotki.com/v587/photo...7D60_57-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki
another:
http://images50.fotki.com/v1573/phot...Qg60_57-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

But probably not this one?
http://images55.fotki.com/v659/photo...62225_o-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki