Dropping wheel size by a couple of inches - any advice?

[spreadsheet monkey]

I am planning to sell the 20" Perseus alloys on my XK8, and replace them with Jaguar 17 or 18 inch wheels, to improve the ride and save me a few quid when replacing tyres.

I found this web page listing all XK8 wheels - can I just swap the wheels for smaller ones, or is there anything restricting me doing this? The car is an unmodified XK8, not an XKR, so brake disc clearance should not be an issue. The rolling radius will also be virtually identical going from 285/30/20 tyres to 245/50/17 tyres.

http://ourjaguarxk8.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/c-x16-j...

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Wednesday 6th April 11:28

[andyman_2006]

spreadsheet monkey said:

I am planning to sell the 20" Perseus alloys on my XK8, and replace them with Jaguar 17 or 18 inch wheels, to improve the ride and save me a few quid when replacing tyres.

I found this web page listing all XK8 wheels - can I just swap the wheels for smaller ones, or is there anything restricting me doing this? The car is an unmodified XK8, not an XKR, so brake disc clearance should not be an issue. The rolling radius will also be virtually identical going from 285/30/20 tyres to 245/50/17 tyres.

http://ourjaguarxk8.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/c-x16-j...

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Wednesday 6th April 11:28

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Wont it look a little odd on 17" wheels? even a Corsa VXR has 18" wheels now, and you'll lose some of the handling qualities surely? in that the tyre wall with flex and roll more?

[andyman_2006]

andyman_2006 said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

I am planning to sell the 20" Perseus alloys on my XK8, and replace them with Jaguar 17 or 18 inch wheels, to improve the ride and save me a few quid when replacing tyres.

I found this web page listing all XK8 wheels - can I just swap the wheels for smaller ones, or is there anything restricting me doing this? The car is an unmodified XK8, not an XKR, so brake disc clearance should not be an issue. The rolling radius will also be virtually identical going from 285/30/20 tyres to 245/50/17 tyres.

http://ourjaguarxk8.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/c-x16-j...

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Wednesday 6th April 11:28

---

Wont it look a little odd on 17" wheels? even a Corsa VXR has 18" wheels now, and you'll lose some of the handling qualities surely? in that the tyre wall with flex and roll more?

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Just looked at the pic of your Jag on your garage profile, it looks great on the 20" split rims, personally id keep em!

[spreadsheet monkey]

andyman_2006 said:

andyman_2006 said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

I am planning to sell the 20" Perseus alloys on my XK8, and replace them with Jaguar 17 or 18 inch wheels, to improve the ride and save me a few quid when replacing tyres.

I found this web page listing all XK8 wheels - can I just swap the wheels for smaller ones, or is there anything restricting me doing this? The car is an unmodified XK8, not an XKR, so brake disc clearance should not be an issue. The rolling radius will also be virtually identical going from 285/30/20 tyres to 245/50/17 tyres.

http://ourjaguarxk8.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/c-x16-j...

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Wednesday 6th April 11:28

---

Wont it look a little odd on 17" wheels? even a Corsa VXR has 18" wheels now, and you'll lose some of the handling qualities surely? in that the tyre wall with flex and roll more?

---

Just looked at the pic of your Jag on your garage profile, it looks great on the 20" split rims, personally id keep em!

Thanks. I love the look of the 20s, but the ride on rough roads is pretty harsh. 17s or 18s were standard on these cars back in the day - they're hardly tiny

I'm not planning to explore the handling limits to the point where tyre profile makes a difference. Happy just to make a few £££ and improve the ride quality at the same time.

[P700DEE]

Don't get the 17" wheels, there are very few tyre choices in the sizes needed and they are expensive. By all means get a set of 18" wheels the XK8 and R look fine on them and tyres are much cheaper. Assuming you don't have Brembos and you are talking X100 you can chose any wheels from the range. Cheapest 18" tend to be Flutes as fitted to early 8s with Double 5 the standard for the XKR much more popular. The 18" wheels from the later cars are rarer as most owners chose the 20" or 19" options.

[spreadsheet monkey]

P700DEE said:

Don't get the 17" wheels, there are very few tyre choices in the sizes needed and they are expensive. By all means get a set of 18" wheels the XK8 and R look fine on them and tyres are much cheaper. Assuming you don't have Brembos and you are talking X100 you can chose any wheels from the range. Cheapest 18" tend to be Flutes as fitted to early 8s with Double 5 the standard for the XKR much more popular. The 18" wheels from the later cars are rarer as most owners chose the 20" or 19" options.

Agree with your comments - the 245/50/17 tyres are very expensive, so I ruled out the 17" wheels. Have got a set of refurbed 18" Flutes arriving next week hopefully.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Got the 18s on it now. Noticeably lighter steering when parking, and a more comfortable ride when on the move.

Made about £750 profit after buying a set of refurbed 18" Jaguar wheels to replace the 20" set. Hope the new owner of my Perseus wheels likes them! They looked great, and I will miss the looks and the wider stance...