As much as I love the original 15" wheels on my Series 1’s I can’t seem to find any hi-performance summer tires in the right size anymore for a reasonable price; I need to find a larger wheel for the car I’m building now. Don’t want all-season minivan tires and I can’t afford Pirelli’s
I looked at a whole bunch of Jag wheels but there is one that I like that was used on the S-types of the early 2000’s. They look alot like minilites - I think they’re referred to as ‘Spirits’. They’re cheap and plentiful and come in 16" x 7.5"
The problem of course is that they are 5x108 bolt pattern and the XJ’s are 5x120 so I’d need an adapter. They are also from a front drive car so the backset is gonna be a thing but I think the right size adapter will take up alot of the excess space.
I’m wondering if anyone else here has done this with these wheels.
Hey Mike. Our Series 1 of 31 years came with “hotwire” style mag wheels which I never liked. When we brought the car out of hibernation in '16 I bought a set if Kent wheels which were first available in the Series 2. I bought Pirelli’s - the variety they produce for Mazda and Toyota soft roaders. The vendor offered to change them if I found them noisy or thought the handling inferior. No driving issues and they run silently. I think they’re called “scorpions” and are correct 205/70/15 profile, preserving the boulevarde ride. They were $AUD140 each. Can’t comment on speed rating requirements in your location. Paul
On my series 1 I used Toyo Proxes CF2 205/70R15 on the original steel wheels.
They’re a great summer tire; they grip very well, low sound, and (in Holland) they’re around 60 Euros a piece.
I don’t know availability in your parts of the world of course.
I find that I can order those tires - the only decent 15" tires I can get easily find off-the-rack are Goodyear Integrity. I have them on 2 of my Jags and they’re fine but for the one I’m working on now I really want a serious performance tire.
Mike,
having to use adapters doesn’t exactly sound like a simple solution. You might think about the 16"wheels used on the XJS. They offer a variety of more defined tires.
Good luck
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
A friend of mine had his v12 Series 3 wrecked in an accident. He gave me the car’s XK8 wheels. Look really butch on an XJ6, if a little out of character. I used them to push the car around when rebuilding. They are 8" wide - and just rub the tie rod end. Expect 7" wheels would present no contact problems.
