Help needed with wheel/tire combination

XK
1

Dear all,

The archives were of little help with this query,

I got my XK120 a couple of years ago with lovely 15"x5.5 E-type wires, colour coded to the interior: I love the combination but with 15-6.4, the dimater of the tires is too small, I get close to 3000 rpm at 100kmh and the wet handling is a horror.

So finally I decided to go for 16" and a 3.07 rear end. Depending or tire size, I would get 2400-2500 rpm at 100kmh, which is really what I need, as The Netherlands is very much a highway country and I do drive the car on long journeys abroad.

Limora sells nice 72 spoke 16x6 or 16x5.5 wires that I can paint in any colour I want, so from that side, my choice is made.

My question is: what tires would you recommend with either combination?

With the 17" steering wheel, the steering of my car feels really light. I am really tempted by modern rubber and 195/80 or even 205.

What do you think? Clearance issues?

Many thanks for any help.

Lluís

2

I’m a bit surprised to see 600 x 16 wheels offered in 72 spoke. I thought all the 72 spoke wheels were 15".

3

Hi,

Limora offers them and even the price is quite decent: Speichenrad für Jaguar | 337415 | Limora Oldtimer

Best,

Ll.

4

There has been some discussion on this forum about wheel rim and tire width and clearance problems on the rear. As I recall, the consensus was to go with 5.5" rim width and 185-16 radials.

5

Thanks. I know someone tried and it was OK to use 205 in an XK150… I would like this combination too in the 120.

6

I have 16X6 MWS wire wheels 72 spokes, with 205/70 R16 tires.

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