Risking being accused of being a heretic with all of you Jag-Lovers, I am wondering if anyone has ever fitted steel wheels to their XJ40. I am hoping to fit studded winter radials to my '94, living in an area very prone to black ice. I am not a fan of mounting and balancing on the same set of wheels twice a year, and would rather a dedicated tire/wheel setup. I would consider acquiring used alloy wheels however I live on a remote archipelago and there are most certainly no Jag wreckers nearby. Curious about the shape of the wheel studs and also the fit of the hub boss which I think is camfered. With kind appreciation for any information tendered.
I have a set of 4 alloy rims off my 94 Sovereign parts car, tires are pretty shot (cracked) but rims are excellent.
I’m in Victoria on the island, PM me if you’re interested and we’ll figure out the shipping etc
Hi, plain steel wheels were fitted to lots of xj 40s here in the UK. They had plastic covers to give the effect of alloys.
Just like the alloy wheels they use the hub boss as the mount for centralising the wheel. The centre hole is punched through with a tool that leaves a taper / chamfer to the inner edge.
I don’t think the wheel studs fitted to steel wheeled cars were any different from those for alloy wheeled cars, but it’s highly likely the wheel nuts for steels were different, I’m guesssing tapered where they contact the wheel rather than a flat washer like on most of the alloys.
If you manage to find a set of steel replacements that have the same PCD, it’s important that the centre hole is a snug fit on your hub boss too.
Hope this helps, good luck.
Hello Sean …
The wheel pattern on your 94 is as follows :
Standard rim sizes - 15 x 7" up to 16 x 8" originally fitted.
Bolt pattern - 5 x 120.65 mm
Wheel offset - 35 mm
center hub bore - 73.7 mm
I recently decided to replace my 15" teardrop wheels with some 16" wheels from a BMW which are “almost” exactly the same size…
16 x 7" size
5 x 120 mm (.65 mm equals .024 inches difference) in bolt pattern
20mm offset (wheel sits out 1/2" more)
74.1mm center bore (.015" difference)
Despite the very slight differences the wheels fit very nicely.
Thanks for your replies, gentlemen. I have reached out to Larry off list with his kind offer. Special appreciation to Grooveman for wading in to this discussion, as you are outnumbered 3 - 1 by cold/wet islander folk. I would have guessed that at the first reading of discussion of studded winter radials in my post, you would have gone out for a drive with your air conditioner on max and quietly mocked us.
Well it took some time, but the cat is finally shod with Studded Winter Radials, mounted on original alloys identical to my summer shoes, thanks to abercanadian (Larry). I chose Nokia Hakkapallita 9 Fully Studded for their excellent rating on black ice. Tested out yesterday on a frosty and icy 2 hour drive, and I can verify that they stick to the road in these conditions like glue.
A close up:
And despite it being Xmas Eve, there is no rest for the wicked as a log barge loads in the background:
Note the water dripping from the leaper’s chin and paws, the cat now ready for the temperature to drop:
Merry Christmas all
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Love it!!! Driving yer kitty in the winter!
