Please forgive the long set up. I have an 05 Super V8, stored for the winter. I purchased "Ruby" (that's right, she has a name) last fall before the snow started falling here in Minnesota. It came with blizzak tires and I only put about 50 miles on her until storing for the winter. I could drive it, just choose not to.

Our daily driver is an 03 Mercedes s430 rear wheel drive and have no issues getting around in the snow with blizzak tires. I'm old enough to have driven for years in cars whose only option was rear wheel drive. I assume the Super V8 handling would be similar to the s430 but don't need to drive it in the winter so I may never know. OK enough of that. Spring is not too far away and I need to shop for tires.

I had the opportunity to purchase some Tobia wheels (different post) but decided against it. I was mainly interested in the tires as they are Pirelli p-zeros. The current owner confirmed they fit on his 04 XJR with no mods but left only a 10 mm clearance in the rear outer. I came to the realization that even if they fit, the clearance would be too tight for my comfort. Add to that, the Pirelli's are not directional but asymmetrical, and since the wheels were staggered, could not be rotated.

I've done my shopping, checked reviews and have decided on the Michelin pilots. I drive mostly city but enough highway that my primary want is a quiet and comfortable ride. Both P Zero's and Pilots are rated high for quiet. I use Michelin on my Mercedes in the non winter months and am happy with the quiet and handling. There are plenty of opinions out there and I've read many. I don't think I can go wrong with either tire frankly but I've made the decision to go with Michelin Pilots. So to close out the rambling and get to my question, the 19 inch wheels on my Super V8.

As I understand it, the more tire (less rim) leads to a more comfortable ride. This "ride quality" is the premise of my question.

I noticed that the 05 model year XJ's all had 18 inch OEM wheels except the Super V8/ and Portfolio which had the 19".

Is there a reason that Jaguar did this? Is it because of the supercharger?

Would 18 inch wheels with the aforementioned tires negatively impact vehicle performance?

Is there a reason one cannot or would choose not to put 18" wheels on a Super V8?

I've read several posts on non Jaguar cars and as per usual, opinions vary, but wondering the opinions of fellow Jaguar owners who may or may not have made changes to their ride. I've read here where a few folks went to 20 inch but not the other way around.

As always, I appreciate the input.

 

In a word ... fashion.

Even the 18 inch are rock hard. 16 inch would be much better.

 

I believe that the 19 inch wheels accommodate the brembo brakes, too.

Shorter sidewall = cornering performance.

Thanks Mag

 

You can put 18" on the Brembo equipped cars, there was an 18" factory wheel for the Super V8 in Europe. I ran some 18" from an XF on my XJR one winter.

 

Thanks Cambo. I was curious about the Brembo brakes that you and Mag mention. You mention you ran them one winter. Sounds like it was a one time experience? What, if anything did you notice in ride performance?

 

XJR & SuperV8 up to 2005MY had Brembo brakes which are bigger than the normal XJ6/XJ8 and even the later XJR/SuperV8 that got Teeve brakes.

Yes actually it was only for 3 months & I couldn't say if it was a better ride or not, hard to judge when you are driving on snow & ice.

 

Wow, did not know 18" rims would clear the brembo brake calipers. Is this true of all jaguar 18" rims or is there a certain offset or styling characteristic that enables this fit?

This is great to know.

Thanks- Mag

 

I replaced the 19" summer tires with 18" wheels and all season tires on my 2005 Super V8 a few years back for winter and never took them off, the ride was so much nicer. I will say I probably prefer the look of the 19" wheels but not enough to give up the quiet ride.

 

The benefit of non SC X350s (not having the Brembos) is that you can put 17" wheels and tyres for a bigger comfort and cheaper cost (at the cost of fashion, for those fond of big wheels...)
This is what I did to equip my X350 with winter tyres on a set of OEM Jaguar 17" wheels. Fully pleased with it.

 

BRG, if you don't mind me asking, what specific year and model vehicle did you swap the 18 inch wheels from? I may want to give it a try but not really sure how to shop for them.

 

I put on some Jaguar Tucana wheels that I found on Ebay. Like you I wasn't really sure what would fit so I stuck with OEM wheels (if I remember correctly I found a thread here where someone else had used the same wheels).

 

I presume they were 8.5" width vs the 8" to accommodate the Brembo?

 

Pretty sure the Tucana wheels are 18x8 so I am not convinced that 8.5 widths are absolutely required. I do remember that finding wheel fitment information was bit of an Easter egg hunt, not much to go on really.

 

Yup ... Tucana's are 18"x8; it's only (OEM) 19" (eg Polaris) and 20" wheels that are 8½.

 

I don't think you need larger width rims to accomodate the Brembos, it's the size (18") that counts.
And for 18" rims, the normal tyre dimensions are indeed 235/50/18 so no need to go beyond 8" for a width of 235.

 

Going to need tires soon so I'm looking now. I am not happy with highway noise coming from the Continental 235/50/18 on her now even though they did quiet down a bit as they wore. I am leaning towards Michelin Pilots, does anyone have a better choice?


I am far more concerned with comfort and quiet then performance.

 

I have never found a better tyre than Michelin Pilot. Have compared them on the same cars with Pirellis, Dunlop and Goodyear.

 

If you want 18" then go for wheels off an XF.



The "Venus" wheel is 18"x8.5 with 46mm offset, perfect fit on the X350

 

I have been on Michelin Primacy 235/50 X 18 and absolutely love them. They are quiet, balance very well and have all the grip the car needs.
Have used p-zeros which are hard and give a harsh ride, not to mention dreadful to balance!

Of course, it is hot here for many months, no snow or ice!!

 

Well I was able to locate some Tucana 18 x 8 inch wheels. Checking with the vendor to see if they have center caps available also. If not, I'll stick with the 19" stock wheels and the Michelin Pilots.