Anyone have any experience running 9.5" wide rear rims on their X350? Yesterday I picked up a complete set of five new "take-off" 19" Sabre Chrome rims for 500 bucks on Craigslist. Absolutely unbelievable, they are flawless! I was so ecstatic and blinded by the deal of a lifetime, only to find out that they are staggered and originally sold for the XK model. Two rims are 8.5" wide like our X350/358 version and three rims are 9.5" wide which was the factory setup on the XK. I need to check the offset tonight to see where that extra inch is going. I'm guessing it all goes to the inside because the face profile and lug depth look identical across all five wheels.

Now here is what is interesting to me... Stock tire size for the 2008 XK with staggered rims is 245/40-19 (8.5" rim) Front and 275/35-19 (9.5" rim) Rear. Interestingly the 2008 XJ runs a 255/40-19 on all four corners with 8.5" rims... sort of splitting the difference but actually pushing the upper end of what an 8.5" rim should take. According to most of the tire guides online, the 255 tire should mount up just fine on the 9.5" rim. I just need to keep in mind that the 255 stretched onto the 9.5" rim will lose a little section height vs. mounting it on a 8.5 or 9" rim.

Overall I'm thinking I may do 245/45-19 up front and 255/45-19 in the rear with this setup. The question is whether I have that extra inch in the back to accommodate the 9.5" rim? I'm hopeful because the stock 19" tire is 255 which would settle around 10" in width on the OEM 8.5" rim but that extra inch would be split between inside and outside. Worst case scenario I suppose I would need to space the rims out 1/2". I'll mount up the bare rim tonight on the rear axle to see how it looks... fingers crossed! I absolutely love the chrome sabre rims on the X350. Well worth the effort.

Hey! On the plus side I figured out an actual benefit of our air suspension... it's easy to check wheel clearance by letting the air out gently.

 

Pleasantly surprised... the 9.5" rims are actually set out 1-1/4" compared to the 8.5" wheels. Believe it or not that means the wider rims have an extra 1/4" of frame clearance inside vs. the stock 8.5". I'm guessing that is because the XK runs a 275mm tire in the rear and the axle / hub setup probably isn't all that different from the XJ. They probably encountered similar difficulty clearing the frame. The 8.5Jx19 #C2C33717 for the X358 is identical to the XK part number per JEPC so I know that the 8.5" wheel will fit up front. The only consequence of the 9.5" rim in the back is that the rear wheels look a bit wide on the car but if I stick to a more narrow tire like 255 or 265 I think it will reduce the effect.

Mounting each rim and giving it a spin test on the rear axle... I also found that one of my three 9.5" wheels is bent pretty badly. At least now I know why they were sold cheaply. The bend is on the inside bead and it looks like a prime candidate for a quick repair so I'm not too worried. That will be my spare anyway.

I'm going to pick up some used tires for the 9.5" rims and give them a try. Will post back on my progress.

 

Here's the rims and tires I found off a 2016 XJR I install them on my 2008 the backs are 295/30/20 there tight but looks great with wide tires

 

Awesome look, that gives me hope! I think I may try a 275/40-19 in the back. I'd like to get a little more sidewall on mine to keep the ride reasonably comfortable and the inside wheel spacing looks okay to take it. The X351 XJ runs a 275/40-19 on the rear wheels but the rim is 10" wide. XK runs a 275/35-19 on a 9.5" rim. I think I'll take a gamble that the 275/40 will seat alright on the 9.5" wheel. That should give me ~27.66 overall diameter on the rear... biased a little taller because of the narrow rim.

Front I'll go for 245/45-19 which will give me ~27.68 overall diameter. In both cases, front and rear, I am getting a little more sidewall than the factory setup so ride comfort should be decent.

Thanks for the pic Mussel. I can't wait to get my windows tinted out. Great look with those dark rims.

My car is a mechanical and ~cosmetic resurrection project. I've been working on it slowly for about a year now and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Hope to have her up and running in time for the good weather this year.

 

2008 BMW 750i runs nearly the exact setup I am proposing... 245/45-19 front, 275/40-19 rear. The only difference is that BMW runs these tires on 9" front and 10" rear rims. I'll be running the same tires on 8.5" front and 9.5" rear so I'll get a little more sidewall bulge but overall the BMW factory setup gives me confidence that overall diameter, sidewall stiffness and contact patch should be just right. What I might do is add a thin hub-centric 5mm spacer to the front wheels to visually step them out a little so it looks more consistent with the rear spacing. I need to check to make absolutely sure that our hub has enough depth to take a 5mm spacer and still leave room to center the rims on the hub. Spacers can get really dangerous if you move the rim out past the hub. If memory serves I think there is plenty of meat on the hub to shim out 5mm up front.

 

The rear 295 I'll probably put the 275 there pretty close to the wheel well too. Post a pic of your rims when you can.

 

Main issue I see is that with XK staggered wheels, you will probably substantially modify the handling compared to what was originally designed and balanced by Jaguar for the X350.
Not only because of the very different tyres front/rear, but also because of the substantially modified offset of the rear wheels.
Curious to know how will your car behave...

 

My previous 2004 ran the 18" rims with 235/50-18 tires and it handled a whole lot better than my current '04 with 17" rims and 235/55-17's. I'll definitely update this post when I get the rims and tires installed, may be a little while though. Right now the interior is gutted because I'm replacing the headliner and pillar trim fabric. Once I finish the interior work I am going to move on to a coil-over front strut conversion and I'll install the new rims prior to alignment. This car was mechanically totaled by years of neglectful ownership... giving her a new life! It's been a really fun project so far. My goal is to have it up and running for memorial day weekend.