I am not in love with the VDP rims on my 98 XJ8 VDP so...

1st question - which do you all think looks better for a sport look on the XJ8 the "Penta" or "Asteroid" or "Other"

2nd- These 18" rims will fit an xj8 with enough clearance correct? I think yes but just for the record want an official answer

3rd - I have been looking for a set of Asteroid rims for a while no Luck less than 700.00 shiped, anyone know where a nice set is located for 500 shipped?

4th - what is a good "reasonably priced" tire to match in this size good wear and traction?

I want to switch rims just need to find a set, thanks for your input

 

1 -I think the Asteroid is flat out the best wheel ever produced for any XJ. They instantly make any X308 look 20 times better.

2 -Yep, they fit any X300/X308 perfectly.

4 - I love the Kumho Ecsta LE Sports (255/40/18) I'm running on the Asteroids on my XJR. Loads of grip, very good transitional response, not loud at all for a very high performance summer tire, and looks like I'll probably get close to 35,000 or so miles out of them, and I drive VERY hard, so if you don't you can probably get more. All for only $160 a tire in the stock 255/40/18 size from TireRack. Another VERY similar and excellent "budget" tire is the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. Extremely similar to the LE Sport in everything but sidewall stiffness. It has a less stiff sidewall, so transitional response isn't as good, but it rides better and is SILENT. A 255/40/18 is $172 at TireRack. Either is an excellent choice. If you need an all-season tire, I had excellent luck with the Kumho Ecsta 4X. No where near the grip of the summer tires obviously, but excellent in everything but deep snow, and only $170 a tire. I heartily recommend running a set of summers and a set of dedicated snow tires for the winter though. I got through 6" of snow here recently during that first winter storm that came through the midwest a couple months back with my Blizzaks. It was hilarious passing stuck 4WD trucks in my RWD sports saloon

Best of luck!

 

+1 the asteriod rims look good. The '98-2000 VDP rims look horrible.

I have asteriods on my 2000 VDP with Contiental Contiextremecontact tires. Look at my gallery to see what it looks like. I have a picture of what my car looked like before I put the asteriods on it too. I have 245/45/18 tires on it.