Hello All.

I did some things and ended up with an extra set of XK8 rims. They are the ones from my XK8 that I replaced with a set of 18inch rims from an XKR. Long story.

I'm wondering, for folks who have made this swap, what did you do with the fact that (and maybe it's just this set) the hub bearing cap and hub axle sticks out so far that the cosmetic jaguar hub cap will not and cannot fit over the rim hole that accepts the cap??? Spacers? This could be trouble.

Anyways. It may take some getting used to but, I'm not sure if I like them as much as the OE lattice rims I'm replacing. Hmm. I guess that's another story...

I will be able to git some better photos tomorrow.


The bearing bolt extends past the bearing access hole in the rim enough to not allow the cosmetic jag emblem to be clipped into the rim.

 

You need a spacer. I've done it.

 

What size, if you don't mind...
Front an rear?

 

Just front. About 3/8" as I recall. Can't access the car at the moment.

 

Got ya... I was thinking a half an inch or so. Then, I was reading the Bernard site. He says, I think, 20mm... Great site!

I hope I can figure it out. I like the look - or it will grow on me.
For now, I've painted the grease cap and am going to fit them, see what I can do down the line. I'm still open to suggestions tho. Of course.

 

It's a nice wheel, looks good on your red car.

 

Thanks Man... It's going to take some getting used to but I agree...

I just went to move the car, all rims on, a NO GO...
Seems the steering arm, the knuckle, comes up against the LH rim... Not the RH tho. Just one of those things I guess. Spacer is in my future. 1/2 inch or 3/8ths is the question. PITA.

 

when fitting my 18" xk8 Flute alloys i used a 20mm spacer on the front, nothing on the rear

been like that for 7 years now

BB

 

Perfect bit O information. Thank you.

What I found (after writing my last post) was a balance WEIGHT! I pried it off and no more touch on the RH side. Not the left. Now, I can turn the wheel full lock both ways and nothing touches BUT the streering knuckles are far to close to the rim for my liking. I know everything is "set" and shouldn't be moving around but, in my (little) mind, having moving parts that close will always bother me. I'll be getting and need the spacers.

 

JJJ,

I'd also get the wheels rebalanced using a tyre place that uses stick-on weights that are positioned precisely on the right position on the inner face of the wheel and not just clipped onto the inner rim.

Cheers

Paul

 

Hey BB... If you have any leads on the 20mm spacers I'd be grateful. Rather than take my chances and getting the wrong thing...

Worried about the bore size. I've been reading conflicting information about diameter.

 

I guess I would also like to be sure the dust/grease cap AND the factory decorative cap will fit. Does 20mm allow for all that. Today, I was tempted to grind down the lip on the grease cap to allow a better fit for the rim itself. I clearly have more work ahead of me.

 

i remember getting the ' spacer ' online

i bought a Jaguar XJ pattern 5 stud 20mm hub-centric billet alloy spacer ( dont forget Ford changed the PCD in around 2006 with the X-type etc , so you need the early XJ fitting ones, )

as for the grease cap, you could run without it if you only do limited miles, or adapt a badge cap to 'fit' ,
i simply pained a new grease cap silver

with my tyres being such ultra low profile, the only issue i ever had was the tyre rubbing slightly on the bodykit sills on extreme lock while up on the ramps , but a small adjustment solved this

as for the steering clearance, i had no issues at all, but i did have the stiffer rack mounting blocks fitted ( polly ones ) limiting rack lateral movements to a minimum

BB

ps, you can also buy a pair of 5mm spacers ( normal ) to see if they make things better for the hub cap issues as they are much cheaper than 25mm spacers if you see what i mean

 

I don't mean to be a pain on the subject but I do, I have a few questions and considering what's '"""riding"""' on the decision I guess I better be careful.

I need hubcentric spacers from what I have read. I am still not clear on measurements on the inner most lip of the 1990 hub... that is, the load bearing area of the hub. 74.1?

Then, I am not sure of the length of the lug bolts I have on the OE hub and IF a NON bolt on 15 or 20mm spacer will leave me with not enough bite for the lug nutts with additional 20mm of spacer in the mix.

At the same time, just because I'm lazy and haven't looked, I am concerned that if I go with a BOLT ON type there will be so much remaining length on the OE hub lug bolts that the rim won't fit and I'll have to cut the excess off the hub bolts in order to fit the spacer set up. PITA
ohhhhhh, if money were no object...

 

firstly

i am DIY mechanic, and this was around 8 years ago i fitted mine

i will say DO NOT fit spacer only ( non-bolted ) 20 or 25mm units,

you MUST fit Hubcentric bolt on units, they will ( or should ) come with low profile head fitting bolts that screw into the existing hub lug nut place, i would also use a torque wrench and also fit them with thread lock , these will hold on the hubcentric units centrally , you will need to measure the inner hole size so they fit over the inner hole of the spacer this is true, i cant give you this measurement, as i dont have your wheels or know what brand and quality of hub centric spacer you will obtain

the rim when fitted does not have a load point other then being held tight to the face of the hub centric unit centrally ( by design )




hope this helps

BB

 

i believe these are the ones you need ( 20mm ) they also sell 25mm etc etc

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20MM-5x12....c100005.m1851


but you have to confirm fitting first as i can not

please remember, Jaguar used only two PCD , all cars used 5x120.65 up to the modern Ford ere where is changed to 5x108 , !!! you need the 5x120.65 for your hubs, measure across the lugs to confirm this , centre of lug to centre of opposite lug , the 5x120.65 will also have the 73.9mm centres, where the newer Ford ones will have 71mm

any original hub thread length coming past the hub centric spacer ' should ' fit into the back of the alloy wheel as they usually have a recess to allow this, but check first, as other have cut off the excess ( but that could be for non Jaguar aftermarket wheels )??

BB

 

JJJ
If you remove a wheel and look at the centre part and also look carefully at the hub itself, you will see that the centre of the hub is a shallow male taper, and that the centre part of the wheel is a shallow femail taper. Surrounding these tapers is the flat part of the wheel, and hub, which carry the studs to which the wheelnuts do up. This is very precisely machined so that the flat parts are in contact when bolted up, but equally the tapers are also. The tapers ensure the wheel is exactly centrally located on the hub, and the flat parts ensure the two are firmly attached to each other. If the female taper on the wheel were too big for the male taper on the hub, the wheel would not be forced to be exactly central, if the taper was not deep enough so the flat surfaces contacted before the tapers were engaged, ditto.
So finding spacers that are properly made is crucial, and testing them against the hub and the rim is too. By fitting spacers you are swapping one mating surface for two, and aftermarket machining for factory, so the chance of errors is far greater.
The unique quality of the XJS, like the original XJ saloon is was based upon, is its blend of speed, handling and ride quality. As the great Bob Knight (the Jaguar engineer who designed the IRS rear axle and the chassis Refinement King of Jaguar said, "You cannot impress people with a Jaguar's speed, only with its refinement". Start on bigger wheels and thus lower profile tyres, and the refinement goes. I mean no disrespect to BB, these things are personal preferences. In your case, in a speed-limited country, do you need a 6% improvement in high speed (135 MPH plus) handling and stability at the expense of a harsh ride all the time?
Even when I changed my OEM 15 inch starfish rims to OEM 16 inch ones, the ride quality noticeably deteriorated. I did this for reasons of tyre availability and cost only; but I was shocked at the difference it made, and have spent ages fiddling with springs and dampers to get it back more closely to what it was. Even now, when I drive a friend's identical car, but with 15 inch rims and tyres, it is noticeably better in the ride department. So your going to 17 or 18 inch rims will seriously affect the ride quality, which is perhaps the most precious Jaguar characteristic. I am not, of course, saying "do no do it"; I am saying it is worth thinking about the engineering and in-use consequences, particularly so as your car is a convertible, and thus inherently less able to absorb road shocks than he coupe.

 

And there is the problem. I was going to go to 16inch for just this reason, And now those tires are becoming difficult to find. It's a conundrum.

 

Hello Greg and All... Greg, I read your post when you wrote it and I hope that you'll believe that my not responding only had to do with being on pause (still am) due to not having the spacers, not having made the change and to this point, not driving the car. She sits, still waiting for the adapters.

Anyways, I still have my 15inch wheels. Them, with a near brand new set of 15inch copper cobra tires - with makes me feel super silly. I just got them. That being said, if the change is/feels bad enough, I will/can go back.

So yes, I still don't have the spacers and have not experienced what the change will FEEL like while driving.

What I have on order (not exactly what I wanted) is a set of bolt on made to order 1 inch spacers from a Texas company. But, I kinda already don't like the idea. I've had the hubs off this car to do the bearing sets on both sides and I can only think that 1 inch is a huge difference. The "new" wheels are Jag XK8 wheels and the center bore and tapers should line up and fit snuggly. The guy was great about calling and making sure that what he's making is what I need.

The new wheels are 17inches.

We discussed the possibility of me finding a new USED set of XJS hubs, driving the old lugs out and replacing with a set of lugs that are 10 to 15mm longer to accommodate for a 10 or 15mm non bolt on hub centric spacer made to order. So my question...

Is it easy or possible to drive the old lug bolts out of the front hubs and place longer ones? Can longer bolts be sourced and would the issues you mentioned be remedied SOME with a smaller spacer? And,,, considering the workings of the races,,, would sourcing a 30yo hub lead me to a whole set of other issues - thinking damage, wear, wobbles and such? What a thing.

But, your right. I hit the gas hard once and while but am mostly a Sunday driver. The streets here a HORRIBLE and if this new set up only transmits more of that into the car that is something to think about. I'm embarrassed to say that much of this IS cosmetic and for no other reason. I guess I have some things to think about.

 

Tire availability is thee most important thing. I've heard the argument that if the speed limit is only 65 or 75, you don't need a V rated tire. Of course, near me, the limit is closer to 85, but still. Speed rating has a lot to do with shedding heat, so I think it's important anyway. More important is load rating. And the S rating I see people saying are "good enough" do not have the appropriate load rating. I'm willing to go to 16 inch... but those are becoming difficult to find now as well. Yes, a conundrum.