That's what I was thinking, too.

 

I agree also on the color of the car making a difference. I really like the look of Matthew Clark's 1987 XJSC. The chrome really looks nice on the black paint IMO. Looks like the chrome arch moldings tie into the chrome on the bumpers very well and to my eye looks factory.

 

I like them on black cars as well. I have had them on a black Mercury Grand Marquis and with some chromed rims the car looked pretty nice. Wish I still had it in fact.

 

Okay, has anyone here actually put them on? I think maybe the thing is that many people have an XJS that came with them, love their car, and feel insulted when people say the arches look bad.

I get maybe they didn't install them and got the best XJSs that was available to them, but why not try pulling them off and polishing the paint?

Anyways, this is what always comes to mind when someone mentions this.

 

I see what you mean with the over sized wheels. I see so few XJS' around Boise and I have never seen one with the way over sized wheels in person. Seems like this is happening more and more in larger cities.

I have seen a good deal for sale in California both XJS and XK8 with the way over sized wheels and to my eye makes the car look un Jag like. If they are adding the chrome wheel arch moldings on top of that just adds to the effect IMO.

Like I stated I have two XJS' with one having the moldings and one without and the one with the moldings looks factory to my eye ( and I must say I am very sensitive to goofy looking add on's ). I did finally get a set of chrome 5 spoke factory wheels for the car and with the chrome moldings it really tied everything together. I think that is why I like the look of Matthew Clark's 1987 so much because with the chrome wire wheels just really seems to tie the whole look together very nicely.

I am not hating on the 22" wheels but to my eye just does not look right on the Jags as most the time the car has to sit rather high up to accommodate for this which just does not fit the sleek look of the jags that I love so much.

Come to think about it one of the only cars I have seen that looks good with 22" wheels is the Chrysler 300 because the wheel arches are so big on the car it looks like they fit the car.

 

tahoes and such as well. The car itself is just same big they look "normal" ratio wise.

I think the arches have more ability to look factory than new cars because the car already has chrome on it. A camry with chrome door handles is very obviously not factory.

Who came up with that anyway? Why put chrome on the wheel arches?

I get bumpers need to be metal and its sort of a progressive style, and door handles get scratched up so it makes sense not to paint them. Maybe for rocks and stuff??

Idk...ive always like the clear plastic adhesive that you can throw away after it looks bad. First cars I saw with them was porsche, but idk who started it.

 

Well, since I started this thread I better add my final thoughts....

Wheel arches: I think they look good. Would probably keep them if they came with the car but.....wouldn't put them on my car I own ATM due to the fact of possible rust issues and that i like mine as original as possible.

Thanks for sharing even though it did get a little heated at one stage lol!

 

I think it got started with factory ones coming on Lincolns and large luxury cars like that. Some aftermarket companies saw a market and started having them made also. The interesting thing is Jaguar offered the chrome wheel arch moldings for the XJS and many were added as a factory accessory at the dealer.

I do think that the XJS with it's thin chrome upper bumpers adds itself to the look of having chrome wheel arch moldings if that is what you like. In all the years I have owned my one XJS with the moldings on it I have never had someone say they did not think the moldings were not factory. On the other hand the XK8 to my eye would obviously look like they were added because the car has no chrome bumpers to go with them.

Seems like only those of us who really know these cars know they did not come right out of the factory with wheel arch moldings just like the hood leaper.

 

I would like to know the real origin. I remember ford putting the "landau" bar on the early 60s T-birds as a throw back look to the old phaton style convertibles. I also scratch my head when I see a 4 door luxury car with the fake convertible top complete with the "snaps" around the stainless trim that go to nothing. Different strokes as the say.

 

Never seen or heard of this as an official Jaguar offering. Could be wrong, but I'd be seriously surprised if I were. The cars are slathered in chrome as it is.

 

It depends on how you define "official." I know the dealer fitted them to my car when it was new (listed on the original purchase order) along with the Dayton wire wheels.

But that doesn't necessarily mean they were available directly from Jaguar I suppose.

 

As a young High School grad I worked for a Buick Pontiac Dealership and was amazed by the Dealer "add on" items before a car was even purchased. none of which were authorized by Buick or Pontiac. The sales manager explained to me it was one of the biggest mark-ups and profit gains.

My daughter recently went to look at new Kia Soul's and sure enough there were all kinds of "Dealer installed" items on the new ones...bug shields, vent visors, even rear spoilers. Triumph TR-6's never left England with A/C but plenty were installed by dealerships.

I'm not saying anything that came from Jaguar was "approved" or not by them but it is a standard dealership technique to add items to a car to increase it's profit margin and usually those items reflect the popularity of the time and in most cases are not "approved" by the actual car manufacture.

We'd have the "trim-line" guy come in and put pinstripes down the side of 6cyl Firebirds, they'd pay him $20 per car and tag on $80 to the "Dealer added" sheet on the window.

 

The chrome wheel arches tend to look best on black cars because of the contrast. But they aren't for me even though my car is black. But then I love the leaper on mine, sans the growler, and most people seem to not care for the leaper so what do I know.