As I've mentioned on this forum, I have a 2013 XK coupe on order, and I have until the end of this month if I want to make any tweaks on the order.

I'm getting the Indigo Blue exterior, with Ivory/Charcoal interior.

I had assumed that I would be getting the standard 19" Caravela wheels, but this year, on this model, I could also choose to have the 20" Orona wheels for no extra charge. (these wheels were a $3500 option last year, and they are still a $3,500 option this year on other Jag models.)

So, here's my dilemma. I can't stand the Orona wheels, but it's hard to walk away from a deal. :-)

So, what I am considering is to get the Orona wheels for no extra charge, and then buy a different set of 20" rims, and have the dealer put the tires from the Oronas onto the new rims. (he said he would do that for no charge)

After looking at all of the different Jaguar rims, there are 2 that I like. The Nevis and the Kasuga. Unfortunately, since the Nevis is made exclusively for "R" models, then it says "supercharged" on the wheels, and I'm thinking it would be sacriligious to put them on an XK. So, that leaves me with the Kasuga.

...and this is why I'm asking for your opinions. The 20" Kasuga has basically the same design as the 19" Caravela, but since it's an inch larger, then it's a more open and cleaner look.

Here are some pictures to show you what I'm trying to decide.

First, here are two XKs with the 19" Caravela:

Park Place Texas | Dealer | Dallas | Fort Worth | Plano, Texas
Park Place Texas | Dealer | Dallas | Fort Worth | Plano, Texas

...and here is the look of the 20" Kasuga (on an XKR):

http://automotiveroom.com/wp-content...ide-View-1.jpg
http://www.iveho.com/wp-content/uplo...P1010002_1.jpg
http://www.iveho.com/wp-content/uplo...P1010001_1.jpg

Do you think I would be crazy to go to all of the effort to achieve the subtle difference in looks? Also, my XK won't have the red calipers shown in these pictures, so do you think that the more open look of the larger wheels would actually not work because of that?

 

20" Kasuga...stance of the car will look better regardless of calipers

 

I'm considering ordering a 2013 XKR coupe for my wife in Italian Racing Red with Charcoal/Red Piping interior and the 20" Takoba wheels with red calipers. The reason I like these wheels is that they are only single 5 spoke spaced farther apart and will be easier to keep clean considering the amount of brake dust that these cars generate. I also think the more open wheels will show off the red calipers more. They are very Ferrari-esqe. I have the 20" Kalimnos wheels on my XJ and the small spaces between the twin spokes are very hard to clean.

By the way, were you able to get any discount when you ordered your 2013 XK coupe? I like the fact that they kept the MSRP the same as the 2012's but included the 20" wheels at no charge that were a $3,500 option.

 

Yes, I absolutely did get a discount, and here is how I did it. When I went to the dealer, I told him the truth, and said that I had never ordered a new car before, and didn't know what a fair discount would be. The dealer explained to me that there would be no discount...period. So, I then came home and went online to truecar.com, and put in a bunch of different zip codes to see what a great price would be on the car. It varied for different parts of the country, but the best price was down in Miami. ( I live in NY.) For the XK, the MSRP is $85,375 (including destination fee.) The "great price" listed for Miami was just a few dollars less that $81,000. So, I called the dealer up and explained to him that I could order the car for $81,000 through a different dealer, but that since I had come to him first, and since he had spent the time letting me drive the car, then I wanted to give him the first opportunity of refusal. He replied by saying that he didn't want to refuse a deal, and agreed to sell it to me for $81,000. He said that it didn't make sense to be that aggressive, but he wasn't going to say "no."

By the way, if I had chosen to get the XKR, the "great price" would have been $93,000. If I were you, I wouldn't pay a penny more than that. These prices on truecar.com were for a 2012, and that's what I thought I would be ordering, but the dealer explained that they weren't taking orders for 2012s anymore. He said that he would honor the same percentage for the 2013, no matter what the MSRP was, and it turns out that the MSRP is the same anyway.

 

Get the rims you like, you'll be looking at and cleaning them for a long time.

20's are of perfect size on a car this large.

 

Ha! I like the Nevis best of all, but I'm thinking folks would give me a lot of grief because they say "supercharged" on them.

Maybe I could tell them that it's just the wheel that's supercharged. :-)

 

The brake dust will fill in the supercharged lettering in about a week of driving lol
Seriously though I understand about the car being normally aspirated and the rims saying otherwise. I'll tell what rims I like even better than my Nevis, the XKRS's forged lightweight Vulcan 20's in the polished finish.

 

I would go for the more open design for both looks and cleaning. It is a real pain to clean wheels with closed spokes and, if the past brake dust issues continue with Jag, you'll be doing plenty of wheel cleanings.

Albert

 

19's will drive better. There's a big thread on that topic and the general agreed the smaller wheels offer much improved performance, but the consumer tends to like the bigger wheel just for looks. I stayed away from 20's just because of the ride and limited tire selection.

The Caravela's look like a bear to clean.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-wheels-70397/

 

That was a good thread, and what I took from it was that the 20s look better (to most people,) and the 19s drive better. So, it's a trade-off no matter which size you pick.

Now we're getting into another issue, though, in regards to which wheel design is easier to keep clean. Truth be told, the 20" Orona design, that I could choose for no extra cost (but I don't like,) would absolutely be the easiest to clean, because it has 8 single spokes. But more than that, the reason they would be the easiest to keep clean is that they are grey, not silver. In fact, that's why I don't like them. Even when they're clean, they look dirty!

Nevertheless, no matter what wheel I end up getting, I plan on doing what this guy does in this video:

Armor All Wheel Protectant Test on an Aston Martin - YouTube

 

i would go for the 19's i had 20'S on my audis and found the tyres cost a fortune to change the 19's not so much and there is a bigger variety.
now i just purchased a jag with 18's lyra style love the look and have tried the armour all trick i can tell you it wont work i have apllied it and the rims look crappy after just a few trips ....nothing like elbow grease to keep them clean

 

aamichael

I had 19's on my 911C2S and my XKR with 20's ride just a nicely if not better. One thing you should keep in mind is the state you live in and the condition of the roads, if they are in good condition I wouldn't hesitate about the 20's but if there's lots of pot holes then the smaller wheel might be a better idea but even a 19 could suffer serious damage from a large pot hole too

 

Getting brake dust off the back side of the wheel really helps keep brake dust at bay.

 

I can already see the next conversation with my wife.

"Sweetheart, pack up everything. We're moving cross country to Nevada!"

She replies: "Why are we doing THAT?"

I answer: "Because I want to put 20" wheels on my new car."

 

No question that this is a choice between looks and better ride/lower cost/fewer problems, but IMHO it's worth it to get the 20's--they look soooooo much better. Tires are more expensive and the chances of dinging a rim in a pothole are greater, but................

I regularly use the Armor All Wheel Protectant and it works reasonably well--not perfect but it keeps the wheels looking half-way decent between washes.

 

lol...

 

Ok. So I've decided to go with looks over comfort...and here is what sealed the deal for me.

If these wheels are good enough to put on a $300,000 car, then they're good enough for me to put on my $81,000 clunker. :-)

http://www.astonmartinw.com/wp-conte...widescreen.jpg
http://www.astonmartinw.com/wp-conte...n-dbs-v121.jpg
http://www.astonmartinw.com/wp-conte...-wallpaper.jpg
Aston-Martin DBS V12 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

...and here is essentially the same wheel on the Jag

http://www.iveho.com/wp-content/uplo...P1010002_1.jpg
http://www.iveho.com/wp-content/uplo...P1010001_1.jpg

Thank god I don't have to keep going back and forth on this one anymore!

 

I have those 20" Kasuga wheels on my XJ (I misspoke in an earlier post and said they were the Kalimnos). Very nice looking, but a little difficult to keep clean between the twin spokes.

 

If it's not one thing, it's another. :-)

How is the ride on them?

 

The ride is fine. Since the tires are not super low profile, I've hit some pretty severe potholes and did not damage the rims. Anything less than a 35 aspect ratio and you're just asking for rim damage (another trade off of looks vs. functionality).