Established in 2003

Wheel Options

With an endless choice of wheels available on the market, the Chairman looks at what is on offer.

One of the many questions raised on our website chat forum is “what wheels should I go for”? Well the answer to this is far from easy as it all boils down to one’s own personal opinion.
In simple terms it seems there are three types of owners. There are the ones who prefer to retain original type wheels, there are ones who prefer larger wheels and there are ones who prefer having something non standard Jaguar (the latter normally meaning the more expensive choice). Whatever your decision, think hard first as there are so many to choose from.

Since the launch of the XK8 back in 1996, the model has encountered a number of alloy wheel options. The original 17” Revolver wheels are now quite rarely seen on XKs. These were standard on the original XK8 and also came in chrome as a special order but many tended to ditch them in favour of 18, 19 or 20” options.

Normally on the 19 and 20” versions the owner will need to fit a special rubber extension to the wheel arch to ensure it meets legislation, so please keep this in mind.

How much do bigger wheels affect the ride? Well, it is important to know the offset, because if not correct you could end up with the wheels fouling the bodywork on full lock. Many also expect the ride to be much harsher coming from the larger wheels. For 20" wheels, balancing them is the hard part; this has to be done with great care. You can feel a slight hardening of the ride and maybe a little more vibration getting through to the cabin. The overall cosmetic improvement of the larger wheel in my opinion far outweighs any downside.

Shown below are just some of the many wheels available.

Apollo

Aris

Atlas

Centaur

Detroit

Double Five

Flute

Gemini

Hydra

Impeller

Lamina

Milan

Montreal

Perseus

Paris

Revolver

Sepang

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