Central Valley Classic Cars

Yes, that’s right, I downsized the wheels on the XK8 coupe. But isn’t upsizing the wheels car upgrade #1? Here’s the summary…

The previous owner of the XK8 had upsized the stock, silver painted, 17’’ alloy “revolver” wheels with 20’’ chrome plated Fittipaldi alloys. I know what you’re thinking, “chrome 20s, GAUDY!” But actually, the wheels didn’t look that bad. Even so, they weren’t quite my style and I wanted to bring the car back to a more “stock” look.

Swap Blow-by-Blow

Now, I wasn’t thinking like a purist: must be stock, 17’’ revolvers on a ’97 XK8. I’m fine with 20’’ wheels, even prefer the stance they give the car (one look at the wheel wells and arches and you know it’s the right fit). I put a set of Detroits or Sepangs at the top of the wish list. But stock Jaguar wheels like that don’t come cheap, so I kept my eyes out for other options.

After a few days of keeping a casual eye on eBay and craigslist, I was about to conclude that a wheel change would not be happening, unless maybe I sold the 20s first, at a premium, but they weren’t in excellent condition and I needed the XK8 operational. But just as hope faded, fortune revealed a local eBayer looking to unload a set of stock 17” wheels. Laminas, no less, my favorite of the 17s. He had upsized to stock 18s and just wanted to get the old ones out of his way.

Because the shipping on the wheels would have upped the cost quite a bit, I didn’t have a whole lot of competition for them. I won the bidding at $146.13 and arranged to pick the wheels up from the seller. brentcon01 was great and I recommend him as an eBay seller.

Shaffer’s did the swap for me and I offered them a share of the sale price for housing the 20s for me. I put them on Craigslist priced to move ($800 for the set) and had them moved out within a couple of days.

The Verdict

I drove around the Bay Area on the 20s for a month, including a trip to Santa Cruz. And have now had sufficient time to explore the 17s. Though the car handles respectably on the 17s, I must confess that it handled notably better on the 20s. The cornering was great. I have a tight turn with good visibility where I was able to push it and I could never get the car to break traction. I pushed it hard, but the limit of my driving confidence came before the edge of the performance possibilities of the vehicle. With the 17s, in the same bend, and the same effort, I can get the tail to slide out. Just slightly, mind you, but still the difference is clear.

But a plus for the 17s is ride comfort. The car on the 20s was very much at home on the smooth asphalt of Hwy 1 when trekking down the coast, but cruising up the rugged concrete of 101 in SF was rough. The whole car would shake and quiver and every piece of the interior rattled and vibrated against its adjoining pieces. It wasn’t like I felt it, like when your teeth chatter on an old, wooden roller-coaster, but I could sure hear it, and it annoyed me. I was planning to felt-tape everything in the cab, but then, suddenly, on the 17s, everything got all quite and peaceful.

Someday, I’d like to size back up to 20s with a set of Sepangs, but for now, I’m really happy with the Laminas.