Fitting alloys

[el gee]

Sorry, I'm probably gonna sound really dumb. I'm a complete noob to all this car stuff and no one I know is really into mods.

So i just wanna know about fittin 17 inch alloys onto my fiesta. It currently has 15 inch alloys. What difference would the 17" make? and does it make any difference to fitting them?

Again, sorry for asking about the simple stuff but everyone gotta start somewhere!

[Dan2587]

Wont make much difference as long as the wheel dont touch the arches or front suspension arms.Also get the proper off-set wheels eg et-38-40 you can check which wheels will fit online and alloy wheel stockests .Car will also look higher many people get lowered suspension.Which model fiesta have you got.

[HDi fun]

Give us the tyre size fitted to the 15" rims and I'll give you the equivalent rolling diameter 17 fitment.

Two caveats:

1. You MUST tell your insurer.

2. Expect a downgrade in ride and quite possibly in handling. Wider is not generally better. Especially today when mosts cars come with fairly substantial tyres anyway.

[pgarner]

to keep the rolling radius the same the sidewalls of the tyres get smaller so a more harsh ride.

other thing to think about is the mass two fold
1) its more unsprung weight and depending on who you talk to it can be anything equivalent 6 times in sprung weight
2) the extra stress on the wheel bearings due to the increased mass

tyres will be dearer

and big wheels can look out of proportion on small cars

[old-git]

Agree with PG

[HDi fun]

Referring to my previous post, I, too, am not a fan of fitting monster wheels to small cars.

In fairness I think el_gee is looking to replace steel rims with alloy ones so the weight penalty will be offset a little.

[el gee]

i think tyre size is 15". i'm just weighing up my options for buying second hand alloys really

[HDi fun]

Originally Posted by el gee

i think tyre size is 15". i'm just weighing up my options for buying second hand alloys really

If the rims are 15" then the tyres will be 15".

Read the markings on the sidewall. They look like this:

205/50/R15 V

Give us the markings and we can match a tyre to fit a 17" rim without changing the overall wheel/tyre diameter.

[dpsubaru]

if buying second hand alloys be careful of the offset. many people will tell you what you want to hear, its not necessarily correct, they may just want a sale.

[Conbon]

Bigger rims are easyer to damage especialy if you go for the lower profile tyres. wich will be necessary to reduce the risk of them rubbing off the arch. The ride quality will probobly be reduced because of this as well.
also youll probobly have to role the arches. this just involves taking an angle grinder and cutting away some of the beed sticking out on the inside of the arch.
And also in my humble opinion i think that smaller cars look best with smaller wheels. If you go too big the car looks like its sitting a bit high on them.
If you want to go for a new set of rims I wouldent go any bigger than 16" on your car.
And also be very carefull when buying second hand rims especialy ones that big. Its hard to tell how good they really are until there on the car.

[pgarner]

Originally Posted by Conbon

Bigger rims are easyer to damage especialy if you go for the lower profile tyres. wich will be necessary to reduce the risk of them rubbing off the arch. The ride quality will probobly be reduced because of this as well.
only if there cheap, otherwise the metal is jsut as easy to buckle

also youll probobly have to role the arches. this just involves taking an angle grinder and cutting away some of the beed sticking out on the inside of the arch.
again nope unless you dont match the ET and width to the existing whell

And also in my humble opinion i think that smaller cars look best with smaller wheels. Good Man

If you go too big the car looks like its sitting a bit high on them.
If you want to go for a new set of rims I wouldent go any bigger than 16" on your car.
And also be very carefull when buying second hand rims especialy ones that big. Its hard to tell how good they really are until there on the car.

sa