Can anyone help a girlie in need of advice on wheels

[chuckie]

Hi hope some one can help..

Right im looking into replacing the wheels on my 16v phase one clio. i have my heart set on 17" wheels, even though the practical side of my head is telling me to settle for 16". Before i go any further my car is lowered 35mm (well i guess its 35, it was lowered when i bought it).

What i want is honest opinions as to which wheel size is probably the best to go for, if i get 17" what will i need to do to johnny to ensure no scrubbage, is my car lowered too far for 17s? Also what offset should i be looking at getting? i was sold the wrong offset on my corsa and the cars handling suffered because of it and i dont want this to happen again.....

thanks for any help.......

chuckie and johnny!!

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/aircraft/3flypigs.gif

[GR7]

Love the pigs! Chuckie have you had a look at cars in the gallery which are similar to yours? Some of them have comments about the wheel sizes and how much they have been lowered etc. What shade of blue is Johnny?

[Paul16V]

I hope 17s go on. I think mines lowered about 60mm! Im gettin some sunday. Ive got some 16s if you want em. 3 tyres are pretty much ready for changin soon though. £240 quick sale though

[Nick Read]

Yeah but Chuckie, you *know* if you put 16s on youre gonna regret it the next day and wonder why you didnt go for 17s. 17s will go straight on, you might just need to take the sh*tguards out. As long as you get near to the 36mm offset you need and stick with a 205/40/17 profile you cant go wrong.

Or even go for 18s, remember - it can be done!

[Glennclio16v]

17s should go straight on!! http://www.cliosport.net/images/OldBBS/9.gif[/IMG]] Mine did, and since its been lowered - a lot!! And still they dont scrub!!! http://www.cliosport.net/images/OldBBS/1.gif[/IMG]]

[Alex M]

16s is what I have on mine and have found them great, bigger wheels look better but I reckon 16s look large enough on a clio, although plenty would disagree. I am of the opinion that unless carefully choosen, big wheels can ruin the feel of a car. However it is your choice, so probably be as well going for the 17s

Alex M

[Alex M]

16s is what I have on mine and have found them great, bigger wheels look better but I reckon 16s look large enough on a clio, although plenty would disagree. I am of the opinion that unless carefully choosen, big wheels can ruin the feel of a car. However it is your choice, so probably be as well going for the 17s. I would imagine you would have to get shot of arch liners as it will rub at some point of suspension/steering range of movement.

Alex M

[chuckie]

Girlracer, i dunno what shade johhny is to be honest, all i can tell you is he is not the same colour as the touch up pen i bought at halfords!!!

Chuckie

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/Gif/bart-moon.gif

[chuckie]

Hi nick, im confused.

Firstly im looking at tsw wheels, they come in a 35mm and a 40mm offset so im guessing go for the 35mm??

Ok secondly, as far as i was aware i needed to go for 205/40/17 tyres, but the tsw site says 195/45/17......

whats confusing me is that i was concerned that going that much wider on the tyres would really compromise the grip and handling of johnny, and although i want him to look the mutts with big wheels, i still wanna race (and win) so when i see 195 profile 17" tyres my eyes light up..........whats your theory??

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/aircraft/litpig.gif>

[Nick Read]

Chuckie - the normal Clio offset is 36mm so 35s will be almost perfect. Im running 38s so theyre a little bit further in but hardly anything really compared to the difference that the width of them makes. Does that make sense?

What I mean is I went from a 6.5" wide wheel on 195/50/15 to a 7.5" on 215/35/18.So theyre at least 20 mm wider than the originals, the 2mm offset error doesnt really come into it. your TSWs in a 35mm offset will be further out than the 40mm offset.

I wouldnt suggest getting the 195/45/17 - firstly youll have a real job finding that size and if you do, they wont come cheap. Secondly, the diameter of them will come out at 607mm. That is the same as my 18s and they are bloody massive, it was a job getting them inside the arches and you cant even get a fag paper between the tyre and the spring platform.

Grip will be better with the wider tyre, handling will change, it may feel not quite as steady as usual on very fast hard corners. Big wheels are lovely when youre driving fast though, you go over the potholes instead of into them!

I reckon you should get 205/40/17 tyres. Plenty of valvers have them and they go on easily. Not everyone can get full lock, you might need to take the sh*tguards out.

[ak_uk]

Your all wheel heads!

[chuckie]

Wheels rule dude!!!!

Thanks nick you have been a great help, but then i thought i could rely on you!! ;o)

Now i just have to convince my other half that 17" are the ones to go for, i spent 2 years with a corsa on 15" getting ridiculed for having small wheels (despite the fact i out handled others on bigger wheels), and i dont want this to continue with johnny.

Is there anybody out there that has gone from 16" to 17" or vice versa who could tell me honestly if the handling, acceleration etc was badly effected fron having the bigger wheels??

Chuckie

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/aircraft/3flypigs.gif

[Nick Read]

DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT

17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17

INCH INCH INCH INCH INCH INCH INCH

RIMS RIMS RIMS RIMS RIMS RIMS RIMS

[GR7]

Chuckie, I changed my original 16" standard wheels for 17" OZ Super Ts and the handling is no different, but the looks are much improved. http://www.cliosport.net/images/OldBBS/1.gif[/IMG]]

As Nick says - GO FOR IT -

[chuckie]

NICK NICK!!

I have been offered a really good price on a set of team dynamic tornados for johnny, in 17!!! but the pcd is 100 and the offset is 38mm is that any use to me?? you said that i need to get as near to 35mm as possible but is that close enough??

You advice is much needed here!!!

Chuckie and Johnny!!