Hi all,
I recently purchased a set of brand new Genuine Fiat Panda 14" alloys from ebay.
Went to get them tyres & fitted today but noticed i had no alloy wheel bolts for them.
Does anyone know where i can get hold of some cheap bolts and also what size the bolts are??????
Went to Fiat and was told £5 each and i need 16 of these.
The wheels are found on the Eleganza models and are on FIAT website for £424.

Also what is the best tyre to fit? I was going to fit BF Goodrich as they were cheap price compared to Continetal

Didn't know that the alloys needed a different bolt from steel wheels. If my daughter was home I would take a bolt off my 4x4 with alloys and one off her 1.1 Active and compare them but can't do that. All I can say is that the spare on both these cars is the same but fitting the spare on the 4x4 is done with the normal bolts which suggests they are the same as bolts for steel wheels.

Alloys wheel bolts are different to those that are used for steelies

unonumero said:

Alloys wheel bolts are different to those that are used for steelies

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Yep. Steel wheels aren't as thick where they meet the disc so the bolts are shorter for steel wheels. DO NOT put alloys on with the old bolts from a set of steel wheels. Your wheels could quite literally fall off.

When i went to get them fitted the chap said you cant really fit the old steel bolts to alloys as they are not strong enough and the wheel will fall off.
He said thats what happened to him once so he didnt hesistate in refusing to fit them without the proper bolts.
In the owners manual it states the same thing aswell.

What i will do is buy 1 from Fiat as a reference and ask at my local scrap yard for the other 15.

Would you recommened BF Goodrich tyres or is there a better brand?? Bearing in mind i can get them fitted all in for £160?

DAN G said:

When i went to get them fitted the chap said you cant really fit the old steel bolts to alloys as they are not strong enough and the wheel will fall off.
He said thats what happened to him once so he didnt hesistate in refusing to fit them without the proper bolts.
In the owners manual it states the same thing aswell.

What i will do is buy 1 from Fiat as a reference and ask at my local scrap yard for the other 15.

Would you recommened BF Goodrich tyres or is there a better brand?? Bearing in mind i can get them fitted all in for £160?

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BF Goodrich are fine. They're owned and run by Michelin.

I'd ring around a few dealers to get quotes on the set. As doctorchris says my Sporting has a steel spare so you need to check that they're not the same bolts. On my VWs they were the same for alloy and steel where as on my Merc they are different. I was under the impression that most modern cars used the same bolts for both types of wheel, but since my Panda had alloys as standard I've never looked in to Fiat. Ar any of us local to you so we can compare bolts? How about dropping in to your dealer and getting part numbers?

JON

Didn't think there was any difference...

I swapped my wheels over and used the same bolts. Nothing's fallen off yet...

DAN G said:

Went to Fiat and was told £5 each and i need 16 of these.

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what ripoff dealer told you they £5 each?

they are £1.56 each +vat retail

but pm richie.guy he do you a set for a whole lot cheaper
16 bolts

28mm = £23 delivered

Olympian Fiat in Bournemouth charged me £4.85 per bolt.
Cleverly i brought only 1 so i can souce the others elsewhere.
Got a steel space saver but no spare bolts in the boot.
Someone said as alloys are generally thicker than steel wheels i may need bigger bolts and if the bolts are too long they can damage the brakes.
Sounds a lot of messing around for just a set of alloys.
I have put the idea on hold for the moment but found somewhere local that can source all bolts for £26.
Rather buy from a reptable shop rather than ebay. Wouldnt be funny if wheels fall off!!

Any reccomended tyres? OR shall i just go for Conti Eco contact 3 as per factory fit on standard steel wheels?

the space saver that comes with a car fitted with alloys from new, has washers welded onto it so it will take alloy wheel bolts

DAN G said:

found somewhere local that can source all bolts for £26.

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thats 3 quid more than richie.guy charges delivered

So when it comes to wheel bolts for alloys, it's length that matters, not strength.

yes they are all made out of the same steel, but as an alloy wheel is thicker you need longer bolts

Wee Smurf said:

Didn't think there was any difference...

I swapped my wheels over and used the same bolts. Nothing's fallen off yet...

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I would certainly have my car checked out. I'm not trying to be alarmist but the bolts WILL be different.

I've done the same on my 1.2 - for the past 2 years ( 15,000 miles ) has had the Eleganza wheels. I've had them on and off a few times for brakes etc and there seems to be plenty of thread and no apparent danger of them falling off.

306maxi said:

BF Goodrich are fine. They're owned and run by Michelin.

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My experience of BF Goodrich is that they are absolutely appalling in the wet. Ran a set of 175/50-13s on a Cinquecento and it was sliding on roundabouts where other cars were having no problems - this at normal speeds too.

I accept that different types of BFG might be different, but these were abysmal. Just to try, when I wore two down I put 2 new Continentals on the front (...yes, I know you're supposed to put new tyres on the back) which made the car dangerous to drive - it would oversteer at normal road speeds in the wet, never mind when you're pressing on. They sharp got swapped round and burned down as quick as possible.

I've just checked ePer and the part number for the wheel studs is exactly the same for steel wheels or alloy wheels (13230425). When I got my genuine Fiat 14" accessory alloys (same style as fitted to the Eleganza) the instructions said to use the original wheel bolts. I dunno where the rest of you are getting your information from. Rest easy guys.

Thought so

HP. said:

My experience of BF Goodrich is that they are absolutely appalling in the wet. Ran a set of 175/50-13s on a Cinquecento and it was sliding on roundabouts where other cars were having no problems - this at normal speeds too.

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i ran BFGoodrich profilers 195/45/15 on the red turbo, total change in character, gripped well, wet or dry, could push on with them, however: that was in conjunction with a lot of other changes to the suspension, brakes, bushes, etc.