new wheels.....

well new for me anyway....

after a pretty extensive search in which the critieria of size (15"), style (both mrs and i have to like, and a certain 80's look would be nice too), cost (low, much lower than that - mrs jai), and a total abcence of wobble bolts ("4x98? nah mate we dont stock that" x 100), i turned to my old friend ebay.....and on pandasports advice, widened the search to 4 stud alfa and lancia rims, and wouldn't you know it...just down the road i found:


bit dirty, but for £35 beggars and all that....the look like they should clean up quite well, a little sanding and laquer should make them very presentable

....the odd bit is as you can see from this photo:


2 tyres are 205/55/15, the other two are 185/55/15.....anyone have an idea what they might have come off? on the red one i have 195/45/15, seems a shame and a waste to buy 4 new tyres, so what you reckon would be better to go with another pair of 205s or 185s? the et is 35, so that should enable a straight fit on....and as a bonus, the lancia badges, on the centre caps, pop out easily, to be replaced by:


only popped and oldie in for now, but you get the idea

Fit the 205's on one side, the 185's on the other. Then stand back and take a good look (plus a couple of photos). Then pick your favorite stance

i thought you had new wheels at sammi's

13s....those are for "other purposes"...these will be for "general purposes"

Are they 6J or 5.5J

I'd be tempted to go for the 185/55s which are same rolling size as 195/50 which is a dirt cheap size to buy, yet a decent amount of rubber on the road.

errrrrr ****! 7j!!!! bullocks

oooh biggies... Think the 185s might be a bit on the narrow side as far as I remember from my experience with 7J wheels. 195/50s or larger I think.

195/50/15 toyos are only about £30 each

it's not so much the tyres that worry me, looks like the 195/50s will be teh way forward....it's the rub on the gearbox casing on full right lock, 195/45s on a 15x6.5 gets a bit of rubbage.....

5-10mm spacers and an arch roll






















can you arch roll filler?

investigations into fittage will start tomorrow

They look petty good for the money..

Will say for deffo when cleaned and fitted

Are the tyres worth keeping? if so you obv know you have to have matching ones on each axle..

not on an oval track, you can have the smallest on the in side

7" is OK for 195/45. I don't think any other size will fit without rubbing on the gearbox and rear beam. If you fit spacers (which are illegal in NZ) you would need to cut back the plastic arch trims & metal arch edge.

So I think you're going to have to invest in tyres (and, you know my thoughts on the effectiveness of 15" tyres - my Uno was all over the place today in a carpark Autocross event, first the front end and then often the back end).

Good luck with cleaning up the rims - post some pics as you do

-Alex

well, i'm pretty certain the 205s wont go on anywhere, so they are going to go, but i thought i'd give the 185s a try on the rear:

doesn't stick out...

looks ok, but the age old issue of clearance raised its ugly head:


i'm thinking a 3-5 mill spacer should do the job?
as for putting on a 195 tyre....wouldn't that be wider still, requiring yet more spacing?

here's a shot of the original and lancia wheels side by side: