,, I'm looking to order my 500 Abarth in the next few days but I'm a bit confused by the monthly car reports on the 16" or 17" wheels.
Evo mag and one other mentioned in a review that 16" would be better for the UK roads (what's left of them!) whereas other mags have said the opposite.
I think the 17" look better but I don't know how this will affect performance or handling.
Could anyone throw some light on this?
Much obliged.

generally only thing that suffers with bigger wheels is ride quality in an a500 though i say the 17's look better, and as they are oem wont harm anything i dont see it effecting performance or handling to much overal though

Thanks for the info.
I guess the glossies get a bit anal about the performance etc to justify their existence.

You can get 18's on it! 18's FTW!!

the one i tested was on 17"s and rode really well, 16"s look undersize at standard ride height imo, though OK when lowered (see pic attached)

also 17" tyres are cheaper to replace

LeePunto1.9 said:

You can get 18's on it! 18's FTW!!

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you can
but just because you can do something doesn't make it a good thing

black is on 16'' pearl white is on 17'' hope this helps you decide

it's the rear that looks the worst - you can get your fist between tyre and arch!

RobW said:

also 17" tyres are cheaper to replace

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Black Circles begs to differ on costs.

For example fitted costs:

P Zero Nero 16" £71.94 17" £89.23

Conti SC 3 16' £78.94 17" £121.77

Generally all the costs for 17" seem much higher

check prices on 205/40-16

also loads more choice on the 17'' size
www.simplytyres.co.uk

RobW said:

check prices on 205/40-16

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Why??

I thought that this was a discussion on factory fit Abarth 500 wheel sizes and prices and the correct 16" size is 195/45 - not 205/40 which is the size of the 17"

Or am I missing something?

i investigated recently and my recommendation is to go for 17'' for all the reasons i explained, others will make different choices

Out of curiosity I have calculated that the overall diameter of the 17" wheel and tyre combo is approx 596mm whilst that of the 16" combo is 582mm giving an overall difference of 14mm or about 1/2" in diameter.

Assuming my calculations are correct there will only be 7mm difference in clearance between the arch and tyre when comparing the 17" to the 16" so any perceived difference between the two is largely all in the mind.

simer said:

Out of curiosity I have calculated that the overall diameter of the 17" wheel and tyre combo is approx 596mm whilst that of the 16" combo is 582mm giving an overall difference of 14mm or about 1/2" in diameter.

Assuming my calculations are correct there will only be 7mm difference in clearance between the arch and tyre when comparing the 17" to the 16" so any perceived difference between the two is largely all in the mind.

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agreed, aesthetics are all down to perception

RobW said:

16"s look undersize at standard ride height imo, though OK when lowered (see pic attached)

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Yes they do. This was the reasoning behing the 30mm drop on mine.

I think the minimal difference in circumference may explain why Abarth seem to have a one size fits all speedo reading.

On my 16" model the speedo reads 70mph at a true 64/65mph and I guess that on a 17" model 70mph would be more like a true 67/68mph.

Ah well I suppose it may help to avoid speeding tickets - as long as I don't go and Esseesse it with some new 17" wheels

RobW said:

you can
but just because you can do something doesn't make it a good thing

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Rather. It seems most of the people who go on about putting bigger rims on their cars seem to be under the age of 25 or so. I won't bang on about how your tyre is part of the suspension because those willing to listen will probably already know any anyone who actually needs the advice won't get it