Hi!

I want to replace the original wheels on my Punto HGT / Abarth (15 inch, 185).

If I look at all the sites of the major brands, only 14 or 15 inch wheels are shown for the Punto HGT. But when I search the internet on tuned Punto HGT's... I see that a lot of them are fitted with 16 / 17 inch wheels.

So I went to a specialist and he said that it has to do with the ET value / offset and that those 17 inch (or 16 inch wheels) will cause serious problems with steering and will cause the steering assist to brake down sooner then with 15 inch wheels. He said that a Punto HGT with 17 inch wheels is nice when you put it standing still shining in the sun but that driving such a Punto will be horrible.

Still I doubt if this specialist is right about this because if so... a lot of Punto HGT drivers would have these problems...

My question: can someone tell me a bit more about the fact if it is possible to fit a 16 or 17 inch wheel onto the Punto HGT and furthermore... if there have to be made some modifications to my Punto in order to fit these wheels?

Many thanx in advance!


Greetings,

Peter

welcome to the forum
loads of people on here have 16's 17's on their puntos, no reported problems if you have very low profile tyres the diameter is much the same as 15's.
there is no real benifit though except looks.
(please excuse my bad spelling)

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hey mate,
iv got 17's on my punto and i think that guy is telling porky pies. Ive had them on for over a year now and no probs at all (just everything else in the car is fallin apart!!) The only thing that bothered me was that it looked like a rollerskate b4 i lowered it.
Take a look in the members pics section and ul c a variety of mk2's with 17. itl giv u a good idea of wot u wanna do.


FIAT!!! It Doesn't Move But It Looks Good!!

he isnt actually lying but is over exagerating slightly.

It is true that the larger wheels may have a different offset etc. but this doesnt mean that you cant fit all 17" wheels. You need to find a set of wheels that have a similar offset to the puntos original wheels. It doesnt have to be exact as you can use spacers. Just make sure that the wheels you choose are within a reasonable amount (say 8mm) of the original offset as this will stop problems such as the ones the bloke you talked to mentioned.

There will be loads of wheels out there with a similar offset, maybe some that have the exact same offset but you'll be one lucky bugger if you find them

I Have A Cinq Sporting...

...Click Here To Look At It

go to www.rochfordtyres.co.uk (bet u think i work there!!!) Go to the 'fitment guide' for your car and then 'show wheels' - they have 18, 17, 16" wheels available for the punto so they must fit. The 17s on mine are great- they make the car look ace and give you better handling. Trouble is (like bhoywonder said) the car looks like a 4x4 if u dont lower it...

EVERYONE- SPRAY YOUR PUNTOS BLACK

many things have to be considered when going to large wheels ( toe in and out and offset ) its ok to say you have more alloy and less tyre because thats all you have done apart from making it nice and mean and i like that but there is a price to pay if you dont get it right i wont go into the maths of it as its on my database

1.6 elx 16v my baby

Ive got some 17s for sale- look in the classifieds!! They look cool and were no hassle to get on"!

hey mate.

ive got my punto mk2 on 17s and it runs nice as long as you put spacers on the rear wheels to stop them hitting the suspension bolts. then you're laughing.
my mate has an hgt which he put on 17s back in 2001, hes lowered it too and he has no problems at all. If you buy your wheels from wheelbase the guys there send the floating wheel bolt things to help with the offset and will also tell you if the wheels u want are a bad idea.

good luck!

ive got fox evo 17inch alloys on my mrk2 hgt no problems untill you get people in the bck scrapes over bumpes but with standard springs on

noo grave diggers

lol

J