I was overcome with a lovely feeling today when I took the Panda out for a spin. After a pretty stressful exam I took the car to get the alloys balanced (it got the wobbles at 70 and pulled to the left) as the garage round here does 10% student discount.

It was raining quite a bit, but keen to see how the car handled wobble-free I decided to go for a blast down the A500 and back up again before finding something twistier to see how the car felt.

The A500 proved very frustrating, traffic was quite weighty and I only had a couple of opportunities to open the car up. First impressions were good, the car sitting on the road nicely but the steering still full of feel and communicating nicely. On steels there was quite a bit of dead zone (although the lighter steering was a decent pay-off) but on the slightly wider alloys the car feels so much more alive, it really puts a smile on your face. And this was just making minor adjustments on a dual carriageway.

Bored of going in a straight line, I dived off the A500 and headed back up before turning off for some twisties. Darting through the back streets and over roundabouts was a hoot, the car feeling much more poised than before although the 55 profile Goodyears do let go sooner than the previous Pirellis in the wet.

Slinging the car around was loads of fun and I pulled back up at uni with a big grin. Everything just seemed to click together after the drive, I'm just waiting for a dry day now as I think the tyres suit dry driving better. :yum:

You maniac

Alloys look superb, Fuzzy - very nice

I would like a lttle Cinquecento sporting to go with a set of those!!! (yellow one please)

Nice report Sam.

FuzzyPanda said:

I. First impressions were good, the car sitting on the road nicely but the steering still full of feel and communicating nicely. On steels there was quite a bit of dead zone (although the lighter steering was a decent pay-off) but on the slightly wider alloys the car feels so much more alive, it really puts a smile on your face. And this was just making minor adjustments on a dual carriageway.
Darting through the back streets and over roundabouts was a hoot, the car feeling much more poised than before although the 55 profile Goodyears do let go sooner than the previous Pirellis in the wet

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Yeah, all very true as I would aggree with the wheels we put on Sylvia thou I wasn't as brave as you with the 55 profile tires. I put on 165/70 and it still find it quite sharp and Stu notices the difference in weight but I find it more 'meaty' and thus 'safer' feeling.

It can even leave a Ferrari in it's wake!



Ok, not really but worth a try....

Jim

55 profile Eagle Tourings were on the wheels when I bought them, when it comes to replacing the tyres I don't think I'll stick to 55s though, they're pretty bonkers-hard and give me speed bump fear. I'm just wondering if the car will feel as sure footed with the higher profile rubber on...

I've got a nice jaunt to Liverpool on Friday night (after spending the day at Alton Towers, yay!) so I can put the car through its paces on more familiar roads, and hopefully they'll be dry.

FuzzyPanda said:

55 profile Eagle Tourings were on the wheels when I bought them, when it comes to replacing the tyres I don't think I'll stick to 55s though, they're pretty bonkers-hard and give me speed bump fear. I'm just wondering if the car will feel as sure footed with the higher profile rubber on...

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I don't think it will have that same 'On-rails' feel but then again I went really OTT with the profile (like 70 is a bit 'off-road' looking but that was the effect I wanted as next year Sylvia is getting the 'Maritini' look and the wheels are going to be refurbished in white) and it does wonders for the ride comfort with the extra rubber in the hight.

Maybe it's just cause I'm old.. Comfort over handling. Anyway, must go look at Rover 75's now, hehe!

Jim

Your wheels look great and I have the same effect with the comfort and streering even on my 4x4 as it feels lower and it feels like you can corner faster but not on the road yet it's not legal only 7 months to go.

Dave.

This drive aside, the wheels have simply driven me up the wall. One of the rears was catching on the left hand side brake line when I first put them on so I had to make some adjustments there, and all of them seem incapable of holding pressure for even a day, particularly the front-left.

No way am I going to pump my tyres up before every journey. I'm not happy. It's a shame because the car is such a joy to drive when all the tyres have the right pressure on, yet after even an hour the car starts pulling to the left.

*Sigh*

I suppose I've got a day of checking for leaks ahead at some point. But remember guys, always check things over thoroughly before you buy them! I usually swear by this but thanks to being pretty short of time when I bought them I wasn't as careful as usual.

FuzzyPanda said:

This drive aside, the wheels have simply driven me up the wall. One of the rears was catching on the left hand side brake line when I first put them on so I had to make some adjustments there, and all of them seem incapable of holding pressure for even a day, particularly the front-left.

No way am I going to pump my tyres up before every journey. I'm not happy. It's a shame because the car is such a joy to drive when all the tyres have the right pressure on, yet after even an hour the car starts pulling to the left.

*Sigh*

I suppose I've got a day of checking for leaks ahead at some point. But remember guys, always check things over thoroughly before you buy them! I usually swear by this but thanks to being pretty short of time when I bought them I wasn't as careful as usual.

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sam. are these the wheels emm sold you? just take them to a tyre bay, and have the tyres and inner rim painted with tyre sealant. hope you are using stick -on weights and not knock on ones. they leak usually from the weights job done.

yeah leaky rims can soon be sorted just tell em they cna clean up th inner edges ane gove liberal coating fo tyre sealer as mentioned above. wil sort it i had simalar prob on me last car