i've lowered my mk2 punto by fitting new springs think it was lowered by 35mm this was when i first got it over a year ago didn't seem any problems i had new tyers fitted about 9 months ago after having new tyers noticed the car seemed to have a thumping noise as speeding up as the car did. thought it might be the balancing but lazy me never got round to getting it checked :bang:. anyway i've just had a tyer blow on me with major wear on the inside edge. having to buy new tyers anyway i was going to buy alloys instead but i'm worried that they won't fit with out body mods i only want 15" wheels has anyone got any ideas and if i do need to modify it how much would it cost.

sounds like it needs spacers. the lowering wont make much difference unless you are running 17"s either your alloys are too wide altogether or they need spacers to move them further away from the car, thereby stopping the rubbing, however you would have probably heard them rubbing while steering if they were wearing, 1 other thing did you have the shocks replaced with the springs, cos ff not id watch out come MOT time.

i haven't actually got the alloys yet still running on the original wheels, i didn't change the shocks but it's gone through the MOT since. why else would the inside of one wheel wear down

lowering will cause the camber to alter slightly which causes one edge to wear out quicker, although i've never had this despite have two of my cars lowered,
check the shocks and ball joints they maybe worn but not enough to fail mot, also the suspension top nuts are done up correctly i had this on mine and it still passed the mot

i checked the wheels by running m hand around the inside of the tyer then turned the steering wheel to full lock and did it again then the otherside all seemed ok but would that change when moving or should it still be ok

michaelwil7 said:

i checked the wheels by running m hand around the inside of the tyer then turned the steering wheel to full lock and did it again then the otherside all seemed ok but would that change when moving or should it still be ok

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it will move a little but not enough to rub and you would see marks on the arch liner if it was rubbing

just re-read first post :bang:
did the thumping start almost imediatly after having new tyres fitted as it could have been a fault in the tyre or the wheel wasn't tightend correctly
had this on a bmx when i was younger foulty tyre caused it to blow

yeh it was straight away, i'll check the inside of the tyre linings to see if there is any wear also at the moment i'm running on the space saver tyer but it's a lot louder than usual but the main thing is that from time to time there is a whirring noise from what sounds like that side what could that be

michaelwil7 said:

yeh it was straight away, i'll check the inside of the tyre linings to see if there is any wear also at the moment i'm running on the space saver tyer but it's a lot louder than usual but the main thing is that from time to time there is a whirring noise from what sounds like that side what could that be

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if it happens mainly while cornering its probably the wheel bearing

no it happens while going straight but its not always there could that just be the spare

I've just put 15" alloys on my car no problem, no spacers needed but then i havent had mine lowered, but i did notice a thumping noise that increased frequency with increased car speed, but as this was also the first time id driven without any music, I dont know if it was there to begin with

datahar said:

I've just put 15" alloys on my car no problem, no spacers needed but then i havent had mine lowered, but i did notice a thumping noise that increased frequency with increased car speed, but as this was also the first time id driven without any music, I dont know if it was there to begin with

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15"s on a lowered punto will fit no probs.

thumping, iv just had this on my stilo, and the inside of the drivers tyre had a massive bulge init, so check it dude, could also be a cv joint

Cheers I'll check the joint, as i know the wheels are fine just came off old car noise sounded like rear driverside wheel

hum i wonder if the original poster put the top of his struts back on the right way round as they can be turned 180 for non pas models in other countries this reduces caster

if one side is right and one wrong it could cause the weird tyre were but i'd expect it to pull in one direction if that was so

datahar said:

Cheers I'll check the joint, as i know the wheels are fine just came off old car noise sounded like rear driverside wheel

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tracking and wheel alignment can do that to, or something as simple as a weight falling off the wheel can put it way out of ballance, you wont find a cv joint on the rear either

but yeah mine was lowered 30mm on 15's no isues, till i hit a curb sideways at 50 on ice

yeh i put it back on the right way, i do have power steering and it would only go on the one way as i recall

i'm pretty sure i put the struts back on the right way i've got power steering and think they would only go on the one way. but a buldge in the tyre would explain the noise and the uneven wear and also why it seems to have been getting better i guess as the tyre wore down the buldge would have got smaller guess i'll never know any way i've ordered these now, so just hope they go on without any problems. what do you think good choice huh.

michaelwil7 said:

i'm pretty sure i put the struts back on the right way i've got power steering and think they would only go on the one way. but a buldge in the tyre would explain the noise and the uneven wear and also why it seems to have been getting better i guess as the tyre wore down the buldge would have got smaller guess i'll never know any way i've ordered these now, so just hope they go on without any problems. what do you think good choice huh.

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o believe me they can go mack both ways

if you have a look under the bonnet at the strut tops the conicle washer with the nut in the middle at the top of the strut should be towards the rear of the elongated hole in the bodywork