Styling 17" rims

Currently reading:
Styling 17" rims

people have had various problems with 17's like new gear boxes.

Rubbish IMO unless you drive like an arse.

17's will fit fine (ET35-37, PCD98 or PCD100 with wobblies 195/40 or 205/40 tyres)
It will slow the car down noticeably unless they're lightweight.
The low profile wider tyres will make the ride worse.
It will look like a tractor.
 
Last edited:
cheers for that. any suggestions for a decent set im lookin at about 400 quid to spend.(y)

Look for some OZ Supperleggera's (Italian for 'superlight') :yum:. It took me two gearboxes to realise it was the big wheels killing it so no its not rubbish what so ever its simple laws of physics.
 
Last edited:
Look for some OZ Supperleggera's (Italian for 'superlight') :yum:. It took me two gearboxes to realise it was the big wheels killing it so no its not rubbish what so ever its simple laws of physics.

Big wheels don't kill boxes, the drivers do.

That's a fact I'm afraid.

Too much scaremongering regarding big wheels and big drops, been there and done that with no problems as have hundereds of other people I know. You can kill a gearbox running 15's easily enough.
 
Big wheels don't kill boxes, the drivers do.

That's a fact I'm afraid.

Too much scaremongering regarding big wheels and big drops, been there and done that with no problems as have hundereds of other people I know. You can kill a gearbox running 15's easily enough.

Well thats like saying fate don't kill engines, drivers do. All im saying is big wheels DO increase the load on a gearbox even driving easy so they WILL wear the gearbox, diff and most driveline components quicker than it would with standard wheels on.

Simple laws of physics, im not saying 'fit 17" wheels and wham bam your gearbox is going to blow up' its just not going to last as long. Lowering also exacerbates the situation but like I said will only increase the speed in which components wear.

This is why Fiat revised the 6speed gearbox for the 'Starjet' version of my engine as it was going to be used in the Grande Punto with 17" Wheels. This is the box I currently have on my non-starjet 1.4 16v engine and it seems to be a lot smoother and robust.
 
Last edited:
As Richie says it depends on how you drive.

I have have done 10's of thousands of miles in my 2 Mk2's both with big wheels and big drops and I have never had gear box problems.

If people are replacing gear boxes regularly they are not driving properly imo.
 
Last edited:
On 15s the clutch will go.... the gearbox wont because like already said 15s dont stress the gearbox out enough to break it. A clutch going is just a cause of a lot of 'ragging' like you already said.
Which actually proves the point... on 15s you ragged it and all that happened is the clutch went. Thats normal. If you drove like that on 17s the clutch wouldve blown and when you got a new clutch the gearbox probably wouldve blown after because then thatd be the weak link due to having the new clutch. Beleive me I know it's now happened to my mate 3 times.
The biggest I'd go with a punto is 16s...afterall they were designed for either 14s or 15s and surprisingly these car manufacturers are actually quite good at what they do...and they do it all for a reason. I had the 15inch abarth multispokes on my old mk2 with 195/55 tyres on and drove like a c**k at times and it never missed a beat.
The problem with these bigger wheels is not only the fact that the diameter is greater thus buggering the gearing up and stressing the box out its also the fact that they often use a much wider tyre ..such as a 205 which again gives more grip than needed and stresses the box out even more because the most a punto is designed to take really is 195/185s. Plus they use a much lower profile like 40/45 instead of the usual 55s mine had one which totally ruins the ride comfort.
The biggest I'd go on a punto is 16. But all the nicest looking original fiat punto wheels are 15s so I'd just stick to that. In my opinion aftermarket wheels tend to not look or feel anything like as good as original fiat wheels that the cars were designed for :)

Fair enough you could probably put 17s on and it be okay..but I'd rather put the right wheels on and not have to worry about my driving style or wether I'm doing the car any damage.

:)
 
Fair enough you could probably put 17s on and it be okay..but I'd rather put the right wheels on and not have to worry about my driving style or wether I'm doing the car any damage.

:)

Don't fit 16's then, it's not as the manufacturer intended
Don't lower it.
Don't deviate from the original tyre size.
 
Don't fit 16's then, it's not as the manufacturer intended
Don't lower it.
Don't deviate from the original tyre size.



I didn't say that...
I said I'd happily put 16s on a punto but In my opinion all the original Fiat 15inch wheels look better than 16inch aftermarket ones.
Thats just my personal preference.

I didn't say anything at all about lowering either.

Nor did I say don't deviate from the original tyre size...my punto had 165/65/14s on when I got it. I put the Abarth 15s with 195/55/15 tyres on.
I was merely stating that 195 is probably widest fitment intended by fiat as they dont do a wheel for a mk2 punto that is wider than that.


Clever F***inck Cloggs.


:)
 
Last edited:
Nor did I say don't deviate from the original tyre size...my punto had 165/65/14s on when I got it. I put the Abarth 15s with 195/55/15 tyres on.
I was merely stating that 195 is probably widest fitment intended by fiat as they dont do a wheel for a mk2 punto that is wider than that.


Clever F***inck Cloggs.


:)

195/55 is wrong by a long way.

195/50 is closer to standard spec, but even then you've added 10mm on the width for no reason.

185's will cope with track use with 150bhp+, that's proven. So why add weight and drag to the car to slow it down?

If people want to be anal about things they should look at the whole picture IMO

Well thats like saying fate don't kill engines, drivers do. All im saying is big wheels DO increase the load on a gearbox even driving easy so they WILL wear the gearbox, diff and most driveline components quicker than it would with standard wheels on.

Simple laws of physics, im not saying 'fit 17" wheels and wham bam your gearbox is going to blow up' its just not going to last as long. Lowering also exacerbates the situation but like I said will only increase the speed in which components wear.

Of course, but it's not to say the components will give up in X amount of time.
 
Last edited:
IMO it depends what look you like, i want the aftermarket look so therefore i went and bought my 17" ASW classics and after a few hick ups there great although the performance does go down. Aceleration is alot poorer i think.
17's look amazing but they are abit unpractical but i love em (y)
 
195/55 is wrong by a long way.

195/50 is closer to standard spec, but even then you've added 10mm on the width for no reason.

185's will cope with track use with 150bhp+, that's proven. So why add weight and drag to the car to slow it down?

If people want to be anal about things they should look at the whole picture IMO


I was merely saying what I had on my mk2.
So no it's not wrong because 195/55 is what I had on my car.

No ones talking about power..or track use.

I'm basically saying that these bigger wheels tend to also be wider...like when i put the 15s on my car the tyres were wider than the original standard 14s.

I am looking at the whole picture.... people go for 17s because they may think they look better but you have to look at what other effects and comprimises they may have. Eg..stress on the gearbox due so the diameter of the wheel itself and the width of the tyres they run, affecting the gearing etc etc

So the post was about the whole picture.

Considering all the points brought up and then deciding wether you still want 17s just because they are more aesthetically pleasing.
 
Performance came into it because of the issues regarding stress. If a part isn't performing corretly due to stress e.g. larger wheels, wider wheels, wider tyres then it is an issue worth noting.

From a performance point of view there is no need to run anything more than 15x7's with 185 possibly 195's at a stretch (I wouldn't put 195's on anything less than a GT/HGT as it's dead weight). I've had more wheel, wheel size and tyre combos that I can count on my fingers and toes and 185/55, 195/45 or 195/50 on 15x7 is where it's at for no compromise in performance and longevity of parts.

The only advantage is 17's as you say is looks.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top