Technical 4x4 more wheel and tyre questions

[northernchap]

Hi all!

I'm a new 4x4 owner still frantically reading through the posts and learning about classic Panda life.

At the moment I have standard wheels on with road tyres. I fancy getting another set with offroad tyres on but I'm stuck between a few options.

1) Get another set of 13 inch wheels and 145/80 13 tyres.
2) Get some Punto 14 inch steel wheels which are cheap with tyres and put offroaders on the 13s I already have
3) Get the Punto wheels and put offroad tyres on them

Option 3 seems to make most sense as the extra rim size will help offroad, plus if I keep the 13's for road use the speedo will be accurate (ish).

I really like the tyres that AndyPanda4x4 has on his (Ziarelli Mud Power) which I think are 165/70/14 but of course he has a lift on his and has wheel spacers on to stop the fuel pipe being chewed up (see, I have been listening! )

The other off road option is the Malatesta Trac which are available from Tyres Direct. I believe Andy had these previously and they were great offroad but terrible for handling, noise and fuel consumption.

My question is - are the Mud Power any better on road? And could that size go on a Punto rim and not ruin my car? Or has anyone got other suggestions?

The car is not a daily driver but it's not a pure offroader either - ideally one set of wheels and tyres would be great but maybe two is the only real way without too much compromise?

 

[kolza]

Hi and Welcome.

You do learn fast. There was some off-road tyre chating recently at my thread.
https://www.fiatforum.com/members-motors/340090-my-sisley-panda-4x4-division-north-23.html

Basicaly if you want to go for 14inch rim 999cc engine might by not strong enough.

 

[northernchap]

Hmm, thanks. The 14 inch Punto wheel idea was mostly because they are readily available and cheap, I can't seem to locate any 13 inch wheels at the moment that are suitable.

I have continued reading and although I considered emulating Andy and putting a lift on and spacers I think the camber issues might be annoying (as shown by Bartspanda) so maybe I will just try to source a set of 13 inch wheels and put some Trac tyres on them, then I have two sets of wheels and I can pick the best for the situation.

 

[kolza]

Positive camber due to suspension lift in not big issue. Front shocks which i've got does have the bottom hub mounting hole pattern altered already, in conjunction with moded Hub holders and Magic Camber Hub bolts ( +6mm total) camber can be set back to OE values. The whhel spacer are different story.

Let me know if you need any panda 4x4 original 13" rims ( blasted and primed) i've 8 pcs.

 

[northernchap]

What do you want for them mate? I could use four of them, and I could collect as you're also up north I believe!

 

[kolza]

PM send

 

[kestrel4x4]

Good morning mate !!

Welcome in this community !!


In my opinion, to mount the 14" wheels for off-road use you need first a good engine.

I tested the 14" wheels during the international meeting, with AndyPanda4x4 and Husky (an italian member).

Andy uses Ziarelli mud power 165/70/14 on his 999 fire panda.
With a stock engine it's hard to push these wheels.

Husky uses 175/70 or 80/R14 wheels, with a 1242 SPI Punto engine (and some vitamins on it).
With this engine you don't have problems, the torque is enough at low RPMs, the wheel size is not a problem.

You just need a good increase, minimum a +5/6 centimers.
After that you need to cut the front bumper and to add 4 spacers (1,5 - 2 centimeters for each wheel).

I bought 4 sparco spacers for 50 euros.


Consider that in UK you have a lot of mud, so the 14" wheels could give you a bit more grip inside it, but remember that you risk to break the original trasmission. It is the weak part of the panda.


The panda you see in the picture is Husky's one.
I'm the guy with black t-shirt.

.

 

[kolza]

It was plesure to meet you Jimmy.
Hope the Pug took you back home with no probs.

 

[northernchap]

Yeah, the 309 GLD is great for picking stuff up in - not so good in the snow though!

Thanks for the wheels mate, good to meet you too!

Oh, and for anyone following this thread - for now I'm going to go with standard 13 inch rims and offroad tyres, maybe later I will lift the car and get spacers and then bigger wheels once I get to that stage.

Cheers!

 

[northernchap]

Just a quick update in case anyone is interested!

Before:


photo uploading

After:


free uploader

Thanks Kolza, wheels look much better!

 

[kolza]

Nice one mate!

Did they took much weight to get ballanced (rims+ trac's)?

Does not look like from the photo.


ps. I've got mint (still black) front and rear bumper and side 4x4 badge if interested.

 

[northernchap]

No, not many weights on them - I need to paint those too now as you can see. They worked well on the Panda meetup last weekend!

I think my bumpers will clean up but I will remember the offer just in case!

 

[cybalite]

Or stick on dumper tyres on reversed rims. You don't get stuck in the mud.