General Alloy wheel queries (size)

[JammJarr]

Hi,
this is my first post on here after purchasing a cute Fiat 500 1.3 M-jet lounge.
I didn't realise until I got it home that the rear wheels are bigger than the front?
There are 16" alloys on the back and 15" alloys on the front. They are both spoke type but I noticed the design was slightly different, the front having less spokes and the centre cap was more on the surface than indented if that makes sense?

It doesn't bother me that much I was just wondering why the previous owner might have done this and if it affects the handling or anything?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[jrkitching]

Hi,
this is my first post on here after purchasing a cute Fiat 500 1.3 M-jet lounge.
I didn't realise until I got it home that the rear wheels are bigger than the front?
There are 16" alloys on the back and 15" alloys on the front. They are both spoke type but I noticed the design was slightly different, the front having less spokes and the centre cap was more on the surface than indented if that makes sense?

It doesn't bother me that much I was just wondering why the previous owner might have done this and if it affects the handling or anything?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hello and welcome :wave:.

My immediate concern would be that the car is definitely non-standard in this configuration and that could cause a problem with your insurance if not correctly declared. If you had a serious accident with mismatched wheels, I suspect the loss adjuster would be all over the claim like a bad rash.

What would worry me more is how the car came to be like this. My first instinct would be to check the car very carefully for evidence of prior damage; that's the most likely explanation I can think of in this case.

 

[JammJarr]

Ah I see,
which size is standard for the lounge? 15" or 16"?

 

[jrkitching]

Ah I see,
which size is standard for the lounge? 15" or 16"?

15" is standard, but 16" is a commonly-specified option. IIRC some variants and special editions have 16" wheels as standard.

 

[JammJarr]

15" is standard, but 16" is a commonly-specified option. IIRC some variants and special editions have 16" wheels as standard.

Thank you!
I'll have to swap either the front or back then to make sure I'm covered. Does it make any difference to handling or anything else? I was told you use more fuel or something...

Probably going to go with the 15" for car insurance purposes because it has been a lot cheaper since I got this car, compared to my old vauxhall corsa. I don't really want to start paying over the odds again.
- another pro of the little 500!

 

[frupi]

Does anyone know if the Panda 14 inch alloys fit the 500 without any modifications? I'm seriously thinking of buying a set to replace our winter steels. A set of four Panda 14 inch alloys can be had for about £240 or cheaper.

 

[zanes]

I'm surprised that the ABS/ESP (if fitted) hasn't had a big hissy fit at this as the rolling radiuses would usually be different (perhaps only by a small amount, but perhaps enough to trigger a fault condition).

As said above, this sounds like it could be damage related- though why someone would buy two wheels (presumably 15" ones as they're cheaper/more common) would make me worry more about any other repairs.

In theory, 14" alloys from the panda should fit 1.2 or diesel (possibly only 75hp) models as their standard pop wheels for 14". Don't think they'd fit the 1.4 as that came with 15" steels.

 

[Noxide]

Thank you!
I'll have to swap either the front or back then to make sure I'm covered. Does it make any difference to handling or anything else? I was told you use more fuel or something...

Shouldn't make a difference. Rolling radius should stay the same and that's what counts. Personally i'd go for 15s - more tyre = more comfort, also probably cheaper to buy and put rubber on.

You'll probably find it handles nicer when all the wheels are the same size!

 

[jrkitching]

Shouldn't make a difference. Rolling radius should stay the same and that's what counts.

Hmm.

Only if the correct tyres are fitted.

It may depend on where the second pair of wheels came from. I'm thinking that anyone prepared to fit mismatched wheels isn't going to be worrying if the tyres are right.

 

[Noxide]

Hmm.

Only if the correct tyres are fitted.

It may depend on where the second pair of wheels came from. I'm thinking that anyone prepared to fit mismatched wheels isn't going to be worrying if the tyres are right.

Yeah, I was saying for when the wheels are changed. I'd hope any reputable garage would make sure it was sound before letting it back out onto the road.

As for the currrent state - well.