General Bigger wheels and tyres????????????

[Oletimer]

Hi all,

Got an interesting question for the knowledgeable...

Can I fit larger diameter wheels and tyres to my 02 1.6 ELX?
(There doesn't look to be too much space between the tyres and the bottom of the road springs on the front - about an inch)

My thinking is if the wheels have a larger diameter, they don't need to rotate as often for a given distance. Therefore 2 things can happen =
1, Travel faster for the same engine revs ~ possibly 10%
2, Travel at your normal speed for less revs ~ possibly 10%

Which adds another 2 questions:
Is the 1.6ELX (petrol) man enough to handle an extra 10% workload?
What might it do to the fuel figures?
Just a bit of idle thought,
George

 

[the frog]

When fitting bigger Alloys, people usually fit lower profile tyres to keep the rolling radius the same. You will probably find your speedometer with read incorrectly, though if you have sat nav then that will be accurate.

You would lose out on acceleration which would probably be more noticable on the petrol model.

 

[Oletimer]

Thank you for your your reply 'the frog'

No doubt I am not alone in thinking the multi is under geared - 4000 revs for 80 mph - when most motors can manage the same speed (or better) running at 3000 or even less. My motor always seems to be working harder than it needs to.

I had an old Sherpa camper on a 'V' plate which would scream blue murder at 60 so I had a chat with our tyre man and he sorted out some Pirelli P4's, they had a bigger diameter for the same rim size - down to profiles I spose. Anyway, the end result was 60 at a less alarming squeal . Mpg went from 22 to about 28, providing you didn't cane it. It was so low geared in the first place that it took the bigger wheels ok. I think those engines were so gutless Leyland had to do something to get em moving, hence the low gearing haha.