shortie
Member
BTW, Bebbe and Paulbfd... Very nice wheels
Styling Biggest rims to fit the panda?
- Thread starter bebbe
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Styling Biggest rims to fit the panda?
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bebbe
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I upgraded to 15" wheels and tyres on my 1.2 dynamic and there is a massive improvement in over all road holding and ride quality
Yes, on the original tyres the car is a little handfull to drive.
I think I will get 30-40mm (don't know, don't want it to be to much) lowering springs and 16" wheel on my Panda. Will probably be more effortles to drive after that.
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bebbe
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On 16s and best looking Panda on forum IMO :yum:
Look really nice
Is the car lowerd to? If so, how much?
I wish the 100hp body kit was done to by to the 1,3 multijet. Your car is really nice looking
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bebbe
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Maybe this could be something
http://shophost.net/shop_n/catalog/...d=962&osCsid=3b6534dbb81a378159b301638c30b3d2
hi bebbe, yes the car is lowered. i had the suspension fitted and didnt actually say how much i wanted it lowered but ive got a feeling they dropped it all the way so i think the kit lowers to 40mm or something like that.
glad you like the look though!
glad you like the look though!
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bebbe
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hi bebbe, yes the car is lowered. i had the suspension fitted and didnt actually say how much i wanted it lowered but ive got a feeling they dropped it all the way so i think the kit lowers to 40mm or something like that.
glad you like the look though!
Yes, it looks really nice
You haven't got any problems with the lowering? The tyres aren't rubbing against the fenders or something else? Has the car been much stiffer or is it still drivable?
I ask because I'm about to do the jobb with lowering and 16" wheels on my car. Just want to know if I should go for 30 or 40mm? I have an ordinary MJT though. Think the 100HP Panda is a little lower than mine in the standard trim.
And your wheels, is it 7x16 with ET30?
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Hi Bebbe i have had 7x16s et 37, on my old mj sporting, 195x45x16, on full lock they scuffed the inner arch near the bulkhead, this was only very small though, loads of rear wheel arch clearance i even pulled rear spring to check when bottoming out, but it needed lowering due to my job i never bothered, i then bought some 7x15s et 38, 195x45x15 no probs at all, both sets of alloys/tyres improved the standard handling no end, no longer would the front understeer and wash out leaving you with more lock applied than needed and would go in the direction chosen, i then sold mj and got the 100hp, and bought new wheels/tyres again 6.5x16s et38 195x45x16 i have no issues they do not scuff or rub and compared to the original 100hp wheels and tyres these seem a lot lighter, the handling is as it was also, Bang On.
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Personally i think a mini cooper with 15s looks fine to me. It will handle better with smaller rims too.
My integra type-r has 15" rims. To put bigger wheels on would be asbolute blasphemy.
People just don't get it. Great cars like the 205 GTi, 306 GTi-6, Renault Clio Williams, Clio 172, 182, 197, Integra Type R all handle great because the manufacturers worked so hard at the suspension setup for the standard rim size. Go bigger and your car might look slightly better but it will handle far worse.
just one word:
why?
i sell alloys every day at work and after a while people come back moaning about the ride and the fact it pulls the arch lining out everytime they go round a roundabout! a nice set of compmotive cxrs in 13"s with decent rubber would look the nuts or oz superts in white maybe in 15s but 17 no way! it can be done (iv seen 20"s on a saxo) but why would you
why?
i sell alloys every day at work and after a while people come back moaning about the ride and the fact it pulls the arch lining out everytime they go round a roundabout! a nice set of compmotive cxrs in 13"s with decent rubber would look the nuts or oz superts in white maybe in 15s but 17 no way! it can be done (iv seen 20"s on a saxo) but why would you
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bebbe
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This was really nice. Now I kan se how it looks
But one this is a little bit confusing. You had ET37 and ET38. I have spoken to a company in Germany that is doing some work on the Pandas. They have 7x16 with ET30. When I look att the pictures on your MJT with the 7x16 and ET37 it looks like it's on the limit. If you widen it a little more the tyres will be outside the fender
And sorry but my English is a little bit bad. The bulkhead, what part in the wheel arch is that. Is it a metal or plastic part?
Felix27 i totally agree, and 306maxi small increase yes for looks but do you really think swapping the tyres dont make that much of a difference to understeer,Wider tyres aren't going to make your car understeer less
going from the standard panda 165/65/14 to a 195/45/15/16 is a wider tyre it also has a lower profile, it has a bigger footprint so should ? grip better, and the tyre rolls less the profile and stiffness of sidewall giving better and more surefooted cornering, so should reduce understeer ? i understand many Hot Hatches were designed to run standard wheels profiles etc, i have also noticed that many people still replace these on sporting days and run at the front not the back, i think Bebbe only wants to know from the looks department what will fit, do not think his or my Panda will be at Spa or Silverstone next year do you, mind you after reading this Fiat might ask Lotus to sort out the entire Panda range then we may have an argument that holds up. Bebbe have a look http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp English is great Bebbe dont be sorry.
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Felix27 i totally agree, and 306maxi small increase yes for looks but do you really think swapping the tyres dont make that much of a difference to understeer,
going from the standard panda 165/65/14 to a 195/45/15/16 is a wider tyre it also has a lower profile yes, it has a bigger footprint so should ? grip better or is that wrong ?, and the tyre rolls less is that correct ? the profile and stiffness of sidewall giving better and more surefooted cornering, so should reduce understeer ? i understand many Hot Hatches were designed to run standard wheels profiles etc, i have also noticed that many people still replace these on sporting days and run at the front not the back, but i may be wrong again
Understeer is not a lack of grip per se. Understeer is when the front has less grip than the rear of the car. You turn the wheel and the front tyres don't have enough grip to turn the car in and the rear tyres "push" the car forward in a straight line.
So you go and put wider tyres and give the front more grip. So as not to look like a ****tard you do the same on the back. So nothing is actually done to change the balance and the car still understeers.
Many car magazines have done tests on cars where they try the standard rim size and then a rim which is an inch bigger and almost always without fail the car with the SMALLER rims laps quicker than the car with bigger rims. What people don't realise is that tyres are part of your suspension. So if you put bigger rims on you increase the stiffness of the suspension. Something which the 100hp in particular doesn't need.
People lower their car, put huge wheels on and it judders over potholes, speedbumps and so on and people mistake this for "racey" handling. It's not racey handling! You've just screwed your handling up. Cars which have suspension which is stiffer than normal will be LESS predictable to drive. Is that a good thing? Stiff suspension is great on a car that has been seam welded, has a welded in cage and which has strut braces but all you will get in a road car is the strut tops flexing and the chassis too. If you want to do it no one will stop you but please don't pretend that it makes a car handle better because it doesn't.
ScoobyChris
Established member
Wider tyres aren't going to make your car understeer less
This is kind of true. The car is still set up the same so will have the same understeer tendencies but with a bigger amount of grip at the tyre/road interface it will take more force to overcome it before it understeers.
Chris
A wider tyre will of course you give you better grip and ergo; increased roadholding.
However whilst a lower profile tyre will make the car more responsive, you will lost the progressiveness of the handling because once you get beyond the slip angle of the tyre (which is a smaller window on a lower profile tyre) grip will dissapear much more quickly than it does on a higher profile tyre and so you will lose that progressiveness.
Also bigger wheels weigh more which doesn't help the unsprung weight although this is a moot point given the sheer unsprung weight of a MaCrapson Strut design.
Experience has taught me that cars generally always handle best on standard wheel and tyre setups. The reason being is that manufacturers spend big bucks on setting a car up based on a given wheel/tyre size. So I would never advise going over the 100hp's setup, although that is still different because it has a wider track, so it may not fair quite so well on a stock panda.
On our integra we try really hard (with some success) to always use the OEM fitment tyres because the car handles best on these compared to other brands we have tried.
Perhaps a little. But remember you will now have more grip at the back to overcome the increased amount of grip at the front so any lessening of understeer will be minimal and balanced out by my next point.
It will also make the understeer far worse when it does come along
As trackdayqueen has pointed out a wider tyre is less progressive and gives less feel. The same with a lower profile tyre. But her it's your choice and if you think it makes your car better then who am I to tell you what to do You'll get far far bigger gains in handling by rotating your tyres and putting the grippiest tyres at the front of the car. I managed to get power on oversteer out of my 406 when I put Michelin Pilot Primacy's on the front and had barely legal Kormoran tyres on the back. When I put new tyres on the back the handling became nice and neutral again. It's not so much about how much grip you have but where you have it.
Great replys, there is obviously some talented and well informed members on this forum. Never to old to learn something new.
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bebbe
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Hihi.... no one can say that a standard Panda with standard 13" wheels will handle better than the same car with 15-16" wheels. With the standard 13" the car will skid and understeer even in leagal speed.
And yes, you can at some amount balance the understeer with rims and tyres. Just take a look att the Opel Speedster (Vauxhal VX220). Just change rims on the car and the handling improves extemely much.
And ofcourse I will not have my Panda as a trackday car (have an Opel Speedster). It will be a comuter car. But just to stopp the car beeing everywhere on the road I will mount some bigger rims and tyres. And it make the car look better to.
And yes, you can at some amount balance the understeer with rims and tyres. Just take a look att the Opel Speedster (Vauxhal VX220). Just change rims on the car and the handling improves extemely much.
And ofcourse I will not have my Panda as a trackday car (have an Opel Speedster). It will be a comuter car. But just to stopp the car beeing everywhere on the road I will mount some bigger rims and tyres. And it make the car look better to.
