Can't deny alloys look better, but I reckon I'd make mincemeat of them over time, due to state of the kerbs and tight parking in our street.
Q: Would I be laughing stock if I asked a dealer for steel ones instead? What sort of discount could I expect to get? ( I'm looking for a 2002 Focus Estate / Mondeo 6-7K ).
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Would I be laughing stock if I asked a dealer for steel ones instead? What sort of discount could I expect to get? ( I'm looking for a 2002 Focus Estate / Mondeo 6-7K ).
At best the dealer would swap steels from a lower spec car onto your car FOC but i very much doubt he would actually give you a discount for not having the alloys.
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Can't deny alloys look better, but I reckon I'd make mincemeat of them over time,
Doesn't everyone?
Think carefully. think of trade in time or when you sell.
My advice buy with alloys in situ then buy 4 cheap steel replacements and keep the alloys pristine for resale time.
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If it's a Mondeo, just get the LX. Sorted...
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I dont like alloys for a number of reasons, not all of them totally logical. firstly, I've had a number of cars with alloys-admittedly quite old-and without exception, at least one leaked (3 on the old '86 range rover). I think they can seriously stick to a hub if not removed in some time. they are a target for thieves/scumbags who are jealous of something nice (just ask ecclestone. shouldnt park a flash motor outside his tardis, not with all that room inside) and lastly I happen to think they are a lot more fragile/brittle than steel ones.
The last one is a bit difficult to proove, but I think it stems from seeing something on the damnfoolidiotbox some time ago. something about counterfit car parts. showed a copy of a MB alloy subjected to a side impact on a test rig, such as you might get kerbing a wheel. it just cracked up and fell apart. I guess I have been subconciously applying this to all other alloys, and have been driving them with 'kid gloves'. (Anyone remember this program?)
WTM
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<< I think they canseriously stick to a hub if not removed in some time.
On the last used car I bought, three of the alloys were corroded onto the hubs/discs. I had to take it to my local dealer for them to get them off. (Incidentally, they don't have a special tool for doing this, unless you call a dirty great rubber mallet special!) They put copper grease on the mating surfaces before they put the wheels back, and this seems to work.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Alloys are reasonably easy to look after if you do not have low profile tyres - your tyres are then wider than the wheel rim and a gentle touch of a kerb is with the tyre and not the edge of the wheel rim.
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I'm not sure you mean low profile. The profile is a measure of the depth of the sidewall, so wouldn't make any difference to how far out the tyre goes.
Perhaps you mean getting as wide a tyre as possible on your alloy?
For example, say you have a 7.5x16 alloy, you could theoretically fit anything from a 185 to a 230 cross-section tyre (assuming they all existed) - the 230 would obviously bulge out further, giving more protection.
Actually, various tyre manufacturers supply tyres with rim protectors too. Vredestein and Toyo spring to mind.
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Alloys are reasonably easy to look after if you do not have low profile tyres - your tyres are then wider than the wheel rim and a gentle touch of a kerb is with the tyre and not the edge of the wheel rim.
And with any luck the tyre will be deeper than the height of the curb, the alloy rests above it and you couldn't hit the curb if you tried.
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Mike Farrow
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