My partner has just bought a new(ish) 2005 model 1.4 liter Ford Fiesta Zetec 'climate' shod with 15" alloys and 195/50 tyres as standard fit and quite ridiculous, really, if you think of it.
This setup does nothing for the ride comfort of the car which frankly is agricultural.
I was wondering whether we could buy four 14" Steel wheels and trims and put on them four R14 175/65 tyres (the same as the current steel spare as a matter of fact)? Are the fixing studs or bolts the same for both types of wheels and would there be any problem with the declaration in the Registration document with such alterations?
I'm sure that this would confer better ride comfort on what is basically a good car although I realise the total cost including new tyres would be of the order £500, say.
|
|
I suppose it's possible. My parents have the same car but a 2003 model. The alloys do look nice and set the car off but 195/50 tyres are taking it a bit too far. I noticed myself the spare is a 14 inch steel wheel with different size tyre but it may be the same overall diameter (if you understand what I mean). You could try to source some 14 inch steel wheels to suit keeping the alloys in storage for when you sell the car in the future. They shouldn't be £500, you could collect the (possibly unused) spare wheels from recent Fiestas from breakers yard or a Ford main dealer may do you a special price for four. The bolts should be Ok for both and Ford wheels should have identical hub size. There is a website which others may know of that allows you to calculate the corresponding wheel and tyre size to match your current alloy diameter so the speedometer is not affected.
|
£500 was a generous calculation (more like £400) based on £35 each steel wheel (new) plus four wheel trims at £10 each. Then of course there are four new tyres to pay for, which can vary quite considerably depending on make and supplier etc. If shod as suggested, then the wheels would be same as 'lesser' models in the Fiesta range and so wouldn't I think that the speedometer accuracy would be affected, significantly. However I do wonder by how much the ride would be improved.
|
Have you checked those on-line tyre websites, one called Blackcircles I think, they can deliver tyres at competitive prices so you can get a closer estimate on costs. If you replicate the steel spare, I think it's 175/65 R14 from memory, then they shouldn't be too expensive. You should get an improvement in ride quality compared to 50 section tyres. The suspension on the Zetec might be a bit firmer than other models but some improvement would be found with deeper tyrewalls. Also you may find the steering lighter than with 195 tyres.
Why not go for a test drive in a basic Finesse or non-Zetec model with those tyres as standard then make a comparison before committing money to the project?
|
|
|
|
My partner has just bought a new(ish) 2005 model 1.4 liter Ford Fiesta Zetec 'climate' shod with 15" alloys and 195/50 tyres as standard fit and quite ridiculous, really, if you think of it. This setup does nothing for the ride comfort of the car which frankly is agricultural.
I fully sympathise with you on this point. I went for a lower spec car to deliberately avoid ultra-low profile tyres/wheels when I bought my new Audi recently.
All of the car manufacturers seem obsessed with these damm things, they give a rubbish ride on all but the smoothest of roads, and to add insult to injury, cost more and wear out quicker.
|
|
You will probably need new wheel retaining bolts as well. Alloys are generally much thicker than steel. You may find that your spare steel wheel has spacers welded on to suit the bolts used on the alloys. If it has, you may well need a new standard steel spare as well.
|
|
What about just replacing the next worn out pair with a higher profile tyre i.e. a 60 It will slightly effect you speedo but will improve the ride considerable. Note. you will be travelling a little faster than your speedo indicates. Regards Peter
|
I doubt if there's any technical difficulty in fitting standard size wheels to a Zetec Fiesta, we certainly uwsed to fit Zetec alloys onto Fiesta Finesses with no problem.
As for whether it'll make a big difference, I doubt it will be big enough to justify the hassle.
Blue
|
|
Ford wheel bolts(and nuts)for alloy wheels have a rotating spacer built-in;steel wheels use a plain bolt (or nut).
|
?>> Ford wheel bolts(and nuts)for alloy wheels have a rotating spacerbuilt-in;steel wheels use a plain bolt (or nut).
Are all wheels secured nowadays with set pins or bolts rather than having studs on the disc hubs. The latter was a much easier way of offering up a heavy wheel and then securing them with the nuts, which could be spun on.
Is there any special technique for offering up alloys onto hubs without any projecting studs - are they supported by the centre wheel bearing hub/projection prior to fastening them with at least one of the securing bolts?
|
|
Some cars still have studs-not necessarilly one manufacturer-some manufacturers use both on different ranges of cars.The wheel can be placed on the centre hub and rotated till holes are in-line,alternatively a bolt with head cut-off or a length of studding can be placed in one of the boltholes to assist.
|
|
|
|
