Hi guys what is the best size of alloys to put on my kit ???? (MK R1)

Cheers Drew

this depends on many factors like how hard you want the ride to be, directly related to this will be stiffness of suspension setup and handling, money you want to spend (big wheels are expensive) and the price and availability of tyre for said size of wheel.

I don't think I'd be wrong in saying 15-16" is the norm, focus offset and 17" has been done,m possibly bigger but very expnsive and very low profile tyres..

Just my 2p..

Ned.

The Indy is designed for 15" 6J ET38 wheels with 195/50-15 Tyres.

Not that Ive used them but you have to adjust things to suit

iv used 17's on mine,i cant realy tell any difference between my car and the other mk's iv been in ,they all seem to have quite a hard ride

The ride will be different in every car anyway as it depends on damper settings and spring rates...yadder yadder.

Lower profile tyres, and larger alloys, make the breakaway of the back end more sudden and less predictable. Larger profile tyres will make it more controlable. Depends what sort of handling you want.

And of course it depends what sort of appearance you want, i think 17" can look ok with the right style of wheels (OX's are nice) but again it can look silly with the wrong style.

15" seem the standard though, and they are considerably cheaper than 17"!

It really is a personal thing i think.

David

If I was doing mine again I would have to think very hard about 14" wheels and 60 profile tyres. The weight difference between a 14 and 15" wheel is a fair amount, 17 look good but too heavy compared to same 15". Too low a profile tyre are too firm for this type of car. Look at what Caterham use 13", light is right.

yes my wheels weigh a ton and it does brake away easy when i want it to when coming out of roundabouts and tight corners ,but thats half the fun ,if i drive smooth it doesnt brake away but does'nt feel as good i havnt had the car long but as soon as i get some spare money i will try some better tyres

After speaking to many, many people and taking advice from all sides. We understand the advantages of using smaller wheels - traction/handling against looks... the result is a trade off, one against the other. As OX's car is undeniably very tasty, what percentage of his car spends on the track and balls out handling is an issue.

We've heard some pretty hairaising stories about 17"s so eventually we decided to compromise and go for 16", an odd size granted - but as most company cars are now 16" there will soon be no shortage of choice. As many have said it's a point of personal preference... in the end - there isn't much will touch one of these things with any size wheel on - on the road!

We're also investing in a set of 15"s for thrash days too.

14's on mine plenty of choice on rubber and not too expensive either......you can't see the beggars when yr thrashin' it!!

Ben

Ox,

quote:

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yes my wheels weigh a ton

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hehe ,if i lost abit of weight it might make up for 1 of the wheels,im looking for a cheap set of 15's for track days but it might be a waste of money for the amount of times i get to use them

OX

go for a set of 13s or 14s with fat tyres, loads of them on ebay, or have a look on www.blatchat.com the caterham boys use them for their cars, usually come shod with good tyres too. Could pick up a set for cheap and apparently really improves the handling, heard about someone putting them on his tintop after he was so impressed with them on his 7.

Not sure if you would have a problem fitting them on the sierra hubs, but some sierras came with 14" steels so shouldnt be a problem.

[Edited on 13/3/04 by greggors84]

I reckon we'll end up with 14's as the Ford Dealers are buying up the crashed car 15's... and reselling them (allegedly!). Would have been nice to see what the difference is between light steel 15's (what the Indy is designed for - according to MK) and what we have. Still, be nice seeing the wheels blurr anyway!

Our donor had 14" alloys with VERY little clearance between the inner and caliper - so 14's do go on...

[Edited on 13-3-04 by Hellfire]

I´m trying to choose between 15" or 17" for my Indy. The 17" wheels is more intreresting but cashier.
I´ll probably gonna go for 15" this year and then maybe change to 17" next year.

Btw, my donor came with 13" x 80 wheels

I have 17s, but i havent driven it yet so?


Ox do us a favour mate
change your avatar that thing makes me feel ill

ok

cheers mate i feel better already

Has anyone fitted 13s to their Indy? I was tempted to do this but when I looked at the rear suspension it looked like 13s would be very tight on the rear hubs and I was worried about possible interference. In the end I chickened out of messing with sizes and went for the recommended 195/50x15s

Pete

dudes,

hi.

i have some brand new, lightweight (6.3 kg) 6 X14 compomotive wheels advertised in the 'for sale' section for £384. they are ford fitment (108 pcd and et 33 offset) and are fitted with brand new 185 60 14 yokohama A539s.

the wheels will be about 8-10 kg lighter than 15s, plus you will save weight on the tyres. this is unsprung weight we're talking about, so your suspension will respond more quickly. also, your rotational inertia will be reduced on a smaller/lighter wheel, so your brakes will work better. finally, the gyroscopic effect is also reduced on a smaller/lighter wheel, which vastly improves the steering response.

you're looking @ circa 48 kg total, for 4 wheels and tyres. that's against 80 kg for 4 17" wheels with 205 40 17 tyres. that's a saving of 32 kg of unsprung weight.

there are so many benefits with fitting smaller/lighter wheels, you'd have to be crazy to go for massive bling bling rims and ultra low profiles. these cars aren't exactly pimp fodder anyway, so why go for the bigger wheels?

the 185 tyres will give you plenty of footprint for a car weighing 500 kg, even 175s or 165s are plenty. again, look at what the caterham R500s run. you will reduce tramlining with a narrower tyre and substantially decrease the chances of aquaplaning. (light car + wide tyres + water = trouble). the 60 profile is a much more comfortable arrangement, off track, than a 50 or 40 profile. these cars run on 16 - 18 psi anyway, so there's no need for the super rigid tyre wall you get with the low and ultra low prifile tyres. you actually want some flexibility in the tyre wall, as these types of car generally have a harder suspension and stiffer chassis than a tin top.

sorry for the lecture. hope that clears up a few things.

regards,

dom.

Talking about the looks of wheels, we were looking for some 15" superleggeras, then came across some 16" caterham HPC wheels, as in my avatar. They did look very very good (i think) Didnt realise they were 19mm offset though, so had to sell them (for more than we paid )
Then found some 14" OZ F1s. We were a bit unsure about what they would look like being so small. But i can now say they look brilliant. They are darkish colour too, so suit the colour scheme of the car.

You dont have to go big to look good...

agreed,

the compomotive rims that i have for sale and am fitting to my car look really good, too, and they're light and they're inexpensive and, being compomotive, they're also extremely durable. what more could you want?

regards,

dom.

Pete, I run 13" XR2 pepperpots for trackdays with cut slicks. They fit on a treat and the handling is much better than the 15" wheels I use for road use, but thats probably down to the cheap tyres fitted.
I have drum rear brakes and there is plenty of clearance at both ends.
Cheers
Tim