Hi


I've got a '98 Fiesta that I've upgraded with a Puma 1.7 lump. I've put the Puma 'Propeller' wheels on the Fiesta with the correct tyre size (190/55/15) and when I'm carrying rear seat passengers the tyres sometimes rub the arches over bumps. The old tyres were the same radius but didn't do this as they were narrower.


What's the best way to fix this? I can't lower the car as it is because I expect this problem will just get worse if I do. Ultimately I guess I'd be looking at rolling the arches but could I avoid that by using wheels with a different offset or some aftermarket springs?


Thanks

 

Fit 45 profile tyres will make a huge difference, I thought puma wheels where meant to be 195/50/15 your profile is way too big.

 

Some of the mk4 fiesta have an offset of ET45 (Some ET43 / 42).
The Puma alloys are ET34 so are sticking out 11mm more possibly. That might not help the rubbing issue as well as the wrong profile tyres as mentioned above.

 

Thanks guys. I thought the 190/55 tyres were the correct ones? If I downsize to 45 profile tyres will the speedo read correctly?

 

195/50/15 are the correct size.

 

Sorry, I'm causing confusion now - the 195/50 tyres are the ones on the car at the moment. They're the right size for the Puma wheels when they're fitted to a Puma - if I put the wheels on my Mk4 Fiesta should I keep that size or go for a 45 profile as suggested above?

 

Could be the offset as much as the tyre ratio. Is it rubbing on the inside of the arch? I suspect the offset if it is.

 

Yep, it does rub the inside of the arch. How easy is it to roll the arches? The car needs some paint doing anyway so I'm not too worried about cosmetics at the moment. The tyres on there were Ł200 and they're almost new so I'm reluctant to swap to a different wheel size simply to make things less noisy on the rare occasions I carry rear seat passengers

 

Seems like a lot of effort. Why not just put your expensive tyres back on Fiesta alloys with the correct offset?

 

Are there 15" wheels for the Mk4 Fiesta then? I'm on a bit of a learning curve here


Edit to add: yep I can see there were. I was using the search function on an alloy wheels sales website and similar on eBay. They both suggested that the only wheel options were 13" or 14". Time to get shopping again! Thanks for your help on this