Got a friend who is adamant that 17" rims on a fiesta will help it handle.

And why they use 17" rims on touring cars.

So I thought I would open to the floor to people who actually "KNOW" something.

Fire away

 

Made my comments on this and apparently I'm just wrong. Can't be fucking bothered.

Not aimed at Mac BTW

 

touring cars have a longer wheels base, so better to have a bigger rim,

Id prefer to have a 16" rim on anycar, best for overall performance in handling, tho saying that i'll be running 8x17 on my escort LOL

 

17's will probably hit the shocks. Coilovers are needed.

They certainly wont help it handle.

 

 

17's are better for traction
15's better for 0-60's
16's are a good alrounder.

 

But isn't half the battle of 0-60 getting traction? Surely traction is as much if not more down to suspension set up?

 

Id say so

 

If you run 200bhp with 15's, you will have more problem putting the power down than if you ran 16's... but with 17's there is more pressure put on the driveshafts (I think lol)

 

Can open, worms everywhere

 

Says the man in a mini with 69 on the side

 

Where did that come from

 

Its only if he rolls it, he can still recognise the tin lol

 

You can run a smaller wheel - you just need the right suspension so the weight transfer doesn't lift the front of the car up too much on hard acceleration.

I would never have 17s anywhere near a Fiesta.

Konis, decent rate springs, 15s with very good tyres, ZOO front setup - perfect combo.

 

Sorry Rad, bin drinkin Seemed funny at the time of writing

 

PMSL

 

Thank you Rich . This is what I've been saying for days on FT.com and been getting flack for

 

Isn't 0-60times and smaller wheels all to do with some inertial energy thing?

the nearer the centre(driveshaft) the weight is, the easier it is to turn.

so either a lighter wheel or a smaller wheel should help acceleration!?!?


think thats the basics of it, some clever sod can explain better,

but if its just for looks/handling 16s would be fine on a wee fiesta,they'll still look big enough!

 

why you been getting flack, they all boy racers that think a set off 100mm lowered springs will sort the handling in every aspect

 

Long story mate but I'm so pissed with that place at the mo I daren't go back for a while for fear of really offending people. Registered as it was a Fiesta Forum and thought it would be usefull with our new FRST.

 

17 inch wheels with 205/40 tyres give a Overall Wheel and Tyre diameter of 612.8mm

Fiesta RST ran 14 inch wheels with 185/55 tyres, giving an overall wheel and tyre diameter of 596.5mm

Thats a fairly big increase in diameter, which can't possibly help it handle.

 

LOL stay with passionford, i dont go on FT just for that reason, 99% are jumped up pricks

 

I'd stick with 15"'s or 16"'s MAX. 17" is just to big, apart from the fact it'll look like a Fisher-Price roller skate and handle like one too.

 

What Fiesta are we Talking about? Mk2 or Mk3?

Mk2... first and formost your gonna need alot of bodywork mods done to make the wheels fit and still have the car sitting with a Decent low centre of gravity, with such a short wheelbase 17's on any Fiesta are a waste of time in my opinion...

On any fiesta I would say smaller and fatter are the way to get traction, 8 x 15 will give a far better foot print if your 1/4 mileing it, and what about rolling radius acceleration time in theory would be quicker with a smaller wheel, where as overall speed would be higher with a bigger wheel?

It's a question of what you want from your car? if you want handling and speed then i'd go for 15's and propper suspension, if you wanna pull the dollies at Maccy D's then go for ya 17's

This is my opinion and should not be mistook for anything knowledgeable

 

This is Mk3 Fiesta Garry.

 

I'm running about 240bhp, 15" x 6.5" rims with Yoko AVS tyres, AVO coilovers setup perfect on the front end, strut brace and new standard lower arms and ARB bushes. The car handles excellently but is a bit wayward so I will eventually look into polybushing the front end and changing to fully adjustable TCA's.

15" rims do not make the power hard to transmit - far from it, with teh Quaife diff in the Bernie 'box I've got it's a bloody animal because it really is hard to wheelspin! Quickest fwd car I've been in

 

that looks like my girlfriends car 17x7.5j

 

The Smart actually looks cool in a rollerskate kinda way

 

needs to be two of em really

 

I have replied on FT, although I am building myself up for a typical arrogant never back down PON style rant

 

FT used to be a really really good resource for the frst, it has become a little saturated by fools lately, but there is still a lot of worthwhile info there. how many of the people replying actually have a frst Steve?

 

I will pop back and look at your post then but won't sign in as I'm liable to throw my toys out the pram

 

Not as many as you would expect. Fooks me off that some can't look beyon sales brochure spiel

 

to be honest ft is becoming to be inhabited by muppets, ive been there for a good few years and still go on everyday, its a good laugh

i am biased on the 17inch thing, although i wont be doing it again, was way to much hassle to get it to handle anything like reasonable, and to get it on the deck, sticking to 15s for the others

 

I'd be interested to see Brom @Zoo's take on this

 

i replied too, like i said there, what wheels do the trackday fiestas run? 15s or 16s usaully.

 

Lengthy reply added.......... more to come.

 

my turbo has 17s, it handles well but and i like the way it drives, traction is greatly improved and grips mint in the corners

my runabout was on 14s, it was brilliant for chucking about but with no arb's or strengthening just shocks and springs it was a bit bouncey in the bends and used to step out when you wouldnt be expecting it

the new stripped out effort will be on 15s or 16s, i think they offer the best compromise between looks, handling and weight, plus tyres are cheaper

 

PON mate as I respect your viewpoint can you tell me whether my arguement made sense to you? I know I was generalising with my comments but I kinda hoped I was getting some level of accuracy into what I was trying to get across

 

The proper touring cars used 19" wheels. Nowt to do with the size of car more the regulations. Question is in the answer and why a touring car is a touring car and a road going Fiesta is just that