456 - small wheels

[Schnellmann]

I love the shape of the 456 but the standard wheels look far too small IMO. I was at the Ferrari Euro day in Sempach, Switzerland, on Sunday and saw a nice 456 in black with non-standard, larger wheels. I'm not usually one for after-market wheels but these seemed to really improve the look of the whole car (incidentally the car also had a full alcantara interior, which I've not seen before on a 456 - it also had two children's seats in the back - I thought it was great to see a 456 obviously being used as family transport).

Does anyone know why the 456 came with such small wheels? And does fitting bigger, aftermarket wheels cause (significant) handling/ride issues?

[Drclarke]

I would of said its because back in 1990s when the 456 was released that size wheels were the norm

[Fun Bus]

I actually think the 456 looks nice with the standard wheels it came with despite them being quite small. It's not a small car after all.

The standard wheels on the 612 (another large bodied Ferrari, not sure if still standard but were from initial launch) look ridiculous to me - the 20" rims suit the car much better.

[JasonSF]

I have 19" CS wheels on my 456. It gives the car a very different look and brings the timeless shape up to date. The ride is also much improved.

[rainmasterb]

JasonSF said:

I have 19" CS wheels on my 456. It gives the car a very different look and brings the timeless shape up to date. The ride is also much improved.

Would love to see a picture of that...?

[chris5150]

Agreed, the 456 & 612 need big wheels, its amazing the differance it makes to the overall look of the cars. Not a fan of aftermarket wheels on the whole, but definatly bigger wheels transform the 456. Likewise what on earth did ferrari put those awful star spoked tiny alloys on the 612 for on release?, killed the looks of the car, thankfully the 20"'s made it look like it should of done from the get go

[Justices]

Phone camera fairly useless but this hideous creation runs around town. Original wheels definitely a little small visually, just take the time to add wheels which do this gorgeous body justice. NO wings!

[JasonSF]

[Jonty355]

Justices said:

Phone camera fairly useless but this hideous creation runs around town. Original wheels definitely a little small visually, just take the time to add wheels which do this gorgeous body justice. NO wings!

I was wondering how long it would be until someone did that! Good effort though!

[Justices]

The lack of light in the pic is doing it all sorts of favours. It's parked close to the office so I will try to capture this beast in daylight.

[Midds]

JasonSF said:

Love this. Can't believe one small mod has made this much difference... Must look at 456's...

Has anyone done this to a 550?

[Schnellmann]

JasonSF said:

Lovely. I love those alloys and they really improve the 456 (which I think is one of the better-looking Ferraris in any case)

[Schnellmann]

Justices said:

Phone camera fairly useless but this hideous creation runs around town. Original wheels definitely a little small visually, just take the time to add wheels which do this gorgeous body justice. NO wings!

If that isn't a crime, it should be! What were they thinking?

[Cactussed]

550 wheels help a lot

[Cactussed]

Novitec's look awesome IMHO

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=...

[rainmasterb]

CS wheels are certainly an improvement but I think I prefer the 550 wheels. Would like to see one with the 355 five spokes - think they could look even better with the thicker spokes

[mc_blue]

The CS and 550 wheels look so much better.

[Fun Bus]

I don't know what it is but I'm not loving the CS or 550 wheels on a 456 yet I love both wheel designs?!

[MogulBoy]

Looks are one thing but for anything other than posing around, you would need to be confident that the potentially different offsets on those 550 or CS wheels would create issues.

There have been a few threads posted on here showing F360 wheels have been fitted to 348s. They look really good (IMO) but to get them to fit, I believe that a chunk of material has to be machined off the wheel centres (possibly just the rears) to reduce the offset Rather draconian!

[voicey]

I was at Autofficina the other day and they had a TDF 456 in with dark grey split rims - it look awesome.