17" on a fiat barchetta?
Discussion
I had 205/40 17's on mine and they fitted fine. If you do the sums the rolling diameter is almost identical to the standard 195/55 15's. I did see one at a show with 215/40's on which looked fairly tight - I think they might have rolled the the lip on the rear arches.
The thing you need to pay attention to is the offset. Most aftermarket alloys for Fiat have around 37mm offset, the standard on the Barc is 32mm. This leaves the inner edge of the rear tyre very close to the plastic arch liner. In the short term I just cable-tied it out of the way. Longer term, I replaced the standard spacers at the rear (yes they leave the factory with 5mm spacers on the rear, have a look!) with some custom-made wider ones, and put the old ones on the front. Wider spacers on the rear have to be specially made otherwise you lose the location spigot for the wheel in the extra width.
I'm not going to comment on whether you should or not - it's your car so do what the hell you like with it. I'm guessing your motivation is aesthetic, so if you do go ahead make sure you get a set of Eibach lowering springs as well. 17 in wheels and standard ride height looks daft - too much wheel arch air!
Hope this helps.
The thing you need to pay attention to is the offset. Most aftermarket alloys for Fiat have around 37mm offset, the standard on the Barc is 32mm. This leaves the inner edge of the rear tyre very close to the plastic arch liner. In the short term I just cable-tied it out of the way. Longer term, I replaced the standard spacers at the rear (yes they leave the factory with 5mm spacers on the rear, have a look!) with some custom-made wider ones, and put the old ones on the front. Wider spacers on the rear have to be specially made otherwise you lose the location spigot for the wheel in the extra width.
I'm not going to comment on whether you should or not - it's your car so do what the hell you like with it. I'm guessing your motivation is aesthetic, so if you do go ahead make sure you get a set of Eibach lowering springs as well. 17 in wheels and standard ride height looks daft - too much wheel arch air!
Hope this helps.
I've got 17s on my barchetta (there should be a pic on my profile).
Not sure why the other guy thinks that this stops you having fun on b roads - I have enormous fun on b roads in my barchetta and have only noticed a slightly stiffer ride from having them. This doesn't bother me too much. My tyres are also 205/40/17s so slightly wider than the standard 195 rubber. The level of grip I get is very high with Avon ZZ3, you might find other tyres are even better but then Avons work well for me.
I have driven other b's enough to really be an expert on how this changes the drive, but I'm really happy with my barchetta and there's no doubt that the car looks really great with the 17" wheels. Much better than the standard 15 inch steel wheels or indeed 16" alloys.
I have had problems with tyres leaking around the rims on cold weather, though, but have not found this with Avon brand tyres, only Nankang.
Hope this helps,
Joel
Not sure why the other guy thinks that this stops you having fun on b roads - I have enormous fun on b roads in my barchetta and have only noticed a slightly stiffer ride from having them. This doesn't bother me too much. My tyres are also 205/40/17s so slightly wider than the standard 195 rubber. The level of grip I get is very high with Avon ZZ3, you might find other tyres are even better but then Avons work well for me.
I have driven other b's enough to really be an expert on how this changes the drive, but I'm really happy with my barchetta and there's no doubt that the car looks really great with the 17" wheels. Much better than the standard 15 inch steel wheels or indeed 16" alloys.
I have had problems with tyres leaking around the rims on cold weather, though, but have not found this with Avon brand tyres, only Nankang.
Hope this helps,
Joel
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