Converting to alloys, is it that hard?

[JonH92]

Hi I'm sure this is in the wrong place? But sorry it's late here and I couldn't see where it should go but anyway here goes!
How easy is it to convert a mk1 ford focus from steel wheels to alloys? Will I be able to do it myself or best to take it to a garage and whats the right price?
Cheers!

[Mercury00]

Not hard at all, just stick them straight on. You don't need a garage, although the wheels will need to be balanced beforehand if they aren't already.

[minky monkey]

You may need different bolts for them too.

[JonH92]

cheers guys, but you're definitely sure there will be no effects of slotting an alloy wheel straight where the steelies had been before? I read somewhere earlier that stronger alloy bolts can sort of grind away at the weaker old housings (maybe not exactly as I've just written but it was something along those lines)?

[Riknos]

JonH92 said:

cheers guys, but you're definitely sure there will be no effects of slotting an alloy wheel straight where the steelies had been before? I read somewhere earlier that stronger alloy bolts can sort of grind away at the weaker old housings (maybe not exactly as I've just written but it was something along those lines)?

You're talking about fitting alloy wheels, not alloy bolts, so your comment above isn't relevant.

[RedBull]

Assuming that you're talking about wheels that are definately suitable for your car, such as a set of factory alloys from another Mk1 Focus, then it is a straight forward swap using the correct wheel bolts/nuts as said above.
Of course there are a whole lot of other things to consider if you are buying a set of aftermarket wheels, such as PCD, offset, rolling diameter and so on.

[JonH92]

RedBull said:

Assuming that you're talking about wheels that are definately suitable for your car, such as a set of factory alloys from another Mk1 Focus, then it is a straight forward swap using the correct wheel bolts/nuts as said above.
Of course there are a whole lot of other things to consider if you are buying a set of aftermarket wheels, such as PCD, offset, rolling diameter and so on.

yeah I did a parts search from breakers yards and got quoted £142 for 4 which seemed really good, thanks

@riknoss, Sorry as you can tell I'm a novice so I just assumed with alloy wheels came alloy bolts etc. I didn't realise you can just do a direct swap no other parts required except the wheels, that's why I'm asking here

[RedBull]

JonH92 said:

@riknoss, Sorry as you can tell I'm a novice so I just assumed with alloy wheels came alloy bolts etc. I didn't realise you can just do a direct swap no other parts required except the wheels, that's why I'm asking here

Not strictly correct Jon, you should make sure you have the correct mounting bolts or nuts for the alloys too. Steel wheels are thinner than alloys at the mountings and might require longer bolts, if they are mounted with bolts. Or, if they have studs and wheel nuts then the studs will need to be long enough to accept the alloys properly. Either way, the nuts or bolts will need the correct seat for the alloy wheels too. Basically, make sure you buy the mounting nuts or bolts with the wheels rather than reuse yours, and you should be fine.

[Eighteeteewhy]

No offence OP but I would get someone qualified to take a look at your finished set up, just to be sure.

[bencollins]

OP check ebay, also visits in person to scrappies and pay cash gets better prices sometimes

[andy-xr]

From memory the Focus is nuts not bolts, so you'd need these if you're going from steelies to alloys

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-MK1-Replaceme...

And obviously the alloys as well. If you stick with Ford fit you'll be fine, you need 4 x 108 PCD and most hubs are 63.4mm. Check the measurements of the ones you're buying against http://carlsalter.com/ford-wheel-fitments.html if the centre bore for the hub is larger, you'll need to get spigot rings to fit inside the wheel hub

[marshalla]

But, before you do anything, check with your insurer to make sure that they will still provide cover, and find out by how much your premium will increase.

[sandman77]

If you want to move your existing tyres onto your new alloy wheels then yes you will need a garage to do it for you.

[vtecyo]

Make sure they're the correct width and offset to fit, otherwise you'll need to run spacers / roll arches to avoid them scraping against the arches / suspension components.

[J4CKO]

marshalla said:

But, before you do anything, check with your insurer to make sure that they will still provide cover, and find out by how much your premium will increase.

Do insurers actually go into that much detail on fiften year old Fords to ensure it is as it left the factory, there were so many variations would they actually check that a 1.6 Ghia came with a certain type of wheel, sometimes they were options, then standard, dealer fit etc etc, ok if its some 19 inch "Mania" Halfords mega hoops with many bolt holes or off a Bentley I could see they would raise an eyebrow but cant imagine standard Ford wheels would it cause a problem ?

Would they check it had the correct steels wheels on ?

[marshalla]

J4CKO said:

marshalla said:

But, before you do anything, check with your insurer to make sure that they will still provide cover, and find out by how much your premium will increase.

Do insurers actually go into that much detail on fiften year old Fords to ensure it is as it left the factory, there were so many variations would they actually check that a 1.6 Ghia came with a certain type of wheel, sometimes they were options, then standard, dealer fit etc etc, ok if its some 19 inch "Mania" Halfords mega hoops with many bolt holes or off a Bentley I could see they would raise an eyebrow but cant imagine standard Ford wheels would it cause a problem ?

Would they check it had the correct steels wheels on ?

If anything, they are more interested in any sort of modifications at this end of the market because of the type of driver involved. It costs very little to check, but not doing anything could have serious consequences if anything did happen. http://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/modi...

[J4CKO]

marshalla said:

J4CKO said:

marshalla said:

But, before you do anything, check with your insurer to make sure that they will still provide cover, and find out by how much your premium will increase.

Do insurers actually go into that much detail on fiften year old Fords to ensure it is as it left the factory, there were so many variations would they actually check that a 1.6 Ghia came with a certain type of wheel, sometimes they were options, then standard, dealer fit etc etc, ok if its some 19 inch "Mania" Halfords mega hoops with many bolt holes or off a Bentley I could see they would raise an eyebrow but cant imagine standard Ford wheels would it cause a problem ?

Would they check it had the correct steels wheels on ?

If anything, they are more interested in any sort of modifications at this end of the market because of the type of driver involved. It costs very little to check, but not doing anything could have serious consequences if anything did happen. http://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/modi...

In that case I suspect a lot of people are risking insurance problems, see so many cars with non original wheels but only car bores like us can usually spot that a Focus 1.6 LX has Zetec wheels on, doubt the harassed mum with three kids to cart about will notice, especially given that so many fail to notice when a tyre is bald or 75 percent of the illumination on their car has failed.

I suspect a lot of the loss adjusters dont know either or they just make an offer, after all if your £500 Focus gets bumped, its pretty much toast, do they actually send anyone out in those circumstances ?

[Snowboy]

marshalla said:

But, before you do anything, check with your insurer to make sure that they will still provide cover, and find out by how much your premium will increase.

This isn't necessary.
It might be worth doing if you were buying £4k alloys.

But for a set of alloys from a scrapyard that are OEM fit for the car then nobody will care.

It won't change the handling, value or likekyhood of being stolen or vandalised.

[ecsrobin]

J4CKO said:

marshalla said:

J4CKO said:

marshalla said:

But, before you do anything, check with your insurer to make sure that they will still provide cover, and find out by how much your premium will increase.

Do insurers actually go into that much detail on fiften year old Fords to ensure it is as it left the factory, there were so many variations would they actually check that a 1.6 Ghia came with a certain type of wheel, sometimes they were options, then standard, dealer fit etc etc, ok if its some 19 inch "Mania" Halfords mega hoops with many bolt holes or off a Bentley I could see they would raise an eyebrow but cant imagine standard Ford wheels would it cause a problem ?

Would they check it had the correct steels wheels on ?

If anything, they are more interested in any sort of modifications at this end of the market because of the type of driver involved. It costs very little to check, but not doing anything could have serious consequences if anything did happen. http://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/modi...

In that case I suspect a lot of people are risking insurance problems, see so many cars with non original wheels but only car bores like us can usually spot that a Focus 1.6 LX has Zetec wheels on, doubt the harassed mum with three kids to cart about will notice, especially given that so many fail to notice when a tyre is bald or 75 percent of the illumination on their car has failed.

I suspect a lot of the loss adjusters dont know either or they just make an offer, after all if your £500 Focus gets bumped, its pretty much toast, do they actually send anyone out in those circumstances ?

This is one I've always wondered, if I was someone who knew nothing off cars and someone had added aftermarket shocks, wheels maybe some seats. When I ring the insurer I would say I've just bought a car, to me I don't know if its been modified or from the factory so you would say it's not modified as it looks from the factory. Where do you stand in an incident?

[Snowboy]

ecsrobin said:

This is one I've always wondered, if I was someone who knew nothing off cars and someone had added aftermarket shocks, wheels maybe some seats. When I ring the insurer I would say I've just bought a car, to me I don't know if its been modified or from the factory so you would say it's not modified as it looks from the factory. Where do you stand in an incident?

This comes up a lot on ph.
Generally speaking, it's fine.

At one end of the scale you just get paid out for a standard car rather than the cost of the nice mods.
At the other end you might get a reduction in your payout based on the premium you should have paid.

It can get tricky if you seem to be attempting fraud, or if the mods had a direct influence on the claim.

Older cars often have replacement parts as things wear out.
So long as they don't significantly change the handling or value it's all fine.