Help with aftermarket wheels

[chriz1]

Recently bought a combo van and it came with 16inch alloy wheels I believe they are Astra snowflake wheels they measure 7.5j
There fitted with 205/55/16 tyres which rub the arch liner slightly..also the speedo over reads by about 2-3mph

What should be fitted are 185/55/15 6J steels wheels so would like to put them back on

I’ve done the maths to work out what standard wheel and tyre size should be and comes back as 24.4inches overall

Wheels on the car now that catch and over read come back as 24.8 inches

So there’s 0.4 inches of difference in the wheels on the car to what should be?
Does this sound right ? Doesn’t seem a lot to me to throw the speedo out so far?!

So I’m guessing I could even fit lower profile tyres on the car and narrower wheels to get the overall height back to normal ?

Say if I went 195/50/16 on7.5j alloys maths would work out as 23.6inches so would have more room in the arch but Speedo would be under reading then am I right ? Lol

Edited by chriz1 on Friday 29th December 17:25

[stevieturbo]

chriz1 said:

Recently bought a combo van and it came with 16inch alloy wheels I believe they are Astra snowflake wheels they measure 7.5j
There fitted with 205/55/16 tyres which rub the arch liner slightly..also the speedo over reads by about 2-3mph

What should be fitted are 185/55/15 6J steels wheels so would like to put them back on

I’ve done the maths to work out what standard wheel and tyre size should be and comes back as 24.4inches overall

Wheels on the car now that catch and over read come back as 24.8 inches

So there’s 0.4 inches of difference in the wheels on the car to what should be?
Does this sound right ? Doesn’t seem a lot to me to throw the speedo out so far?!

So I’m guessing I could even fit lower profile tyres on the car and narrower wheels to get the overall height back to normal ?

Say if I went 195/50/16 on7.5j alloys maths would work out as 23.6inches so would have more room in the arch but Speedo would be under reading then am I right ? Lol

Edited by chriz1 on Friday 29th December 17:25

Put 205/50x16's on it.

If they are actually 7.5" which are pretty wide, even 205's will look narrow, 195's would be ridiculous.

I'm amazed the 205/55's fit at all without serious fouling.

Loads of Vectra alloys out there that are in the 6-7" range that work fine, or quite a few Saab alloys too.

[chriz1]

I just nipped out whipped them off and they’re actually 6.5j with ET37

So maybe I could go to 195/5516 tyres ?

[stevieturbo]

chriz1 said:

I just nipped out whipped them off and they’re actually 6.5j with ET37

So maybe I could go to 195/5516 tyres ?

I've run 205/50's on mine for over 600k....I'm sure they'll be fine

On a very very rare occasion there might be very slightly contact on the front leading edge of the inner arch plastic, but it is very rare.

My plastics are worn a little, but I still havent replaced them yet so I'm sure at a lower mileage yours will be fine for many years.


195/55 might be an option, but they are actually larger in diameter/circumference

http://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=205&amp...

Strangely another thing I found....is that quite a few 205/50x16's are not of a suitable load rating . They need to be 88 or higher, yet some are only 87. In the real world it doesnt matter a damn, but legally they need to be 88+ and I know a few years back i got pulled at MOT about it.
I've been using Mohawk's since then and have been quite pleased with them, they have a 91 load rating and just get them locally. They seem to grip well ( better than some big brand names I've tried ) and I get around 40-50k from a set as long as everything is all running fine. That's swapping F/R mid way.
Obviously fronts wear faster than rears

[chriz1]

Is this on a combo van ?

[tapkaJohnD]

Your speedometer isn't a factor - they always overread, in fact and by law they must not underread, so their inevitable tolerances are set to the first.


The mintylamb Wheel & Tyre Comparorama site used to be invaluable in this situation, but it's host has just closed down. The owner intends to reprovide the SU needle charts it used to carry, on a new site, so lets hope he does the Wheel & Tyre one too! http://www.mintylamb.co.uk/
John

[stevieturbo]

chriz1 said:

Is this on a combo van ?

yes

[chriz1]

I’ve found some Astra alloys which are 15inch and 6J rins with same offset to what should be fitted so will get these and fit standard size tyres also

[stevieturbo]

chriz1 said:

I’ve found some Astra alloys which are 15inch and 6J rins with same offset to what should be fitted so will get these and fit standard size tyres also

Most of the 16" Vauxhall wheels will fit perfectly fine.

I've about 5 sets here that I've used over the years along with a set of 17's too. The 17's were wider and looked stupid with 205's though, and soon got eaten up by kerbs as the tyre was far far too narrow so I didnt keep them on for long.
I think I had 205/45x17's on them but they were just wrong in every way

16's are a perfect match.

[chriz1]

WHat sort of tyre wall would you recommend a 50 or 45 ? On a 195 tyre ?

[stevieturbo]

OEM 15's are 185/60x15

If you wanted 195's then 55 profile would make the most sense.