Alloy wheel sizes 17" best???

[Last S4]

Hi,
I have the 16" Griffith alloys on my S and personally I always think the S Series shows too much of the inner archway.
I wondered if the larger 17" alloys available would look better and fill the arch better. I am guessing 18" would not fit?
Any comments and/or photos would be appreciated.
I search the forum before this thread and could not find enough info.

[cooper-man]

Last S4 said:

Hi,
I have the 16" Griffith alloys on my S and personally I always think the S Series shows too much of the inner archway.
I wondered if the larger 17" alloys available would look better and fill the arch better. I am guessing 18" would not fit?
Any comments and/or photos would be appreciated.
I search the forum before this thread and could not find enough info.

Hi

Don't go down the 18" route,i have them on my V8S.Stick to 16" or 17".Why?.
I have 215x35x18"shod with Proxi's
1) Parking is a Problem.You need to go to the Gym first.

Low speed driveabilty is poor.

More Bump steer,God i can't stand that at low speeds.

Oh.... they Look silly on a 'S'

[Last S4]

thanks for that. Do you have a picture of your S on 18"s ?

[Rower]

Last S4 said:

Hi,
I have the 16" Griffith alloys on my S and personally I always think the S Series shows too much of the inner archway.
I wondered if the larger 17" alloys available would look better and fill the arch better. I am guessing 18" would not fit?
Any comments and/or photos would be appreciated.
I search the forum before this thread and could not find enough info.

I have 16'' Chim wheels on mine and recently changed the profile of my tyres from 55 to 60 , this has made a difference to both grounding out and filling the arch.

Guy

[cooper-man]

Last S4 said:

thanks for that. Do you have a picture of your S on 18"s ?

Hi
I will try to upload some later.

[Harry1972M]

I have been running on 17" wheels for about 4 years now.



Graham

[Last S4]

Harry1972M said:

I have been running on 17" wheels for about 4 years now.



Graham

They really do look better than 16" in my opinion.

[ketvrin]

Grahams car does look great with the 17" wheels but you also need to follow him and fit larger discs and new calipers for the full effect as the original discs look too small with the bigger more open wheels and of course if you can see the calipers more clearly they will need to be tidy otherwise you will not get the full effect.

good luck

K

[mep12345]

Mine are on 17inches as well - lots of pics at www.gbsportscar.com

Mark

[mikea4tdi]

I'm in too minds on wheel size on the S.
I kind of like the more classic look of smaller wheels with a higher profile tyre, makes for more progressive feel and response also.
Thats why I like the look of my slots but at the rear they don't quite fill the arches.
Still undecided though

[Johnny P]

I'm running on Chim/Griff wheels, but with 205/50 profile tyres at the front - IMO they look too small for the wheel arches, so am going to change for 205/60 tyres (believe original size fitted) to fill the wheel arches a bit more - although I do like the different wheels - guess not to everyones taste though as many like theirs to be original & pure only !
The 205/50 tyres are Toyo proxes and do look nice with the directional tread pattern - plenty of tread on them (only fitted on front), so if anyone wants these when I get them changed, let me know.

[Last S4]

By the look of the pictures I much prefer the 17" wheels. I will keep the originals so that the next owner has a choice when I sell the car in Julember or Octember, whichever happens first.
I assume the 17" wheels above are on 45 profile tyres?

[techbotics]

Im looking for some 17s myself.. what width is recommended..? 7" like the original or 8" to put down more rubber and fill the arches a little better..? Does anyone know if any geometry changes would be required for wider wheels..?

Cheers

Damian (chassis powder coated and coming back together S3)

[Last S4]

techbotics said:

Im looking for some 17s myself.. what width is recommended..? 7" like the original or 8" to put down more rubber and fill the arches a little better..? Does anyone know if any geometry changes would be required for wider wheels..?

I dont know whether 8" would cause an issue with clearances too especially on the front wheels?
The other thing I think worth considering to fill the arches is the profile of the tyres, 40, 45, or 50's?
I think the 8" wheels might cause problems mentioned above with slow speed steering.

[techbotics]

I'd need to check for clearence on the outside front but don't forget I am running narrow wheelbase S3 wishbones with the same arch clearence as your wide wheelbase S4, I was thinking the extra width would even us up a little... lol...

I did consider a set of S4 wishbones and steering rack etc as part of my rebuild but mine were just fine including recent rack so though is would be an expensive folly.

Cheers

D

[Last S4]

techbotics said:

.........though is would be an expensive folly.

The wife thinks the whole car is an expensive folly!