17 inch wheels?

[gnalist]

Has any enterprising soul out there fitted 17" wheels?

I'm wondering if they'll fit my RT?

Tim mentioned someone had but I can't remember clearly who it was (Chris?) and I'm thinking nearly any Ford four stud would fit dependent upon the offset, so I'd also like to know what offset's needed for the Stylus?

It's not just a 'look' thing, I'm trying to get a bit of extra ground clearance having now driven on the 'road' leading up to our soon-to-be-house in Spain!

Cheers guys!

[stylussprinter]

I would expect to need a VERY low profile on 17's just to clear the lights/arches which would not be ideal for a road that you're hinting as narrow and rough. Surely this is totally the wrong route for anything other than a nice smooth track or autobahn , then you'd have to set the whole car up to match , spring/shock wise cos there'd be bugger all give in the tyres

Rob.

[Werner Van Loock]

In the picture you can see different sizes on stylus's Rob has 15, the 2 in front are 13 and the grey one I think has 17, can be 16 too.
Don't forget that bigger rims raise the car and give slower acceleration with the same drivegear.




changed the picture to be thumbnailed as it was deforming the forum

[gnalist]

Hi Rob,

Cheers for coming back to me, there's a couple of things maybe I should be clearer about though, it's running low profiles on 15" TSW Venoms at present, and the road up to the house is only a couple of hundred metres long and couldn't be taken at speed unless you were in a Bowler (it would be a 15/20mph pootle in a road car) and then it joins a tarmac road so all I'm after is a bit of clearance for loose rocks/pot holes, also I don't mind having the wings widened if necessary if a wider profile is required.

I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me about how they've gone about it as apparently it has been done, so I assume they aren't hitting lights etc. but maybe they are? Did they widen the arches etc?

Tim says he has had a set of 17's on once as a quick swap just to see if it was possible (they were on a Dax Rush he had in) but I'd like to know if they are ok in practice as well?

Also I need to know what offset the Stylus RT runs so I can get that right if I go for 17's. I'd like to keep it as close to that as possible having driven Soarers (my day car) which have gone to 18's and got offsets of around 38-40 instead of the standard 50 and they are so much heavier steering and tend to tramline etc. which I really don't want in the RT.

Hi Werner,

That's great...many thanks...do you know who has the car in question then?

[MattD]

They are left to right...

Rob Farley (Zetec), Tim SSC (Duratec), Chris Hill's Dad (Zetec & me in the passenger seat !), Chris Hill (Duratec V6), Peter Smith (Toyota 20V), Brian Beavis (Zetec).

And what a nice day out that was ... !

[stylussprinter]

Just to clarify --- mine are 15 '' with 50 profile , Tim's are 15'' but 45 profile , Chis , I think are 15'' with 50 profile then the grey V6 is 17'' but 40 profile ? and the others are on 14'' with 60 profile which was the original spec' for Stylus's.

Total diameter is the wheel measurement (say 15'') plus profile % age of the width(tyre in '') times two. So the space you need to know isn't just the tyre diameter ------ 40% of 195 divided by 25.4 times two if 40 profile ? as opposed to 40 or 50 % of 205 etc etc .

Rob.

[gnalist]

...you lads seem to know each others vital statistics really well!! I knew this was a close knit group but didn't realise it was THAT kind of forum!



Slightly more seriously... thanks very much for your help...it seems Chris Hill is the person I need to talk to and I take it that's Chill on the member list so have emailed him.

You're gentleman and scholars!

[MattD]

Just to clarify --- mine are 15 '' with 50 profile , Tim's are 15'' but 45 profile , Chis , I think are 15'' with 50 profile then the grey V6 is 17'' but 40 profile ? and the others are on 14'' with 60 profile which was the original spec' for Stylus's.

Total diameter is the wheel measurement (say 15'') plus profile % age of the width(tyre in '') times two. So the space you need to know isn't just the tyre diameter ------ 40% of 195 divided by 25.4 times two if 40 profile ? as opposed to 40 or 50 % of 205 etc etc .

Rob.

I've tweaked the CAD drawings I used when sorting out my tyre/rim upgrade to include 17".
All the 17" tyres seem to be 40 profile. Yoko do a 35 prof, but it starts at 315 wide, so I've added that for a laugh.

Note: The 1st drawing dims show the difference in ride height compared to an escort on 155SR13s, eg -16mm for the 185x60x13s my Stylus was originally on. Remember too that the overall size diameter changes by twice the amount shown (+or-)
Looks to me like 17s x40 profile are larger in diameter than the orginal escort steels.!!
This dwg also doesn't allow for tyre pressure/flat part in contact with the road, or rim width. But as they are all drawn the same the dimension changes will be similar.

The second drawing shows how offsets work, these are compared to the 5.5x13 that were originally on my car (at the top). So as its shown, the extra 1.5" on my new 7" rims adds 0.5" to the inside edge & 1" to the outside. Hence my need for bodywork mods !!!

Hope you've all got you're technical brain switched on !!
The bitmaps should be OK with a bit of zooming, but if you can't read it (assuming you want to!!) let me know.

Matt

[gnalist]

Matt,

Thank you very much for going to that effort... unfortunately, and I really do apologise for this, being completely useless at anything mechanical/technical I can't make head nor tail of it!

I naively assumed that there was a standard offset for the Stylus RT that it is best to stick to when upgrading wheels (like with my Soarer) is this not the case?

I think if I ask Tim for Chris Hill's number then I'll be able to get a good idea of what's possible.

Cheers again, Greg.

[stylussprinter]

Matt,

Thank you very much for going to that effort... unfortunately, and I really do apologise for this, being completely useless at anything mechanical/technical I can't make head nor tail of it!

I naively assumed that there was a standard offset for the Stylus RT that it is best to stick to when upgrading wheels (like with my Soarer) is this not the case?

I think if I ask Tim for Chris Hill's number then I'll be able to get a good idea of what's possible.

Cheers again, Greg.

The reason you haven't got a simple answer from any of us is ----- it's a KIT not a PRODUCTION beastie which means we all build into cars the features we like. SO --------- just about all will use different wheel widths , making a figure for off set NULL/VOID .
RT or Classic , tyre diam'r and profile , wheel/tyre width etc. The rear is a doddle , you simply need to clear the arch & shock absorber with/without passenger/boot weight/fast cornering. The front has other problems to allow for ---- will it clear the front lower body , rear engine/sill guard , headlights ----- on full lock left/right PLUS arches under braking/turning.

Only straight answer with guarauntee is for a standard factory set up on RT or Classic . NO CARS FROM SSC have run 17's . Chris's is very much his own set up with dimensions to suit ----------- Hey , come on Chris , put the man out of his '' 17's '' misery

Rob.

[gnalist]

Hi Rob,

Cheers very much for reply.

I see what you mean but am still slighlty perplexed by the whole issue as although the Stylus 'n RT as a kit doesn't come with 17's ...neither does the production Soarer...but if you stick with the factory offset when you upgrade to them then you get a much better ride after the swap to non-standard rims

.... I suppose though with the Stylus/RT that the difference is if individual builders make individual choices in the areas you highlight on the front "will it clear the front lower body , rear engine/sill guard , headlights ----- on full lock left/right PLUS arches under braking/turning"...?

At the very least the 17's must go under the arches as Chris has them, and having heard from Tim how meticulous he is I doubt he'd allow them to rub... and I don't even mind widening if I have to.

Anyway (as is obvious) as I'm not that technically gifted and as there isn't a figure coming through as a guide I've gone for simpler route .... it's a forerunner to 'tried and tested'...called 'suck it and see'!

Basically I had a chance of a new set of Ford fit 17's with as new tyres for £156 so I've taken the plunge and am going to see if they fit! I'll let you know how I get on....they are 35 offset by the way....fingers crossed!

[stylussprinter]

Well , at that price you'll get your money back if there are major problems and it's probably the way many people do it anyway from listening around

Rob.(you'll soon be up and running )

[MattD]

Matt,

Thank you very much for going to that effort... unfortunately, and I really do apologise for this, being completely useless at anything mechanical/technical I can't make head nor tail of it!

I naively assumed that there was a standard offset for the Stylus RT that it is best to stick to when upgrading wheels (like with my Soarer) is this not the case?

I think if I ask Tim for Chris Hill's number then I'll be able to get a good idea of what's possible.

Cheers again, Greg.

Hi Greg

Yep it's a real brain ache job.. I went thru the whole drawing process to make sure I cleared the suspension/chassis & still forgot to think about bodywork. So my new wheels clear metalwork by 10-15mm, but therefore the tyres stick outside the standard arches by about the same amount.

You said to Rob...
"Basically I had a chance of a new set of Ford fit 17's with as new tyres for £156 so I've taken the plunge and am going to see if they fit! I'll let you know how I get on....they are 35 offset by the way....fingers crossed"

What you didn't say was how wide your new rims are. ET35 on an 7" rim is quite different to ET35 on a 6" rim.

Without trying to confuse you.. ET35 are 22mm deeper on the inside than my ET13 rims & 20mm deeper than Robs ET15 rims, presuming yours are also 7" wide. On my car they'd touch the shock absorber, but would fit nicely inside the wheel arches !

Now then... if they are 6" wide ET35, then the rim itself is (1") 25mm narrower that 7" rims, so the rim is 12.5mm narrower either side of its width centreline. So in comparision to the 7" ET35 its 12.5mm shorter on the inside & would clear the shox on mine by less than 5mm.

Does that blow your doors off ??

If you've got the new wheels, swap & see is the only way !!

Matt

[whiterabbit]

Hi all,

Theres a good explanation here.

Steve.

http://www.mapsltd.co.uk/maps/id36.html

(I have no commercial connection with this company)

[gnalist]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for that....

My rims are actually 7.5" wide.... hmmm...

Well let's see what happens when they go on....