Alloy wheels

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Firstly let me apologise for my complete lack of knowledge. I've had my micra (k11, 2001 1.0 micra s) for over a year now and I would like to improve it's looks. However I'm ashamed to say I haven't the first clue when it comes to cars and the only thing I've had changed so far is I've had a cd player installed.

So leading to my question...

I'm looking to buy some alloy wheels for my car, but I'm wondering what is the largest they can be?

edit: Oh yeah, and any places to buy them or suggestions for wheels are v.welcome too.
 
  • Get some 15 inch ones, anyhing bigger then they slow you down..
  • tyres; you can get 195/45/15 cheap enough from mytyres.co.uk
  • and you'll proberbly want it lowering so it doesnt look like a tractor, -35mm springs are less than 90 quid if i recall...
I couldnt advise you on where to buy the alloys from, as i get mine off ebay... im sure someone else could help though..
 
Dusk said:
  • Get some 15 inch ones, anyhing bigger then they slow you down..
  • tyres; you can get 195/45/15 cheap enough from mytyres.co.uk
  • and you'll proberbly want it lowering so it doesnt look like a tractor, -35mm springs are less than 90 quid if i recall...

i totally agree. i thought i go for looks slightly when i got mine didnt know jack about cars back then either. our cars are very similar i got a 1.0l 2000 S micra but i choose 16's 195-40-16ZR(speed rating zr like 130/140 but not like i can hit that speed lol) with continetal contactsport 2 tires or something...
their meant to b top of the range conti's i think, but aint good enough for my driving style, in rain looses grip very easily n in dry . my car isnt heavy enough to really make use of the tires.
tho having bigger wheels means it REALLY crawls like a bitch now tho lol having wider tires makes so much of a difference on the handling compared to the stock things u get.
i say go with 15's n lowering the car as it will sit very high.
forgot to mention i have very slightly rubbing with the wheels n tires on full lock, its only rubbing on the outta edge of the front wall of that plastic thing so isnt really important/bad.

incase u didnt know the meaning of the tires...
  • first digits ie 195 is the width
  • second ie 40 is the ratio (think of it as the height small numbers thinner tires) n
  • last is basically the wheel size ie 16
  • the letters at the end r the speed rating like i said b4 imo dont really matter...
 
Cheers guys.

I'm pretty comfortable in knowing what tyres to get then, that just leaves the alloys themselves... Again though I don't have much of a clue. I like the look of the fox racing ones (here: http://www.motor-world.co.uk/kroozin/show_prod.php?prod_id=6036) but can you tell me will they fit and look any good? Or will they look daft?
 
Dusk said:
  • Get some 15 inch ones, anyhing bigger then they slow you down..


  • i totally disagree with this! I just took some 16"s off mine today coz im selling em n replaced them with 13"s. And i swear to god there is no difference. All this nonsense about it slows you down n that. I agree there are many downsides to having the big wheels like it being a bitch to turn and scrubbing etc but i dont think it makes the car accelerate slower or be slower in general to be honest

    and as for those wheels, easiest way to see is ring them up and ask if they do them in micra fitment. Easiest way.
 
Smaller wheels = quicker acceleration i primise you!!

It's the same on bikes as cars.

I ride a bmx with a 20" wheel size, i could out accelerate someone on an mountainbike which has a 26" wheel size, up to a point then they woul pull ahead at the top end..
 
nah - believe me, i took em off today and its unnoticible, maybe on a bigger engine but not on mine.
 
My mate has a 1 litre corsa, he had 17's on it and it was sh*t slow, he slapped on a set of 14's a while back and even i noticed a difference in his car by just following him r driving sumwhere wit him in his car and me in mine! I'd agree wit dusk, get the 15" with low profile, wide tyres
 
Big_ben said:
Dusk said:
  • Get some 15 inch ones, anyhing bigger then they slow you down..


  • i totally disagree with this! I just took some 16"s off mine today coz im selling em n replaced them with 13"s. And i swear to god there is no difference. All this nonsense about it slows you down n that. I agree there are many downsides to having the big wheels like it being a bitch to turn and scrubbing etc but i dont think it makes the car accelerate slower or be slower in general to be honest

    and as for those wheels, easiest way to see is ring them up and ask if they do them in micra fitment. Easiest way.


  • blah it "does" make a difference, its on bigger engines where u wont notice it as badly but on a 1.0l but its very obvious we have very similar cars only his being a yr newer so he would notice it too. ive lost like 10-15mph outta my top end speed!
 
Think about it.

If you say put a 13" wheel and a 17" wheel side by side on the ground, put a mark on each of them in the same place and rolled them forward with your hands the 13" wheel would rotate once in a shorter space of time but it wouldnt cover as much ground as the 17" wheel.
Hence the smaller wheel will accelerate better but the 17" wheel would give you more distance for each rotation = slightly higher top end.

Obviously noticing this from the car would be slightly tricky but it will make a slight difference.

If you dont believe me try it!:upside::upside:
 
sorry 2 bring this thread up again, but i just got one question..lol

is it pretty much ok 2 buy any alloy wheel aslong as the fitting is ok for the micra, then it is just a matter of getting the right tires..then ya set to go?..
 
from my experience 15" wheels are too big for the 1.0 k11. but fine for the 1.3. 14" with performance 185/50 or 55/14 tyres is the best for both models of k11.
 
I own a K11 (998) and have a set of 15" OZ GTT racing wheels with goodyear F1 tyres and have had them on for approx 1year with no problems what so ever was curious as to why there would be a difference between a 1.0 and a 1.3 I hope Im not creating problems with the bearings and so on.
 
I actually found that going from 13 to 15" alloys with high performance tyres I lost a little top end speed but due to increased grip I was getting more bite on the road and less wheel spin therefore greater acceleration.

Combination: Oz Gran Turismo 15" alloys
Goodyear F1 tyres
 
Having never driven a 1.3 I wouldnt know if there is that much difference between the 1.0 and 1.3 but have never felt my 1.0 litre was slow and felt a dramatic improvement over the standard 13" alloys that I originally had on it
 
i have driven the same car 1.0 k11 then 1.3 after i did a conversion. 1.3 is not too bad with 15" but still slower compared to 13" wheels. 1.0 is just too slow with the 15". talking about 3rd gear acceleration here not off the line stuff/traction.
i wouldnt recomend anything bigger than 14" on a micra 1.0 or 1.3 unless its forced induction. 195/45/14 tyre on a 6" rim is ideal, and 185/50/14 tyre on the rear wheels.
setup on the suzuki swift gti 100bhp, is 13" wheels 165mm width.
 
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