can i change my alloy wheels ? 19"

[albalad]

I currently have 19" alloy wheels on my car , which came fitted from the manufacturer .
I had my reservations about them before i bought the car(vectra estate) but the spec on the rest of the car sold it to me

now 10 months on and they are driving me crazy , i'm finding it difficult to live with such low profile tyres 35mm - never mind the expense of each tyre

i have already replaced a full set of tyres, from continentals(factory fitted) to pirelli zero neros from which i have only had around 12000 miles.

what impact would changing the wheel/tyre size make , say from 19" to 17" ?
i would like to increase the sidewall to something a bit more normal , at the same time as reducing the cost per tyre as currently it is around £220.

because it such a low proofile both myself and my OH have each kerbed one of the nearside alloys. I know i can buy a full set of 17" alloys and tyres for less than cost of replacing 4 19" tyres.

So what are the drawbacks of changing down wheel sizes apart from asthetics ?
I understand it will affect my speedo reading also but by how much ?
anything else i should consider ?

thanks

[Arlen]

If you have the same rolling diameter (wheel+tyre profile) it will not affect the speedo.

For example my Laguna has 16" wheels with 205/55/16 tyres. But there is a 17" option 205/40/17.

[anewman]

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

[vikingaero]

It's perfectly possible to reduce the rim diameter from 19s to 17s if you step up in profile to maintain roughly the same rolling circumference.

So if your wheels now are 235/35/19 then the next step down would be 225/45/18 and then 215/55/17 etc.

Only problem will be informing your insurance company and whether they will accept the modification as the car was designed for 19" inch rims. You may find that the engine power may overwhelm the skinnier tyres. As long as you put on tyres with the same speed rating then you should be OK.

[vansboy]

Agree with above.

Yopu might also post on http://www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/ it's Vauxhall owners forum, there might be someone to swap your wheels with, even!!

VB

[albalad]

thanks for all the quick replies.


Only problem will be informing your insurance company and whether they will accept the modification as the car was designed for 19" inch rims


have noticed that vauxhall have now changed the same spec car down to 18" tyres
will have to give ins Co a call

[albalad]

Agree with above.

Yopu might also post on http://www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/ it's Vauxhall owners forum, there might be someone to swap your wheels with, even!!

VB
great idea ! thanks

what is the point of low profile tyres ? is there a point apart from asthetics ?

maybe it's because i'm getting old or maybe because i do quite a few miles , but i just don't see any benefit to them - but they do look good

[Wig]

Have a look in your car maunual, it will list all the different wheel and tyre sizes -offered by Vauxhall- in the back

If your car was not standard with 19" alloys, i.e. they were an optional extra - then you should be informing your insurance company that it is a 'modification'. For example if it is a Vauxhall Vectra CDX and the basic CDX came with 17" alloys (the 19" being an option) You could change down to the basic equipment (Vx originals) and not have to inform your insurer.

You should ask Vx what your cars basic wheels were when new, though I'm not sure if they would know.

[Useless_With_Money]

no Vectra C came with 19" alloys as standard, even the VXR is a 19" option,

the problem is people get the £200 upgrade option and think great, then tyre change time get a heart stopping moment.

I see it a lot at work and we stell a lot of the 'standard' 17" alloys, especially to taxi owners.

I can't remember the profile you need off hand, but got all the info at work (i work for vauxhall).

I cheap way of going (and i keep my customers as well, even though i shouldn't) is find a 2nd hand set on ebay or something, vectra c sri came with 17" as standard, even astra H (new one) use same alloys/offsets, be careful of aftermarket alloys as these might have wrong offset and need to tell insurance when as standard alloys you can play dumb.

[albalad]

no Vectra C came with 19" alloys as standard, even the VXR is a 19" option,

the problem is people get the £200 upgrade option and think great, then tyre change time get a heart stopping moment.

I see it a lot at work and we stell a lot of the 'standard' 17" alloys, especially to taxi owners.

I can't remember the profile you need off hand, but got all the info at work (i work for vauxhall).


you are right UWM it was the nav xp option

i mentioned this (xp)to my insurance Co when i took out my policy, but they didn't seem to take much interest as it had come from the manufacturers with them on.

[goldspanners]

try this calculator, it lets you try different sizes to maintain the same reading from your speedo and keep the same overall size.

http://www.etyres.co.uk/tyre-size-calculator.htm

[BillScarab]

great idea ! thanks

what is the point of low profile tyres ? is there a point apart from asthetics ?

maybe it's because i'm getting old or maybe because i do quite a few miles , but i just don't see any benefit to them - but they do look good

The point is that they a smaller side wall on the tyre will flex less than a higher proflie one. This improves the handling, grip and braking performance of the tyre so they are fitted to racing and performance cars. However because of the increased stiffness of the tyre/wheel combination the ride will be harsher, they can be noisier and they tend to be less resistant to aquaplaning.

Unles you're buying a particularly sporty car and don't mind the harsh ride there's generally no point in getting low profile tyres apart from aesthetics though. If your ead a lot of car reviews they often say do NOT buy the big wheel low profile tyre option as it wrecks the ride.

[albalad]

The point is that they a smaller side wall on the tyre will flex less than a higher proflie one. This improves the handling, grip and braking performance of the tyre so they are fitted to racing and performance cars. However because of the increased stiffness of the tyre/wheel combination the ride will be harsher, they can be noisier and they tend to be less resistant to aquaplaning.
.

this explains why my car takes the same size tyre as a porche :eek: , only mine is a quite un-sporty estate

haven't experienced aquaplaning as yet in this car, but it does suffer quite badly from tramlining

[tomstickland]

Oversize rims are a curse of fashion. I've got a book the lists recommended tyre sizes for performance driving and they're all smaller than the biggest wheels that manufacturer's supply. So, yes, put smaller wheels on with, say, 45 or 50 profile and you'll have a vehicle that's a lot more pleasant to drive on rough roads and quite possibly a better handling balance.