Factory fitted Alloy wheels and insurance!!

AlloyWheelWorld

We sell aftermarket wheels as a busines and always advise our clients to tell their insurer.

I have a Honda civic with a factory supplied and fitted bodykit and alloy wheels which my insurer deemed to be a modification as it was not the standard 'off the shelf' car specification.

If you want to check whether the change of wheel size or tyre size will affect your speedo there are lots of websites out there with details on this, we have one on our own site you can use....

google alloywheelworld tyrecalc to find it.

This should let you find out whether your tyre /wheel choice has affected your speedo......

Hope this helps !

Premier_2

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

The overall diameter of the wheel and tyre may now be bigger than the car was designed for. Therefore, for a same distance, things won't go around as far. Think of an old-fashioned Penny Farthing bicycle. The speedo' usually counts the number of turns of the driveshaft or axle and then converts this into your speed.

Therefore, to compensate for this, you should also fit a lower profile tyre, so the overall diameter of the combination stays the same.

The rolling diameter may well be different, but that is not an issue with today's modern cars. As another poster correctly stated, as the wheels & tyres are factory fitted, then the vehicle would have left the factory with a correctly calibrated speedometer.

Even if the wheels & tyres were not factory fitted (but are a manufacturers approved option) then the dealer should be able to update the car config. file if necessary to allow for the revised rolling diameter (if any). Check the handbook for details.

I would not recommend fitting any wheels/tyres that are not approved by the manufacturer.

sam1970

I am 100% sure that the wheels were factor y fitted option as the previous owner of the car was the dealership themselves plus the alloys are the same make as the car..not form anothet company

Strider590

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

The overall diameter of the wheel and tyre may now be bigger than the car was designed for. Therefore, for a same distance, things won't go around as far. Think of an old-fashioned Penny Farthing bicycle. The speedo' usually counts the number of turns of the driveshaft or axle and then converts this into your speed.

Therefore, to compensate for this, you should also fit a lower profile tyre, so the overall diameter of the combination stays the same.

Or you get the opposite (commonly seen for some strange reason on MK1 Renualt Megane's).
Where people buy alloy wheels and then fit ultra low profile tyre's, ending up with wheels/tyre's that look stupid on the car because they no longer fill the wheel arches correctly.

TrickyWicky

molerat wrote: »

Why's that ?

If they were simply just 'fitted' and not done and the speedo recalibrated then the larger wheels could mean the car travels slightly faster than the speedo is showing.

The op has only said the previous owner paid for them as an optional extra but hasn't said that it they were fitted at the factory, dealer or as a DIY job etc hence my comment.

Trebor16

TrickyWicky wrote: »

If they were simply just 'fitted' and not done and the speedo recalibrated then the larger wheels could mean the car travels slightly faster than the speedo is showing.

The op has only said the previous owner paid for them as an optional extra but hasn't said that it they were fitted at the factory, dealer or as a DIY job etc hence my comment.

From the OP's first post that started this thread:-

"does it count as modification even though it was factory fitted? "

TrickyWicky

doh!

I'm loosing the plot!

andrew-the-cat

I've always wondered about this. My car is 10 years old and I have absolutely no idea if any of the equipment it has is a manufacturer optional extra. It is a less sought after trim due to the engine and gearbox combination, so I have never seen any others exactly like it. I have however seen other versions of the same model of roughly the same age and the features differ greatly.

I answered 'no' to the modifications for my insurance because from what I can see, all of the equipment inside and outside is Audi branded, so in my eyes it is not modified. I don't know if the wheels are an option extra, I don't know if the electric seat adjustment, window blinds, dog guard, CD changer, heated seats, tow bar, fog lights etc are modifications or standard equipment and I doubt I would be expected to make any reasonable effort to find out.

oscarward

I may be wrong and I'm sure people will tell me if so but...

Do insurers ask the question about modifications for 2 reasons.

a. Does the car go faster/ make it driven more aggressivly?

b. In the case of a repair do they have to source odd hard to find bits or pay a valuation if unable to find them.


(waits for incoming)

shaun_from_Africa

Do insurers ask the question about modifications for 2 reasons

Probably 3 reasons, two of which you've mentioned.

a. Does the car go faster/ make it driven more aggressivly?
and also makes it handle differently, possibly worse.

b. In the case of a repair do they have to source odd hard to find bits or pay a valuation if unable to find them.

c. The modifications may make the car more attractive to thieves/joyriders/scrotes who simply want to trash it.