Wheels not fit for purpose: yes/no????

SKIPPY

I know someone out there will be able to give me some excellent advise.

My son purchased some alloy wheels and tyres a couple of months ago. On the advice of the seller he purchased 17" alloys for his ford fiesta. The largest wheel they said he could have on his car. I think they are too big.
1. He has had to purchase spacers for the back wheels again on the advice of the seller as the tyres were rubbing on the springs!
2 I noticed at the weekend that there appears to be a ring around the outside of the rear tyres and some small cuts in the tyres. After speaking to a friend, he says that they must be catching on the wheel arch and could be quite dangerous as if it digs in too much it could lock the wheels up.

How is the best way to approach the company of sold them to him with a view to getting them changed to smaller wheels? They weren't cheap and cost just over £500! but my sons safety is paramount.

Zagu

SKIPPY wrote: »

1. He has had to purchase spacers for the back wheels again on the advice of the seller as the tyres were rubbing on the springs!

I thought that spacers were now illegal?

Anyway, if they were the correct wheels, with the correct offset, there would be no need for them.

SKIPPY wrote: »

2 I noticed at the weekend that there appears to be a ring around the outside of the rear tyres and some small cuts in the tyres. After speaking to a friend, he says that they must be catching on the wheel arch and could be quite dangerous as if it digs in too much it could lock the wheels up.

They are the wrong size.

SKIPPY wrote: »

How is the best way to approach the company of sold them to him with a view to getting them changed to smaller wheels? They weren't cheap and cost just over £500! but my sons safety is paramount.

Im sure that one of the consumer experts will help you out with this one, but, to me, it looks like he was sold the wrong goods.

Edit:
I just had a look, and some people make some good points here.

"They
Increase the load on the wheel bearings,
Increase the load on the wheel retaining bolts,
Increase the load on the steering gear,
Increase the load on suspension components,
Change the airflow over the brakes"

Not good, and theres also concerns about the insurance. Have a read, although it does look like they are not in fact illegal, just a bad idea!

sco0ter

This can be a very grey area for consumers... The wheels are fit for the purpose they are intended its the fact they have been fitted incorrectly or other modifications have not been made to make correct clearances. As for an exchange... I think you might be lucky and get smaller wheels and tyres but dont be expecting any money back as it sounds as if the tyres are now ruined.

Infiltrator_2

SKIPPY wrote: »

I know someone out there will be able to give me some excellent advise.

My son purchased some alloy wheels and tyres a couple of months ago. On the advice of the seller he purchased 17" alloys for his ford fiesta. The largest wheel they said he could have on his car. I think they are too big.
1. He has had to purchase spacers for the back wheels again on the advice of the seller as the tyres were rubbing on the springs!
2 I noticed at the weekend that there appears to be a ring around the outside of the rear tyres and some small cuts in the tyres. After speaking to a friend, he says that they must be catching on the wheel arch and could be quite dangerous as if it digs in too much it could lock the wheels up.

How is the best way to approach the company of sold them to him with a view to getting them changed to smaller wheels? They weren't cheap and cost just over £500! but my sons safety is paramount.

Sounds like the wheels have the wrong offset, I'd expect that 17" on a Fiesta is probably just about manageable. Depends how keen he is to keep this set of wheels? The tyres rubbing on the wheel arches - you can get the arches 'rolled', you'd probably have to find a motor accessory shop that sells alloys or a body shop that that can do this - don't think it's that expensive. I'd also suggest that spacers aren't the end of the world, yes they're not a good idea, but done properly, should be okay, as above, would be worth getting a garage or body shop that does this type of work to give the car a check.

vaio

I think small (max 6 or 8 mm) will be fine as long as they are hubcentric and used with longer studs rather than stud extenders

tomstickland

Your son should log onto a Fiesta modifying forum and ask for advice. Putting large alloys on smallish hatches is a well studied area. Spacers are commonly uses, and sometimes the arches need "rolling" by a body shop.

boyohboy

I don't want to add to your problems, but has your son informed his insurance company about the wheels. He may not be covered if not. I hope you get your money back.

tomstickland

1. He has had to purchase spacers for the back wheels again on the advice of the seller as the tyres were rubbing on the springs!

Seller advised him, so fair enough.

2 I noticed at the weekend that there appears to be a ring around the outside of the rear tyres and some small cuts in the tyres. After speaking to a friend, he says that they must be catching on the wheel arch and could be quite dangerous as if it digs in too much it could lock the wheels up.

They'll never lock the wheel up, but the tyre will suffer.

Just roll the arches. Your son has engaged in car modification, a world where normal consumer expectations no longer work.

Practically, just get a bodyshop to roll the arches, a cheap and quick solution.

If he's serious about handling rather than looks he should put 15" wheels on it.

Infiltrator_2

tomstickland wrote: »

If he's serious about handling rather than looks he should put 15" wheels on it.

If he's serious about handling he probably shouldn't have bought a Fiesta;)

tomstickland

They're probably not that bad, like for like with similar cars.

satan666wayne

Infiltrator wrote: »

If he's serious about handling he probably shouldn't have bought a Fiesta;)

If he's serious about both he probably shouldn't have bought a Fiesta