I decided to replace my cars standard wheels with something a bit nicer, the rest of my car was pretty pristine but the wheels were looking a little sorry for themselves and a refurb wouldn't have gone amiss.
Before - stock 17 inch wheels on 205/40 tyres...
I never really liked the look of standard wheels much, and after upgrading the suspension (Bilstein B8 dampers and H&R 35mm springs), whilst the handling was much better, a revelation on smooth roads, the ride at times got a bit wearing, and on rough roads it was so hard the car could be thrown off line easily by bumps.
A drive of a mates Fiesta Zetec S, with similar suspension mods, with 16 inch wheels convinced me that the 17s just had to go...simply too big and with too low a profile tyre for an 1100kg supermini sized car.
A bit of reading and it seems the UK is the only market where the Fiesta ST came with 17 inch wheels and 205/40 tyres as standard...elsewhere it has 205x45 R16s. I decided to step down a size...ending up with these...
After - Braid Winrace A 16 inch on 205/45 R16 rubber...
Now the difference, I feel I can compare well given the tyres are the same type (P Zeros) and my existing tyres still had had a lot of tread left having only covered 7000 miles...ride is much improved on a higher profile tyre, and the wheels are considerably lighter, both factors combining in a car that the car seems much lighter on its feet, more pleasant to drive on the average British road, and more eager to change direction.
Very happy with how the car looks and drives now
Before - stock 17 inch wheels on 205/40 tyres...
I never really liked the look of standard wheels much, and after upgrading the suspension (Bilstein B8 dampers and H&R 35mm springs), whilst the handling was much better, a revelation on smooth roads, the ride at times got a bit wearing, and on rough roads it was so hard the car could be thrown off line easily by bumps.
A drive of a mates Fiesta Zetec S, with similar suspension mods, with 16 inch wheels convinced me that the 17s just had to go...simply too big and with too low a profile tyre for an 1100kg supermini sized car.
A bit of reading and it seems the UK is the only market where the Fiesta ST came with 17 inch wheels and 205/40 tyres as standard...elsewhere it has 205x45 R16s. I decided to step down a size...ending up with these...
After - Braid Winrace A 16 inch on 205/45 R16 rubber...
Now the difference, I feel I can compare well given the tyres are the same type (P Zeros) and my existing tyres still had had a lot of tread left having only covered 7000 miles...ride is much improved on a higher profile tyre, and the wheels are considerably lighter, both factors combining in a car that the car seems much lighter on its feet, more pleasant to drive on the average British road, and more eager to change direction.
Very happy with how the car looks and drives now
