Wheel size

Pixie · 9 Feb 2006 at 18:40

Hi,

I recently bought an Arosa 1.4SE, it has non standard alloys on it (OZ racing of some description) of which I believe are 16'', not particularly to my taste, but hey.

I believe the standard alloys that come with some Arosa's are 14".

What sort of effect would the larger alloys have on fuel consumption and the likes of the speedo reading being incorrect due to the size change?

The reason I ask is that I would like to get the best MPG I can......

Random questions I know.....

Firestar_3x · 9 Feb 2006 at 18:42

Larger wheels will usuall be heavier so the unsprung mass of the car will be more, usually decreases fuel consumption and the extra tread on the road also increases friction.

Provided the overall diameter of the wheels is the same as the originals the speedo should be exactly the same.

Pixie · 9 Feb 2006 at 18:56

Would it be benificial to change down to smaller wheels or would I not really notice much difference.

My main reason for thinking about it is that the car has no power steering, therefore its quite heavy to steer.

Firestar_3x · 9 Feb 2006 at 18:58

If you don't want to bomb down country roads and you don't mind the cosmetic diff then yes, the car should pull less to the side on bad roads and you will probably notice the brakes are better, but it will be easier to skid.

Pixie · 9 Feb 2006 at 19:02

Firestar_3x said:
If you don't want to bomb down country roads and you don't mind the cosmetic diff then yes, the car should pull less to the side on bad roads and you will probably notice the brakes are better, but it will be easier to skid.

Well I won't be doing any "bombing" in this car, slow is certainly the word!

I suppose its a case of weighing up the costs of buying/selling current alloys.

Firestar_3x · 9 Feb 2006 at 19:02

you can probably find some original ones on e-bay quite cheap.