Cabrio wheels

[mike woodley]

Hi,
My 13 year old Cabrio is on 15inch Cosworth RS 500 wheels, which I had diamond cut when first acquired. They are now needing another refurb. I have been thinking about buying new and like the look of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3808342839...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
They only go down to a 16in rim. I can adjust tyre size to give the same diameter as the 15in wheel/tyre combination. Has anyone used 16in wheels on there Cabrio? Does it give a harder ride to use a tyre with less depth?
Any advice much appreciated.
Thanks Mike.

[greyV8pete]

Re: Cabrio wheels

Hi Mike.

Long time no hear! Last time we spoke was at a chance meeting at B&Q car park in Exeter a few years ago.

Watch the offset if you change wheels as there is a tendency for some to make the tyres hang outside the edge of the front wings.

NB. I have just checked an old build manual which says (15" x 6" wheels with an offset of between 23 and 33 negative). So I don't think 7" width will suit yours.

On my hunter I have 205x55 R16 Toyo tyres on Fox Racing Evo 3 rims which have the ID 6 ½ J X 16 H2 ET 35 and these are already a bit outside the wings.

They were fitted to the car when I bought it 3rd user so I have never experienced anything else.

I am at Exeter close to J30 on the M5 so you are welcome to come and have a look at my wheels or even try one on your Cabrio. I have uprated front discs and calipers which is possible when you go up to 16” rims.

You can give me a call on Exeter 446928 any time to discuss. Peter.

[milliemarlin]

Re: Cabrio wheels

Hello Mike,
I notice the same wheels are available from “demon tweeks” for a little less (£454.18).

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=5263&g=402989&p=407890&source=aw&awc=6538_1456300884_f6ea7261b9adfd2b9df0798273be7821&utm_source=Affiliate_Window&utm_medium=Linking+via+Landing+Pages&utm_campaign=3213

Last time a brought some alloys (about 10 years ago) I found it was best to get them from a local (Southampton) supplier. They gave me a complete package; wheels, tyres, valves, fitting and balancing. Also I figured if anything went wrong I could scream and shout in the shop.
Paul

[Mike]

Re: Cabrio wheels

Hi Mike

The alloys I chose are 16 x 7 with a 38mm offset, so just the same as you are considering.

I chose 215/55/16 tyres as they were as wide as I could go, and the 55 profile gave me a slightly larger overall diameter to fill the rear wheel arch.
However the additional tyre width did require 10mm spacers at the rear to clear the chassis, so it makes them very marginal (they fail!) to fit wholly under the rear wings - the fronts, without spacers, are fine.

A couple of points to consider:
Hub centres - Hub centric adaptors
Check the hub centre diameter of your intended wheels - alloys locate on the hub by the centre spigot, and should not use the studs/nuts for location - they merely secure the wheel to the hub, not locate it.
If your chosen alloy centres are bigger (mine were 73mm bore) then make sure you are supplied adaptors to suit your hubs - ie to ensure they positively locate the wheel to your hub.
Ford Sierras, and Granada 4 stud hubs all had 63.4mm wheel hub centres, so these are what you need.

Tyre choice
The tyres I ended up with were slightly wider than I would have preferred, but there is not a wide range of 16" tyres available, and many of those that do exist seem to be for vans, (they have a different construction, and have stiffer side walls) - hence I went up to the next car tyre width available.
I note Peter says he has 205/55/16s - I think that is a better width choice - but then I wanted that with a 60 profile to help fill the wheel arch better, and these do not seem to exist for cars?!

Others on the forum have advised not going wider than 195s as the steering gets heavy without power steering - I would go along with that at very slow speeds - ie parking: but at any kind of driving speed the 215s offer incredible grip, and make spirited driving great fun!

Good luck.

[dave_kitson]

Re: Cabrio wheels

Hi Mike
See my comments in FAQs.

Regarding clearance on full lock, if this is an issue, you may be able to restrict movement on the steering rack so the tyres don't rub, but you'll get a worse turning circle. Marlin put jubilee clips under the gaitors to achieve this, but I leave it to you to decide on the desirability of such action. Marlin used whatever racks they could get at the time, and changed trackrods if necessary, so I expect that there are many different racks fitted.

Cheers - Dave

[mike woodley]

Re: Cabrio wheels

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the advice. Have lots to consider. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks again. Regards Mike.

[mike woodley]

Re: Cabrio wheels

Hi Everyone,
Just a quick update. Danny Nelson came up trumps with 5 New Old Stock RS Wheels.
VERY happy.
Will post a photo later.
Thanks to everyone for there advice.
Regards Mike.