17 replies to this topic

[Gary Minty Jupe]

Just got the call tonight from my mate to say the white 18" ST wheels i bought on Ebay are ready for collection on monday after a refurb and colour change (now sea grey) 

just wondering what i should do about the spare wheel ? 

and is there any other things i need to do or have not thought of ?

cheers guys 

[Big_dom91]

I went from 16" to the 18" zetec s alloys and on the gord site it says to use a steering rack limiter but iv never noticed anything unusual tho

[Mike77]

Might be wise to have a 4 wheel alignment done, just to make sure the new bigger wheels are running straight, could save you a few quid down the line in uneven tyre wear.

[Lenny]

As previously mentioned wheel balancing and alignment, for just fitting bigger wheels.

But if lowering the car on springs
Then adjustable rear camber bolts are advised,
Steering limiter kit is advised when lowering the car on 18" rims or bigger
due to the 18" rims being 8" wide compared to the 16" wheels being 7" wide the wider rim inside a lowerd arch can rub off the arch when turning full lock either left or right.

Finally if fitting coil overs then you require,
Front adjustable strut top mounts
Rear adjustable camber bolts
Ford steering limiter kit.

I've purchased the steering limiter kit from ford for 15 pounds the steering limiter kit is blue but defo wont be seen when fitted because the sit in to the CV joint grommet to restrict turning by a couple of mm.
Came with ford fitting instructions for the C-Max but all models of focus are the same in that department, hopfully upload a pdf copy of the fitting instructions for the steering limiter kit in the coming weeks.

[Gary Minty Jupe]

not looking to lower the car but saying that i was not looking to put 18"wheels on so i wont say never !

wheels have been balanced but will get alignment done at the weekend  

just wondering what i should do about spare or different size spare (16") any advise please lenny 

[Lenny]

not looking to lower the car but saying that i was not looking to put 18"wheels on so i wont say never !
wheels have been balanced but will get alignment done at the weekend  
just wondering what i should do about spare or different size spare (16") any advise please lenny 

Lowering the car on 18" rims will improve the look of the car aswell as increase handling, reduce sway/body roll on corners aswell as greatly reduce rear end squat on acceleration,

I too asked this question about the spare back in january and I think it was foca who pointed out;
Their is little difference in overall diameter of a 225/40/R18 and a 205/55/R16
So your 16" spare will be more tyre than rim but it will still support the car to be almost the same size,

I personally have removed my full size spare and fitted the foam pad from a Mk1 focus RS to smooth out the boot,
I plan to purchase a ford foam compressor kit to fit in the slot,
And I've joined the AA for 99euro

Here is a tyre calculator to help simulate the difference between the two tyres
http://www.kouki.co....size-calculator

[Aldoo]

iv bought 18s to put on in summer and im sure it was only about 0.7% different in circumference!

[Gary Minty Jupe]

Album: wheels

2 images

0 comments

from white to sea grey 

[Gary Minty Jupe]

cheers Lenny that calculator helps alot, so i will keep my spare as there basically the same height 

and the mph is only 0.3 out at 30 mph and 0.5 more at 60 so nothing to worry about there really 

[Lenny]

cheers Lenny that calculator helps alot, so i will keep my spare as there basically the same height 
and the mph is only 0.3 out at 30 mph and 0.5 more at 60 so nothing to worry about there really 

No problem Gary mate,
Your speedo is currently reading 3-5mph higher than actually is at present so no need to try and calculate when driving,
When my speedo says 100kmh my satelite navigation says 95kmh I'm sure the Mph models are similar configuration so the current reading allows for bigger wheels,

The wheels you got recoated look good mate,
Perhaps some red or yellow maybe even silver calipers inside the rims would look good,

[Gary Minty Jupe]

i've got everything ready to paint calipers and drums going for a metalic silver 

so going to do them and put the wheels at the same just waiting for a nice day 

[gforce]

Wheels look well! Heads up on the painting and putting on new wheels at the same time... be extra careful that the paint has dried before you put the new rims on! Last thing you want is your freshly refurbed alloys with a few dollops of caliper paint on them!

[Gary Minty Jupe]

waiting for a few nice days over Easter got the Mrs away for 2 weeks and and a week off and the bank holiday weekend  so 

plenty of time to do a proper job and can use her car for a couple of days 

[Lenny]

Heads up on the painting and putting on new wheels at the same time... be extra careful that the paint has dried before you put the new rims on! Last thing you want is your freshly refurbed alloys with a few dollops of caliper paint on them!

+1
I used my spare wheel after painting a caliper id put the spare wheel on that side and leave it to dry for 12-14 hours,
Painted one side each evening then not driving until the following day,

[Gary Minty Jupe]

good idea there Lenny ! thats why your the guide guru