Im looking at buying a mk3 Focus 1.6 Ecoboost in the new year.

Looking for a nice set of alloys to go with the purchase.

 

From what I've seen if I went for 18" I would need a steering rack limiter which is not ideal for parking where I live.

Therefore im looking for some 17" to avoid this.

 

Any recommendations? Looking for something like Aodhan AH06's but ones that will actually fit the car.

 

 

 

They say you need rack limiters for going to 17" on the Fiesta. I've had mine for 2 years and never rubbed. I think it's more the fact that if the car has so much weight that it sits lower then you could potentially rub on the arches.

Potentially a pointless response but may be of some value and I'm sure others here may clarify more.

I was informed a long time ago that the Focus mk3 "should" be 18" friendly, but that was if using Ford's own wheels. Was never sure of how much truth there was behind that but I never went down that road as a mk2.5 came up in spec and budget instead.

 

I run that 2009 mk2.5 Focus and have just upped the wheels from the 17" 8 Spoke "Y" design and bolted on a set of 18" Ronal Mondeo ST220 wheels, going from 205 50 17 (or 205 55 16 for standard Focus) up to 225 40 18 and haven't had any issues with them, I think for width it's something like a 12.5% increase but for diameter it something silly like 0.1% or so.

Rack limiter not needed in my case and  no issues with speed bumps or sharp turns etc..

 

 

Like I said maybe not so useful but potentially something to ponder or speak to a Ford dealer about if you get 5.

Got a Mk 3.5 1.0 St line which is factory 10mm lowered. Came with R18's shod 235/40 no mention of rack limiters from dealer when I asked if it was a standard upgrade. There's still a fair bit of clearance too.

11 hours ago, Smythson said:

Got a Mk 3.5 1.0 St line which is factory 10mm lowered. Came with R18's shod 235/40 no mention of rack limiters from dealer when I asked if it was a standard upgrade. There's still a fair bit of clearance too.

If you need to make 2 manoeuvres to get into a parking space like I do in my mk3 Zetec S with factory upgrade 18's then you have rack limiters fitted. My turning circle limit is horrendous!

I did fit Ford 18's to my old Cmax and bought the specified rack limiters but there was loads of clearance so I didn't fit them in the end and kept the better turning circle.