As the title says. My Mk2 LX is currently fitted with the factory steel wheels. It has the so-called deluxe plastic wheel covers, which look like something you would buy from Argos.

Some of the later Mk2s were fitted with five spoke plastic trims (see attached picture). Until I saw these up close, I didn't realise that they weren't actually alloy wheels. A lot of newer cars also seem to be fitted with much more realistic looking plastic false alloys.

I know that I would also need a different type of five spoke steel wheels for these trims, so would have to source a set of these as well as the plastic trims.

I have owned a car with alloy wheels before, and keeping them clean soon got to be a pain. I also have to park on the road where I live, so kerb damage is always a risk. If the plastic trims get damaged they can be cheaply replaced.

How much do these wheels usually sell for used, and can they be easily found in sets?

Thanks for any info.

 

 

 

 

 

Oddly, these cost about the same as a set of alloys, if not more so!  £150 should get a set of either in fair used condition.

The Zetec came with 5 spoke alloys in the same basic style, much more readily available and I picked up the last set for £100.  Due to courier costs, I'd say it's more important to find some locally, rather than worrying too much about the design.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-16inch-alloy-wheels-6-5Jx16H2-Offset-52-5-and-Good-tyres-205-55-16-/194790965728?

Give them a good clean and a couple of coats of decent wheel wax before fitting and you won't have any future cleaning issues!  The raised lip also takes the brunt of light kerb damage without looking unsightly.

 

 

Thanks for the reply. I did see a clean set of those Zetec alloys for sale for £99 a few months back, but unfortunately they were 300 miles away. I would also need a set of the correct wheel nuts. My nearest breakers here in London charges £160 a set of alloys which I think is a bit too much.

Sometimes I think I should have bought a Zetec model as I would have also got the heated front screen and a few other extra features. However the LX came up at the right time, right price and with a good service history.

I did back out of buying a Zetec a week before I bought the LX as I found out it was one of the few Zetecs with no A/C fitted.

I might be wrong, but I thought those plastic trims would fit any steel wheel of the right diameter. I would check with Ford - I really don't think you need to replace your steel wheels.  

I have read that they will only fit the 5 spoke steel wheel type in the attached photo. The wheels seem to be listed for about £50 each on ebay without the trims.

Here are some clear photos I borrowed from ebay listings showing the 5 spoke wheel and trim rear view compared to the standard.

They look to be quite different in depth from the rear. The lips around the cutouts look like they stick out too far to fit the standard wheels.

 

 

 

 

 

I have set of these wasting away In my shed. The trims were painted black at some point really badly and also I tried to cut a tire off one with no luck 😂

I have a genuine set of Ford wheel trims (not from a Focus, maybe Transit?), and had them professionally sprayed gloss black, been on for almost 2 years now and are mint. 1st time in 40 years I haven't had alloys and I love them. No worries about, 'kerbing', and steel wheels do not lose pressure from one month to the next!

(Oh, I paid embarrassingly little for then as a very generous member on here had a brand new set sitting in his garage taking up space!)

22 hours ago, F0CUE said:

I have set of these wasting away In my shed. The trims were painted black at some point really badly and also I tried to cut a tire off one with no luck 😂

Are you looking to get rid of them? Unfortunately I am so far away.

On 2/6/2022 at 11:37 PM, AntonovAN12 said:

I have read that they will only fit the 5 spoke steel wheel type in the attached photo. The wheels seem to be listed for about £50 each on ebay without the trims.

Here are some clear photos I borrowed from ebay listings showing the 5 spoke wheel and trim rear view compared to the standard.

They look to be quite different in depth from the rear. The lips around the cutouts look like the stick out too far to fit the standard wheels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies - my mistake. I've only ever used ones from Argos or Woolworths (RIP).

Very clear photos in your second post, thank you. A picture paints a thousand words!

No problem. The photos aren't even mine. I saved them from someone's ebay listings and thought it would be worth uploading them for future use.

The nearest breakers to me sell these steel wheels for £80 for a set of 4 without tyres. The trims are £5 each on top of that.

That seems like a good price as the wheels seem to sell for £40-50 for one wheel without trim on ebay.

The same breakers charge £40 each for Focus alloys.

To resurrect this thread, the wheel nuts for the 5 spoke steel wheels have a different part number to the ones for the standard steel wheels.

The description says "with stainless cap".

is there any reason why I couldn't use the standard steel wheel nuts? I assume that the stainless cap type are only to look more like the nuts used with real alloys.

I have seen a set of four 5 spoke steel wheels for sale for £40 for the four, but unfortunately they are 140 miles away. 

 

The subject of Ford wheel nuts is a massive point and not quite as simple as you might first think. Here BELOW is an excellent post that explains the complications of wheels, nuts, and Ford global nuts.

 

 

Searching the part number online shows photos of various types of wheel nuts.

Can anyone who has the five spoke steel wheels post a photo of the type they have fitted?

To resurrect this thread again, a used tyre place told me that the star type wheels won't fit on the hubs that the regular steel wheels fit.

I have never seen that mentioned anywhere else. Is that true?

As far as I know, the true alloy wheels will fit the same hub as the steels.

19 hours ago, AntonovAN12 said:

To resurrect this thread again, a used tyre place told me that the star type wheels won't fit on the hubs that the regular steel wheels fit.

I have never seen that mentioned anywhere else. Is that true?

As far as I know, the true alloy wheels will fit the same hub as the steels.

I've never heard of this either.  There is only one front hub shown for all Mk2 Focus in the parts catalogue.

I assume that the tyre fitters have got confused after being told that the trims will not fit the standard steel wheels.

I was told by a Ford breaker that these wheels are sought after and sell quickly. They charge £30 per wheel for used ones when they have them.

Brand new trims are currently being sold on ebay by Ford for about £25 each.

 

 

I am still not clear on whether these 5 spoke steel wheels use their own special type of wheel nut. The thread linked doesn't mention this.

The ones I have seen fitted have what looks like the old style alloy wheel nuts.

The old style alloy wheel nuts are apparently not compatible with the standard steel wheels as fitted to the LX focus.

I haven't been able to find anything to confirm what type the 5 spoke steels use.

I have seen a set of the 5 spoke steels and trims at a good price. I am considering buying them so I can fit them and keep the decent alloys if I sell the Focus.

The 5 spoke steels use the same nuts as alloys of the same age - one-piece with a pressed metal cap  - 1678260

Are the two piece alloy nuts with the rotating collar not suitable for the 5 spoke steel wheels?

I got the alloy nuts from a similar aged Focus at a breakers. All of them I could find in that car and similar aged Fiesta and Mondeos were the two piece type. They leave them in the footwells when they remove the wheels.

I had to take them from more than one car to get 20 non-locking nuts.

When it comes to Ford wheel nuts everything revolves around the year 2013

• Before 2013 lots of different types of Ford wheel nuts for both Alloy and Steel.
• After 2013 Ford introduced Global wheel nuts and so things were much simpler.
• If you're unlucky and are dealing with the year 2013 then it could be either.

The two piece nut with the rotating collar is only for use on pre-2013 alloy wheels, as far as I know.

14 minutes ago, AntonovAN12 said:

Are the two piece alloy nuts with the rotating collar not suitable for the 5 spoke steel wheels?

Yes, they have the same taper.  However, they have a different torque settings to one-piece so shouldn't be mixed.  130Nm for one-piece, 110Nm for two-piece.

Oddly, my 2008 Focus came with solid nuts, but 2-peice locking nuts.  Was only 6 years old & 46k when I got it so assumed they were original.  Owned the car 3.5 years and always meant to replace the lockers but never did...  I wouldn't recommend that setup to anyone else though.

The use of the two piece nut on steel wheels would result in minimal contact between the wheel and the tapper on the nut.

3 minutes ago, unofix said:

The use of the two piece nut on steel wheels would result in minimal contact between the wheel and the tapper on the nut.

On standard steels yes.  But the 5 spoke steels were designed for use with alloy nuts.