sooooo my problem,

I have a ford fiesta 58 plate zetec s with 17" low profile alloy wheels..... since ive owned this car ive had nothing but trouble with them, ive replaced two with brand new alloys due to getting flat tyres from "road conditons", ive also had on 3 occasions had the alloys straightened at a alloy wheels restorations place.....this is becoming an expensive game, does anyone know if these wheels can b changed to alternative wheels ?? even if they could b changed to smaller alloys with a bit more tyre ? it seems the lack of tyre doesnt give alot of impact when driving around, i was thinking if the alloys were smaller and there were more tyre id have less chance of keep getting flat tyres ??? be kind as you can tell im not very wised up on cars and im sure because of this people can see me comming and keep ripping me off................HELP :) ps i did inquire about this but was told the weight difference of the alloys would effect the performance of the car and it wouldnt drive correctly, is that true ??

I think you could safely go for a 16" with deeper tyres, as long as the overall radius is not lower than your current 17" and tyres you should not need your speedo recalibrated.

Also as long as the wheels are professionally balanced and aligned there should be no handling change.

If you're worried about handling changes ask an independent alloy fitter/supplier for advice.

thank you for your reply !

You should be able to fit any MK7 Fiesta wheels without any difficulty. Like Clive said, you need to make sure that the overall wheel size including the tyre remains the same abut apart from than you can choose anything.

The smaller size wheel you choose then the fatter the tyre will need to be to keep the overall diameter the same and which will give you the greatest protection for your wheels. The most robust of all would be steel wheels but you need to decide where you want to draw the line between greatest protection for your wheels versus looks/style.

Smaller wheels with fatter tyres will improve the ride too but will also slightly reduce handling.

You can fit what you want but you will need to decide who much you want to compromise.