i guys, last weekend i bought a ford ka w reg 2000, put it thru mot and passes with medium work done to it, allthough before i took it down i noticed a clunking noise at the front when i put full lock on to the right (clockwise), didnt think anything about it (im new to this!) and when i got home i noticed it again, so took it back to the garage, they checked it over and said that it was the alloys that had been put on (before i purchased it) that were the wrong size and to get some spacers for them, i dont mind doing this if its the right thing to do!! could i please have some advice on this as i dont really know what size to get (my wheels are 13inch) and what about the bolts for the alloys? surely ill need a bigger size?..if so what will i need to get?? is it even that thats the problem?..or does it sound like something else?? please help me as i dont want to be driving my car if i could make it worse..thanks guys!! x

It depends on what size the wheels are and what the offset is. I've looked up the recommended offset for the Ka which is apparently ET35-38. Somewhere on the rim it should tell you the offset of the rims you have which will help you acquire the correct spacers. By the sounds of it your offset is too low or the wheels are wider than standard.

If your wheels are ET30 for example and the same width as the standard wheels, you'd need a 5mm spacer to bring it up to ET35 and the problem should be solved. Be aware though that this will push your wheel further out of the wheel arch and if your car is lowered the wheels may scrub the arches when going over bumps.

You can buy the spacers and longer bolts from most reputable firms who supply spacers, I've used H&R before and they were really helpful.

Just to clarify, the number after the "ET" is the distance in mm's between the mating face of the alloy and the centre of the wheel.