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Can I Put 17" Wheels On My Fiesta Studio?


Roshan1994
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Don't know why there are people on here trying to urge you away from making your car look better and feel better to you, meant to be an encouraging forum

Agreed.

Putting 17" rims on a 1.25 litre Fiesta isn't a good idea, it will adversly affect performance. It will also make the car look like it's on rollerskates unless the suspension is lowered.

Better off just saving your cash and buying a higher mileage Zetec S, unless the insurance is going to be an issue for you.

I don't see how it would have any effect on performance, they probably weigh the same if not less so won't put any strain on the car. Sure you have a tiny bit extra grip but then again all running gear is the same as on the 1.6's anyway so this has nil effect. If suspension wise, well the ZS is what -20mm? I hardly see suspension issues down to wheel changes anyway. The only thing you may need is a steering limiter as I believe something like is fitted to the ZS street pack.

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So now your showing off to whether you can afford it or not?

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The 17" wheels will be fine, a steering rack limiter is recommend by Ford (around £9) I bought it and then never bothered fitting it as they didn't rub.

The standard models are only 10mm (less than half an inch!) higher than the Zetec S so height will not be an issue either.

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17" rims will undoubtedly be heavier than their 15" counterparts. The increases in wheel weight and tyre width may affect acceleration and fuel economy on a 1.25 engine car. You would also have to make sure your rolling radius remains the same otherwise the speedo will be out.

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The rim weight may be, but then the lesser rubber and air weight would probably have it somewhere near, a couple of kilograms won't kill economy. It's a 1.25, with modern engines it's not powerless. Don't forget the car is identical to a Zetec S that they fit on, just with a smaller engine and less extra's. Hell 18's fit on the Fiesta.

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im having second thought about modifying my car after all these comments now :/ the car dont exactly look bad as it is now but insuring the mods is the main problem, i wudnt rele want to pay £3000 a year for a 1.25l car

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im having second thought about modifying my car after all these comments now :/ the car dont exactly look bad as it is now but insuring the mods is the main problem, i wudnt rele want to pay £3000 a year for a 1.25l car

You sound quite young and judging by your quoted insurance premiums you probably are. If you want my advise I would keep your car as it is, put the money you would spend on mods in a savings account, build up your experience and no claims, then in a few years a more sportier car may be an affordable option for you.

Spending £400 on new alloys is in my opinion dead money, and you will never be fully satisfied. I did that once and when it came to trading in the car I was told that it would be worth more money with the original wheels on. People generally don't like buying a car that has been modified or has non-standard Ford parts as people assume it has been driven by a boy racer.

You have the rest of your 20's to own a proper "warm hatch", but for now you have a really good first car so just be satisfied with what you've got. It's a lot better than most people's first cars.

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yea, im 18 but ive had my licence for a year now but having a zetec s spoiler or asian grill wont increase my insurance by much would it? instead of getting alloys as i don't 15" cuz they look way too small and i dont want to mess my car up by getting 17" wheels.

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yea, im 18 but ive had my licence for a year now but having a zetec s spoiler or asian grill wont increase my insurance by much would it? instead of getting alloys as i don't 15" cuz they look way too small and i dont want to mess my car up by getting 17" wheels.

I would ring your insurance and ask them if I will I did and they said as long as I don't spend more than £1000 on alloys it won't go up a penny

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17 do not mess your car up, I it them on mine last year, better handling ect

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The rim weight may be, but then the lesser rubber and air weight would probably have it somewhere near, a couple of kilograms won't kill economy. It's a 1.25, with modern engines it's not powerless. Don't forget the car is identical to a Zetec S that they fit on, just with a smaller engine and less extra's. Hell 18's fit on the Fiesta.

No, alloy metal weighs considerably more than rubber! Also what mass it looses in profile it makes up for in circumference and width. When I changed from 15" to 16" I held both wheels up and the 16" were noticeably heavier. It just may cause a noticeable reduction performance (acceleration) and fuel economy in a small engine car as the engine will have to work slightly harder to turn larger, heavier wheels, although I suspect that the MPG will not be affected on a long run.

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No matter the mod your insurance will more than likely go up. It's not to do with the cost replacing the parts (insurance companies don't cover bits you've added on anyway unless they're manufacturer options), but you'll be put into a higher risk category as they'll assume you are that "boy racer" they already think every young male is, and your car looks different to others so more likely to be stolen. Every change you make to your car (except consumables - bulbs, tyres etc) must be declared (yes, even dmb badges and painted alloys). I'd recommend waiting for at least one year's NCD, then think about mods.

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(yes, even dmb badges and painted alloys).

Who has actually told there insurance companies about dmb badges? not being funny but that's too the extreme, shall I tell my insurance company i've changed the wheelcaps, de-badged and put a stubby ariel on it?

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Who has actually told there insurance companies about dmb badges? not being funny but that's too the extreme, shall I tell my insurance company i've changed the wheelcaps, de-badged and put a stubby ariel on it?

If you went by the letter of the law yes as they are modifications but seeing as though your insurance will probably never notice if you do crash it and they inspect it. Also speaking of stubby ariels what's the car look like as I'm a bit dubious about it

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Yes, you should (I work in insurance after all). ANY parts/paintwork that isn't on the Ford Etis must be declared or your insurance company has a perfectly legitimate reason not to pay out. I put my dmb badges on my policy (decals/stickers, value £30) and there was no change to my premium.

If it came down to claiming, do you think a business which is trying to make money, is going to pay out just because you think it's too extreme? No. So yes, sadly, you need to tell them everything.

Some companies have a limit on the number of mods too, so if you don't tell them and need to claim, they'll not pay as they wouldn't have taken you on in the first place due to too many mods. If you're lucky you might get that year's premiums back.

If your insurance isn't completely accurate, then you're pretty much paying for nothing.

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Everytime I change my policy for mods and stuff it costs me an admin fee of £12! But makes you think how many cars are on the road with un-declared mods. How many cases are there where insurance companies don't pay up because of mods.

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Yes, you should (I work in insurance after all). ANY parts/paintwork that isn't on the Ford Etis must be declared or your insurance company has a perfectly legitimate reason not to pay out. I put my dmb badges on my policy (decals/stickers, value £30) and there was no change to my premium.

If it came down to claiming, do you think a business which is trying to make money, is going to pay out just because you think it's too extreme? No. So yes, sadly, you need to tell them everything.

Some companies have a limit on the number of mods too, so if you don't tell them and need to claim, they'll not pay as they wouldn't have taken you on in the first place due to too many mods. If you're lucky you might get that year's premiums back.

If your insurance isn't completely accurate, then you're pretty much paying for nothing.

As you work in insurance what do you think of this. I was asking my insurance about some mods I'm doing and how it would effect my premium this is the reply I got

I can confirm that the modifications you have mentioned below will not effect the price of your insurance.

Any modifications will not be replaced in the event of a claim.

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I can confirm that the modifications you have mentioned below will not effect the price of your insurance.

Any modifications will not be replaced in the event of a claim.

Yeah that sounds right. Not all mods will cost you money. I got quoted no extra cost for a full stainless cat-back system, air filter and a few other things. But a tuning box alone was £15 extra a month. It's not about how much your car costs after you put the mods on, it's all about risk. If you're a 17 year old male and you modify your car, insurers will believe you're one of these idiots who like wrapping their car around trees and lampposts while showing off to their mates, even if there's no performance gains or value added due to the mods.

Insurance is a seller's market, they sadly make the rules. You must declare all modifications, but they are not covered by your insurance. (Possibly by specialists but I'm not sure about that).

Your insurance only covers the value of your car, with no mods, at the time of the loss. If you put £2k alloys on and your car is stolen the next day, you're £2k out of pocket. If you don't declare them and your insurance finds out, you get nothing.

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Yeah that sounds right. Not all mods will cost you money. I got quoted no extra cost for a full stainless cat-back system, air filter and a few other things. But a tuning box alone was £15 extra a month. It's not about how much your car costs after you put the mods on, it's all about risk. If you're a 17 year old male and you modify your car, insurers will believe you're one of these idiots who like wrapping their car around trees and lampposts while showing off to their mates, even if there's no performance gains or value added due to the mods.

Insurance is a seller's market, they sadly make the rules. You must declare all modifications, but they are not covered by your insurance. (Possibly by specialists but I'm not sure about that).

Your insurance only covers the value of your car, with no mods, at the time of the loss. If you put £2k alloys on and your car is stolen the next day, you're £2k out of pocket. If you don't declare them and your insurance finds out, you get nothing.

I'm only 23 myself and after getting that it sort of threw me a bit and seemed an odd concept no insurance if I don't declare mods but if I do they won't replace them anyway. Not that I'm bothered I can modify it as much as I want and not a lot will effect my premium

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Some specialist insurers do cover the cost of mods. I'm with Highways (part of LV) and all my mods are covered like-for-like in case of an accident. I'd love to see how they'd pay for cruise control to be added to a replacement Zetec S... ;)

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I'm only 24, it's nice when these things happen though, I wouldn't complain!

I think, and I stress think, that if your car were to be written off, then you could argue that you can keep the mods. When the insurer pays out, they effectively buy the car from you. But they're not paying you for the mods so it could be argued. Unsure on that though, and I hope nobody has to find out the hard way.

I take it Nath that you pay more for that cover? Against quotes from comparison sites for example?

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Nope - I pay £635 for my policy (22yo, 4NCD, 25k miles a year)

Comparison sites quote in the thousands once you add the mods on! I actually went through this forums insurance which is run by Adrian Flux - they use brokers and find you a good company based on your needs that don't see you as a boy racer and quote accordingly ;) (ie the company that sees mods as someone that will take care of and cherish their car rather than rag it!)

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That's pretty cheap! I think I'm the only person I know who's looking forward to their 25th birthday next year. Only because my insurance should (hopefully) plummet.

I'm ~£500 a year, 24, 1 NCD, 10k miles. It was about £600 until I put my learner Mrs on my policy, she's over 25 so the price went down :)

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That's pretty cheap! I think I'm the only person I know who's looking forward to their 25th birthday next year. Only because my insurance should (hopefully) plummet.

I'm ~£500 a year, 24, 1 NCD, 10k miles. It was about £600 until I put my learner Mrs on my policy, she's over 25 so the price went down :)

Think I should get looking around when mines due as I pay £620 25000 miles a year 3 years ncb and a claim against me (probably doesn't help) and none of my mods are covered. Nath they would probably have to employ you to refit it to the car

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