would 17's look too small on a focus. i currently have 19's but have seen a set of some nice 5 spokes but they are 17's so not sure if they look a bit on the small side.

Hi Sal,

I personally don't think 17" alloys would look too small, here is a picture of a focus lowered 35mm and i think it loks well with the alloys.

that looks good Stephen, sadly my car isnt lowered and if i lower it then my insurance is void - hence paying £290 this year!

I cant say a 17" would look too small, as the tyres would make up the rest of the profile anyway...

the focus zs comes with 17" alloys as standard

dont look too small... but could be bigger lol

have to agree 17s dont look small if anything i think 19s are too big 18s at the max as the 19s make the focus look like a tractor but thats my personal taste mate

Do the insurance punish you if you have fancy new alloys? I have fitted new allows to my last two cars. I have just got my 2003 Focus 1.8 and it has standard 15" Ford alloys but seeing the price of alloys is only around £100 each then i wouldn't mind putting a nice new shiny black set on but when I changed my insurance two weeks ago they did ask me if I had standard allows on.

i've already got aftermarket alloys and everything declared so it will be fine. strange that they wouldnt cover me if i lowered it.

I'd be curious to see if the premiums did actually change much if you tell them you are getting shiny new alloys

Any change to the car from the day it left the factory will under the mainstream insurers cost at the minimum an administration fee to update their records, and often will incur a fee for the change itself, especially to insure that particular item.

Some performance based insurers will offer unlimited modifications with no fee, or perhaps a small administration fee for recording them on their systems.

I reckon 17's would like fine too! Are the ones you've seen aftermarket too Sal?

Admiral have been good with my modifications, just charge an admin fee to add them to the policy so I tend to do all the big jobs at once and declare everything together. Have just renewed and did a bit of shopping around - quite a few insurance companies refuse to quote with mods declared!

the wheels are a set of Dotz aftermarket ones. As i currently have aftermarket wheels on my car i dont think i need to inform my insurer of change of wheels or do i?

the wheels are a set of Dotz aftermarket ones. As i currently have aftermarket wheels on my car i dont think i need to inform my insurer of change of wheels or do i?

Depends what details they have for the current alloys. If the only note is that they have been changed then I don't see why you need to tell them as it makes no difference.

Oh and I think 17s look fine, I have that size on my Focus :)

You need to declare everything, even down to summer or winter tyres Sal!

Quite surprised this morning, phoned up my insurer to tell them about the spoiler, grille and mudflaps and they said no charge. Only thing is that they are not covered, i.e. it will be put back to factory standard in the event of an accident.

Doesn't bother me though, if I went with an insurer who did cover them I would probably end up paying for the items again over a few years of premiums anyway.

You do obviously need to tell your insurers about changes, but as mentioned it may make no difference, an aftermarket alloy may be all they need to know.

as far as i'm aware, my insurance details only say aftermarket wheels so it shouldnt matter.

i have never had an insurance company ask if i have summer or winter tyres

they dont need to ask Aaron, they tend to assume you have all round tyres, but if you have an accident and they see you have winter tyres, it could invalidate your insurance policy...

Mainly because no car would (by standard) leave the factory with winter tyres on, they tend to be an all rounder, so changing this, means that you have modified the vehicle.

You would really need to have a scrupulous insurer to suffer this, but it can and does happen.