Hi 

 

Just bought a 2012 mondeo titanium and the standard 17 inch wheels a looking a bit rough ,have thought about just getting them cleaned up but really fancy a set of wheels similar to the titanium x sport which are 18 inch. does anyone know if these can just be swapped over and will it make any difference to the handling of the car?

Hi Redandy599

I could be wrong but, if straight ford for ford original wheel, unless big width diffrence just lower profile tyre and away you go.

After market you need to check spacing  (I have no idea on this)

As for handling personally just the wheel size is not going to have that much effect, you could get the same from investing in some high end boots for your 17s.

In my experience if you want to improve handling you are looking at the whole set up, this depends on how far or firm you want to make yor car. In the past had mk3 estate i lowered up graded the shocks and stiffened up the whole suspension. Yep was great on the air field n track but normal road not as good. ex encoraged very strongly to trade

When comes to handling it is a personal thing as to what you are comfortable with, also the way the car feels in your pants n hands

Hope this has helped a little and not just confused ou more

Chris

Yes the 19's will fit but prepared for what I think is a harsh ride also I find they tramline a lot especially in the wet, I got ride of my 19's and got 17's also run 16's in the winter much better ride on them and the handling isn affected, also fuel economy is better on the smaller wheels certainly with the 16's as they are narrower, the 17' give an acceptable compromise look and ride wise.

Great advice from Pragmatix. Also the 19s are much more costly to replace. My Mk3 had 18s which were considerably cheaper than the 19s which can be a bit eye watering even when buying online.

 

Cheers !!sounds like i am better getting the 17's cleaned up then, probably be a lot cheaper and i think they look ok but i really like the snowflake design off the sport model.awesome car though

Over the different models, there are quite a few different wheels available. I like the 235/45/17s that were quite common pre-FL, but the equivalent FL models tend to get get narrower tyres, for better fuel economy and probably slightly more comfort. I've no problem with the comfort on the 235/45s, so I am happy, but some people would like 18 or 19s for better appearance (and, they do look better) or for a firmer and more immediate steering response.

Bare in mind that as you go to lower sidewall height, the ride will get firmer and more abrupt - it really is a matter of personal taste what you would like, so it is difficult to tell anyone else what they should go for. What I think doesn't work is to go so far with the size that you can only afford rubbish tyres; you are better off sticking with a more moderate size in which you can afford more decent tyres (either 'mid range' or higher in the tyre world, and not the 'cheap, but dangerous' options).

For my taste, 215s are a bit narrow for a car of this size, and I'd rather have the option of mid-range tyres in 235 rather than having to go for max grip (relatively expensive, wear out quickly) options on a narrower size, but you may have different preferences.