Alloys and Tyres
One of the first and most common modification that is made to any car is to change the alloys and choosing the right style and size can totally change the style of your car, so here is a little guidence to help you make your choice.
The Basics
Wheel Fitments |
| Fitments |
1.5 and 1.8 |
2.0 V6 |
| Offset |
ET 35... 42 |
ET 35...42 |
| PCD |
4 x100mm |
5 x 114.3mm |
| Centre bore |
54mm |
67mm |
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Wheels and Tyres That Fit |
| Tyre Sizes |
Wheel Width |
Tyre Specs |
| 15" |
7.0 |
195/55/15 |
| 16" |
6.5 |
205/50/16 |
| 17" |
7.0 |
205/40/17 |
| 18" |
7.5 |
215/35/18 |
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Size and Selection
First problem is basic wheel size should you go for 15"s, 16"s, 17"s or 18"s?? and are any adjustments required? Many people like myself believe that "bigger is better" as they look good and with low profile tyres handling is also improved. However bigger is not always better as when you step up an alloys size the profile of the tyre has to decrease and with lower profile tyres you lose some ride quality and the costs of tyres go up. At the moment I have 17" alloyss running on 205/40 rubbers and do around 12,000 - 15,000 miles a year and normally need to change my tyres once a year which costs me around £350 for a set of decent tyres.
Picking a style is important too - use the wheel wizard at Wolfrace or browse through members' cars to get some ideas of what they'll look like.
As mentioned above the tyre's profile reduces with increased wheel size, so that the rolling diameter is maintained.
- 7.0x15" rims 195/55/15
- 6.5x16" rims 205/50/16
- 7.0x17" rims 205/40/17
- 7.5x18" rims 215/35/18
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Do 18"s really fit straight on?
The answer is Yes!and has been done successfully but several 323F owners. As you can see in the above phones they look mint to. I have been informed that the specs are:
Please note the below spec only applies if your 323 has a 4 stud pattern
Rims = 7.5 x 18" rim.
Offset = ET37
PCD = 4 x100
Centre bore = 54mm
Tyres = 215/35/18
Owners Comments:
Using the above spec the alloys fitted straight on (Just!!) - complete with the 40mm lowering springs - and don't catch anywhere. Gearing doesn't seem to have changed much but the rubber band tyres accentuate bumps a little more than the 40 series 17's I used to run. But the rides far better than I feared it would be.......and anyway who cares when they look as good as they do (in my opinion!).
Fitting
The technical details associated with wheel fitting are two basic concepts:
PCD - Pitch circle Diameter
This is the diameter of the circle that would touch all for studs on the wheel hub, see the picture below:
Most alloy designs can be done to suit both the 4 bolts on the non V6 models and the 5 bolts on the V6.The PCD on the 4 Lug hub is 100 mm
Offset
This is the distance from the centre of the wheels rim to the mounting face, again a picture helps:
 323F offset (35-42mm)
A negative offset would have the rim sitting further into the wheelarch (as shown on the diagram above) a positive offset would see the wheel further out in the wheelarch. A positive offset could be due to either a wide outer rim and / or a deeply dished wheel design. For example, consider two "Compomotive" alloys, the "MO" and the "MS":
Hopefully, you can see from these pictures that the MO is a more conventional rim with the spokes towards the front face and a "flat face". It has an offset in the range et00 to et 56 . This type of rim is likely to have a negative offset, putting the rim further back into the wheelarch and sitting within the confines of the surrounding bodywork. Only issue here is that a very wide outer rim width (say 7.5", 8" and beyond) might rub against suspension components at the back of the wheelarch. I think this was the concern OZ wheels had about me fitting 7.5x16" wheels - the wider 7.5" and the flat face of the OZ Polaris wheel would increase the positive offset of the wheel so it would reach further back into the wheelarch.
The MS, in constrast, is a deeply dished alloy with the spokes further back in the wheel - it has an offset range of et -67 to et 58. The example shown in the picture would have a positive offset due to the dished face. Problems with a positive offset would be due to the wheel falling proud of the bodywork, or even fouling on the bodywork. This kind of "roller skate" look only (in my opinion) tends only to work on specific cars. Not seen anyone try it on a 323F. Seen a few Suzuki Vitaras with it though.
I can tell you (Thanks, once again to good 'olde Richard Hardesty) is that 7x17" wheels fit fine with et 37 offset and 100mm PCD.
If the PCD is incorrect for the wheel/car combination - the wheel simply won't go onto the car. If the offset is wrong, you might get some rubbing of the tyre against bodywork. I've heard a few stories about cars with unusual offset requirements - but the 323F has never been the subject of any of them.
Anyway - these are the things to be concerned with if buying alloys - but the dealer should be able to match a suitable alloy to your 323F. The PCD needs to match, but I guess different offsets could be accomodated according to ModdedCars.com (website down), - a 323F would need an offset in the range 35-42mm.
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