Fiesta and 17's

[Peej]

Hey ppl, just wondering, i was reading a few threads last night and noticed people were saying that increasing rim sizes puts extra stress on the engine and gearbox etc. Im looking at getting BSA 291 17x7s on my 06 Fiesta. Just wondering what sort of effects these will have on fuel economy, accceleration, handling etc.

Thanks

[Scareybear]

Welcome, good to see another new face
Going to 17's from 15's gave me a huge handling benefit, I don't think I've suffered at all with respect to acceleration or fuel economy.
What colour Fez have you got? what finish wheels are you getting, Chrome or hyper?

[Peej]

Hey thanks mate, yeah still deciding, ive got a sub-lime coloured one. Leaning towards the chrome finish for the overall shine appeal. Changing the wheel size doesnt effect the factory warranty either does it?...

[mitch_lx]

Originally Posted by Peej

Hey thanks mate, yeah still deciding, ive got a sub-lime coloured one. Leaning towards the chrome finish for the overall shine appeal. Changing the wheel size doesnt effect the factory warranty either does it?...

Changing wheels and tyres wont affect your warranty, as long as you do what the tyre placard says... 17inch wheels might be a bit of an issue, especially if your claiming for something like gearbox problems.

Some tyre placards (josh) have 17 inch listed... if i remember correctly.
Mine only says 16's so thats what i went for.
If in doubt ring your dealer.

[joshf2]

yeah, mines got 17x7 with 205/40R17 tyres listed on the placard

however, i wont agree with mitch about seeing your dealer if in doubt. they would know less than you, and will most likely point you in the wrong direction

check the rta. theyre the ones who are going to defect you in you get it wrong, not your dealer

[mitch_lx]

I realise the rta and the police will defect you for your rim sizes.
Its important for your car to be legal, but its also important to make sure your car is under warranty.
Things do break, and ford will try ANYTHING to get out of paying up.
If your car has different size wheels on it which are not listed on the placard then thats just something they will use against you.

So my suggestion, check your tyre placard in the glovebox, follow that.

[Scareybear]

If you can get the part number of the placard with 17's listed (Josh?), you can replace the one you have and theres no problems. Its a common fix for some commodores that list funny sizes through different spec cars.

[Peej]

Yeah i checked the placard and it goes up to 17x7's so i guess im lucky then.

[Scareybear]

Originally Posted by mitch_lx

I realise the rta and the police will defect you for your rim sizes.
Its important for your car to be legal, but its also important to make sure your car is under warranty.
Things do break, and ford will try ANYTHING to get out of paying up.
If your car has different size wheels on it which are not listed on the placard then thats just something they will use against you.

So my suggestion, check your tyre placard in the glovebox, follow that.

So... if theres a problem with the engine, and you have a non standard air intake, they could blame the problems on that? doesn't seem to have stopped anyone.

[joshf2]

Originally Posted by Peej

Yeah i checked the placard and it goes up to 17x7's so i guess im lucky then.

must be the newer build's to have the bigger wheel placards

[RichieMK6]

17x7 will put more stress on ya motor and gb :( trust me , thats why i took mine off

[Scareybear]

Originally Posted by RichieMK6

17x7 will put more stress on ya motor and gb :( trust me , thats why i took mine off

Why? If your'e running the right tyres theres no huge difference in sizes so all the components are doing the same work.

[MISTA FIESTA]

Originally Posted by Scareybear

So... if theres a problem with the engine, and you have a non standard air intake, they could blame the problems on that? doesn't seem to have stopped anyone.

From some of the stories ive heard, ford will try and pin a problem due to non stadard mods like pod filter, wheels and exhaust. I have booked my car in this saturday for the sparkplugs and have put the stock setup back in. Obviously i cant return the wheels/exhaust back to stock. Hopefully they wont try and say "oh its because uve got a diff exhaust or bigger wheels blah blah blah" because it sounds like BS to me.

Why would bigger wheels cause a stress to the engine? Just because they are bigger or heavier than stock. Then whats the diff of having a full car load with stock rims?

[Scareybear]

Originally Posted by MISTA FIESTA

From some of the stories ive heard, ford will try and pin a problem due to non stadard mods like pod filter, wheels and exhaust. I have booked my car in this saturday for the sparkplugs and have put the stock setup back in. Obviously i cant return the wheels/exhaust back to stock. Hopefully they wont try and say "oh its because uve got a diff exhaust or bigger wheels blah blah blah" because it sounds like BS to me.

Why would bigger wheels cause a stress to the engine? Just because they are bigger or heavier than stock. Then whats the diff of having a full car load with stock rims?

Depends on the wheels, many 17's will actually be lighter than the stock steel rims, the tyres are definitly lighter, and if they're putting them on the placard, ford should be ok with them. If the rims and tyres are a proper fit there should be no problems, this is why you should physically go to a reputable tyre shop, not buy them off the net where theres little or no responsibility once they've got your money.
I can see where your coming from, but if you're that concerned about warranties, whats stopping you from changing your wheels back to the stock rims? 25mins work with a jack...

[MISTA FIESTA]

The stock rims are not with me atm and cant get em as no licence. Ill see how i go, hopefully they wont notice.

[mitch_lx]

Ford are numb nuts.

They will see a ford badge on your wheels mista and not think of it again.
dont worry bout your wheels.

[Professor Farnsworth]

Most mags are going to be heavier than steel wheels, very rarely is it the other way around. The rolling diameter of the wheel may stay relatively similar, or within up to a cm, but it can still take more effort to get a heavier wheel rolling, which yes, can put strain on the engine and gearbox. Factory 17's (think the ST has 17's ?) would be designed within weight parameters to not strain the car un-necessarilly. After market rims aren't designed specifically for the specifications of your car. Having said this i've never had problems with upgrading rims, but i've always done it on more solid cars. I'd check with your local roads authority AND with Ford CRC to make sure putting the bigger rims on is not going to make you liable in an accident, or void your warranty should any issues arise. I know for a fact that they lean more towards engine mods for voiding warranties. In some cases even upgrading the AIR FILTER has done this. Exhausts, CAI's, generic/custom tunes are also a big black mark. Stupid, but that's the way it is.

[kiwijohn42]

The ST150 does have 17's, but also a larger turning circle. Not sure if it's just the engine.
When my Zetec eventually gets here, I want to change to a K&N filter & quality plugs. Is it worth changing these back to stock for servicing? Only a direct replacement filter mind & I wouldn't want it to get chucked.

[Professor Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by kiwijohn42

The ST150 does have 17's, but also a larger turning circle. Not sure if it's just the engine.
When my Zetec eventually gets here, I want to change to a K&N filter & quality plugs. Is it worth changing these back to stock for servicing? Only a direct replacement filter mind & I wouldn't want it to get chucked.

Up to you what you do for servicing, all i can say is some dealer service establishments will pick you on it and some won't, and that will heavily depend on if there is a problem that they could even REMOTELY (and most likely ridiculously) link to a part you've changed. I don't see plugs being a problem, i know a few people here have put decent plugs in as the factory ones turned to crap early on.. Check to see if better plugs are mentioned in the service book, and if not, your choice, just remember what i said above. I mean hey, "you've improved the spark, the engine has more efficiency now, that's why your right tail light is crooked"..... etc

[theostheone]

i had 18 inch rims on my car and there were no problems... I dont see why people say there would be more stress etc with the new rims...

if u take the car to get a service or anything like that simply jack up the car and put the stock rims back on... how hard is that.

[xurbanx]

Mines 16" with 195/45 (:

Could it be possible that it's because of the lx/zetec models? That some fiesta's can have 17 205/something and others have 195/45

[Professor Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by xurbanx

Mines 16" with 195/45 (:

Could it be possible that it's because of the lx/zetec models? That some fiesta's can have 17 205/something and others have 195/45

Most likely. WQ Zetec comes standard with 16's now, whereas WP Zetec was 15 with OPTION of 16's.

[crispymk2]

thats strange because i test drove an 04 Zetec with 18's yesterday at a Ford dealership here in Perth. It was an ex melbourne Ford dealer demo, 6170kms, $18,500, ruby interior with moondust silver. Had contisport low profile tires too.

[Professor Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by crispymk2

thats strange because i test drove an 04 Zetec with 18's yesterday at a Ford dealership here in Perth. It was an ex melbourne Ford dealer demo, 6170kms, $18,500, ruby interior with moondust silver. Had contisport low profile tires too.

If you're refering to a Fiesta, then i don't doubt it may have had 18's on it, but they would not be factory wheels. (unless it was some sort of spcial prototype or one off from o/s)

[crispymk2]

They look like bigger versions of the factory alloys, (8 wide spokes? or is it seven?) Had the ford centre caps too... could they be from a Focus (yes i was refering to the Fiesta)

[MISTA FIESTA]

Where these the ones u saw?? Im very confident they didnt come in 18s tho.

[crispymk2]

Those look like the ones. I'm nearly positive they had 18in contisport tires on them but i'll make sure next time i go down. Finance should be approved by Friday