Styling 15s on Unos

[alexGS]

My personal opinion is that stretched tyres:

- look silly
- can be easily ruined by kerbs
- must ride horribly and probably give unpredictable steering feel

I prefer it when the sidewalls are exactly vertical.

I have 15s on my Uno Turbo. I think it drove better with the 13s on (more grip), but it looks better with the 15s. 7" rim, 195/45 tyres. They have the right rolling diameter (speedo is dead-on) and just clear the wheelarches and gearbox.

Funnily enough all three of my cars (shown below) have 15" wheels - but look at the apparent size differences! On the Punto, the wheels look tiny, like 13s. On the Uno, the wheels look massive, like 17s. On the 164, they look just right

-Alex

 

[thepottleflump]

That's looks crazy.

 

[Chas Uno]

They're not. It all comes down to what the copper that pulls you says. Having an exhaust thats louder than standard is technically illegal but unless you get a complete **** of a copper it'll be ok.

Matt

The problem is not so much if you get stopped by the Police but what happens if you are involved in an accident. The insurance company will investigate and if they find you are using parts, such as tyres, in a way that isn't approved by the manufacturer then you could have your insurance voided. You could also be prosecuted for driving a vehicle that is contravening the vehicle construction and use act. Remember that a Policeman can only enforce the laws that already exist, not make them up.

Also, do you ever see tyres stretched by either the tyre manufacturers or sold like that on new cars? That's probably the biggest give away that they aren't being used as per their intended design otherwise you'd see new vehicles with them fitted.

This isn't a personal attack on you, this is just pointing out that stretched tyres are a very grey area. You may get away with them, but you may also risk some potentially serious implications if you are involved in an accident. Personally I wouldn't do it myself as I wouldn't want to take those risks.

 

[Jai]

I have 15s on my Uno Turbo. I think it drove better with the 13s on (more grip), but it looks better with the 15s.

do you think so? i found the handling totally transofrmed by going to 15s, so much sharper and willing, low speed manouvering required arnie arms, but blasting the roads was so much better on the bigger rims....

 

[stealthstylz]

It all depends on which wheel and tyre combination is used. Heavy wheels/tyres will make the car have less grip as the increased unsprung weight will slow the reactions of the suspension, meaning the wheel isn't in contact with the road as much as it should be.

There are so many variables that can make a difference. If you fit cheap/heavy 15" wheels and budget tyres the handling/grip will be worse. However if you fit some decent lightweight wheels & good tyres it should be improved.

Jai - in your case you've probably fitted wider, lower profile tyres onto the 15s. This will make the handling sharper, as the wider tread will have a bigger contact patch, and also there will be less sideways deflection of the sidewall when initially turning the wheel, meaning the turn in will feel sharper. The diameter of the wheel has nothing to do with the handling gains.

I'm no expert on this stuff, just things ive picked up/tried over the years.

Matt

 

[Jai]

oh def, then again the width was only an inch wider, and was part of a general upgrade to the front end: new brakes, springs, dampers, bushes, tcas, wheels and tyres, etc

all together the difference was very noticable,

 

[alexGS]

Exactly as Matt said.
The low profile/small sidewalls on my Uno have made the steering feel sharper, but the reality is that (probably due to the heavy wheels and wider, shorter contact patch), I get less grip than before. When it lets go, it's really sudden. There is an increased risk of aquaplaning with wider tyres in the wet. All in all, you have to be vigilant. It also comes down to how new/expensive the tyres are. Old/cheap tyres have hard rubber that makes the problems worse.

-Alex

 

[circolo]

Having had a previous few Uno's. I can report:

Uno Turbo Mk1 - ran 15's, on 195/45 rubber. The offset was slightly too low, so the wheels ran a slightly wider track. But only marginally. With the car lowered on special "autosensation" springs, (-80mm), with shorter stiffer shocks, and front & rear braces, and uprated polly bushes. This car handled like a go-kart. But... it was extremely rigid, so much so, that some days it was a pain to drive. I also need to re-work the rear arches -shaving the arch lip, and plastic lip, so that there was enough room for tyre travel on full bounce. (Too test for clearance I removed the rear springs completely, and lowered the car on the bump stops. The thinking behind this: If they don't foul on the arches at rest on the bump stops, they shouldn't foul on the -80mm springs, at -80mm the tyres would sit about 10mm inside the rear arch). Positives were: Great Handling & cornering.
Negatives were: Tramlining on some roads. Very hard ride. Marginal decrease in acceleration.

Uno 60's Mk2 - ran 14's from a Punto GT, with 185/50 profile tyres. This seemed a good balance between handling/grip/acceleration. Compared with the standard 13's steel rims. Not much to report, except fuel economy seemed to improve. And the ride felt much more sure footed.

Personally I'd say the biggest wheel in terms of practicalilty on the Uno should be a 15" rim, with 195/45 rubber. You *could* run 16" rims, with 195/40 rubber, but this would be more expensive, as that size rubber is rarer, and the already stiff ride would be even worse.

 

[F R O S T Y]

What is the actual recommended offset for wheels on a uno? i seen some sites say between ET 30-38 and some say 35-42??

F R O $ T Y