Styling 17" wheels on a Grande Punto

[Ffoxy]

I was going to suggest going for some Fiat alloys like I did and letting him choose colour, etc, to help with insurance. But lets face it, the car won't be driven 100% of the time in a manner that is needed to keep the gearbox in one piece.

Some things in life arent ment to be and unfortunatly I think he's going to shout at you when you tell him he can't get any

No parent should worry about that TBH Danny... I think I know who would be picking up the repairs bill!

 

[ut745]

OK, you used the word "had" twice which is implying the pest tense.
Hi mate, my friend had changed his alloys on his 1.2 grande punto to 17" TSW alloys and then later to 17" Wolfrace alloys, he had no problems at all with them.... hope this helps.

So your friend either doesnt have the car anymore or he took the 17's off, or sold the car before any problems occur.

One example of it being OK Posted in here doesnt outweigh the majority who have Posted in this Forum with resulting gearbox / final drive breakages.

Of course there may be thousands who have had no problem, they just dont Post in here.

But it would seem the smart thing to do is keep wheel sizes inside the spec of the designers by model type as the 1.2 doesnt seem strong enough to cope.

I see what you mean, i think its just my poor use of the english language lol. He still has the car and its running fine.. (also he isnt my friend anymore). Ye even though he didnt have problems, i still wouldnt risk changing them to anything other than fiat alloys because you will most probably regret it in the future.

 

[Tris Harris]

I upgraded to 17" from 15" on mine and it was fine for 20k miles before i sold it...

i dont drive like a clot though...

 

[dannygp]

No parent should worry about that TBH Danny... I think I know who would be picking up the repairs bill!

Yeah I know. I did write a bit about how his son should be grateful to have a car bla bla. But dad's always know what to say anyway!

I upgraded to 17" from 15" on mine and it was fine for 20k miles before i sold it...

i dont drive like a clot though...

You had a 1.4........

 

[punto_matt]

Wolfrace = cheap alloys = very very heavy.

Fiat = cheap alloys = very very heavy.

Oz = expensive alloys = lightweight.

Team Dynamics = medium priced but still lightweight.

Last 2 brands are the two i would consider if i had a 1.2 and was upgrading wheels as they will put considerably less stress on everything than Fiat or Wolfrace wheels.

 

[flint]

i would change em and have the car looking nice. keep the originals should you need to put em back on. i.e selling car on .....

 

[dannygp]

Wolfrace = cheap alloys = very very heavy.

Fiat = cheap alloys = very very heavy.

Oz = expensive alloys = lightweight.

Team Dynamics = medium priced but still lightweight.

Last 2 brands are the two i would consider if i had a 1.2 and was upgrading wheels as they will put considerably less stress on everything than Fiat or Wolfrace wheels.

Pardon? My Fiats are Speeline you bell

 

[punto_matt]

So they still weigh like 14kgs each.

 

[Brianmerc]

I'm back, the original poster who started this fascinating thread!

I'm in a minority of one in our house. The wife, 2 son's and even the two dog's think that 205/40/17's should replace the existing 185/75/15's on the Punto but I'm more cautious, based on the advice given.

The decision is still in the melting pot but I'm being 'worked on' to give way.

 

[punto_matt]

Whos he insured with?

 

[Brianmerc]

Whos he insured with?

Direct Line.

 

[Caravadossi]

I'm in a minority of one in our house. The wife, 2 son's and even the two dog's think that 205/40/17's should replace the existing 185/75/15's on the Punto but I'm more cautious, based on the advice given.

The decision is still in the melting pot but I'm being 'worked on' to give way.

Keep us informed, Brian - I'm interested to know what the Ins Co have to say ... & possibly the dealer's view re warranty claims.

 

[punto_matt]

Direct Line.

Easy then. They wont cover mods for anyone under 21 so he cant have alloys

Problem solved.

 

[dannygp]

Easy then. They wont cover mods for anyone under 21 so he cant have alloys

Problem solved.

Atom Bomb deployed.

 

[Brianmerc]

Atom Bomb deployed.

Correct - armed with this information I've just become Public Enemy #1 in our house. I guess this opens the whole debate on what is or isn't a mod. I know where I would stand if I was the insurance company though - changing wheels for ones of a bigger size must count as a modification and is not just cosmetic.

 

[punto_matt]

Yeah it is classed as a modification as it makes the car more attractive to theives, can change the handling of the car slightly, more expensive to replace than standard wheels if he was to crash etc.

Im sure he doesnt want to be driving around with undeclared mods, cause an accident, find out direct line wont cover him anymore get done for driving with no insurance then have a nice 100k claim to pay back to the insurance company for the rest of his life while not being able to get insurance in future does he

 

[jmcand]

Easy then. They wont cover mods for anyone under 21 so he cant have alloys

Problem solved.

Is this a recent change because last time i spoke to directline it was no mods under the age of 25

 

[mehstg]

Is this a recent change because last time i spoke to directline it was no mods under the age of 25

I think it is no performance related mods < 25. No cosmetic mods <21

 

[punto_matt]

Maybe 25 dunno. Still doesnt matter for the ops son anyway as he aint getting them on lol

 

[sledge]

Insurance companies base their premiums on risk factors and statistics. Owners who carry out modifications, no matter what they are, make more claims that those who dont. Hence by carrying out a mod you will be seen by the insurance co/underwriters as having a higher chance of making a claim than someone who doesnt and being a higher risk......and they will bump up the premium as a result.