Team-BHP - 17" Alloys and tyres for i20

Hi guys,
I am planning to buy a new i20 this month and I am budgeting everything out so please suggest in the best possible way. I really wanna see i20 with 17 on it. So what would be the ideal combination of tyres and alloys for it and the pricing aswell.

Few things on my mind I am not sure about:
1) Is this upgrade worth, I mean according to the indian driving conditions.
2) what tyres am I looking for as someone told me that I should consider the load bearing capacity instead of going for cheap import manufactured tyres.
3) What would be the ideal size for the tyres(width, height) as I do not want the vehicle to look taller like an suv and also the i do not want the wheels to buldge out of the wheel arches.
4) Cost( after exchange for the alloys and tyres on the factory fitted i20 asta, how much more do i need to shed).

As i said I have come accross numerous responses from people being against of these wheel size as they are not suitable for indian driving conditions. So please suggest according. Thanks

Hey V6turbo, really would love to see an I20 with 17" Rims buddy but guess as you probably know and most experts would agree its really not worth the effort on ever changing Indian Roads!!
I have a 2007 Santro, which was a Limited edition launched and came with 175/60/R13 Alloys. Currently I went in for a 15" Veloche Alloys and Nankang tyres with 195/45 profile. Believe me dude the car simply glides on Highways but its a different story within the city. As far as I know, Hyundai are very notorious when it comes to after market mods for their cars, especially with Alloys and Rubber, Unlike Suzuki guys who's machines are much more Mod'able !!

What I'm getting at is that in my personaly opinion you should't really dare to go beyond a 16" Alloy for ur I20, since it will be only couple more inches than the standard fitment. Even this would ask you to compromise totally on comfort since you would probably have to fit tyres with 195/45 or 205/40 sort profiles.

When I had sold my Alloys on Santro, I got a meager 1.5k(per alloy). We both know you would get a much better price for your I20 alloys but a personal advice would be to stick to 16". For my current Veloche Alloys and Nankang tyres that I bought over a month back, I paid 30k(including fitement and bolts) for set of 4!!

Please do make the decision if the BHP Gurus confirm the same on the post.

Hey thanks Vik0728 for your reply and to share your experience. Well I am an urban commuter, I will be driving mostly in the delhi NCR city area and yes it is full on mix of roads(potholes and all) though there has been far improvement since years. As I said there is an investment involved and I need to be sure if they will work out for me or not. Let see what other have say, I really do not want to face problems of tyre cuts and all but if there are better quality tyres available in the market today which are duarable then why not. But lets be sure rather than making a mistake and suffer in future...thanks again

Hi V6,
I'm Vinay from Bangalore and I am considering an i20 myself. Like you I dont quite like the alloys that come with the i20 and I am doing my research before buying the car. I think I would be buying a diesel i20.

In my thorough research ( which consists of stopping and gawking at all well heeled i20 cars and then trying to talk to the drivers ) I came across one that was parked in my apartment that had 17" alloys and very low profile yokohamas, they were 210/something and the driver ( a helpful guy called Sharif ) was very happy to talk about them. The whole getup was very goodlooking, the car looked a complete sizzler. The alloys were a dull gray and the car was white, a hot yet very cool combination.
He said that there was no problem with the tyres scraping the wheel wells. This was my primary concern and I am not sure if it was just a nice optical illusion, but apart from being very wide, the tyre+wheel combination seemed to have a greater diameter than stock tyres, so the concern about scraping wheel wells. Apparently, his friend already had this setup and that's why he opted for it.

The only 'problem' he said was that on very rocky roads, since the alloy wheel is so close to the ground due to the low profile tyres, it gets dinged by rocks, and there were small notches on the edge of the wheel where rocks had scraped it.

I guess other tyre experts can comment some more on this setup as I a total n00b.

Cheers
Vinay

Quote:

1) Is this upgrade worth, I mean according to the indian driving conditions.

Depends on how deep your pockets are :) . Well they don't come cheap at-least the 17 inchers. Dont you think the 17 would be an overkill ? Come to think of it , you hit a stone or a pothole with the tire profile being at 40/45 it sure could bend the alloys.

Sourcing a single alloy would be a herculean task. No dealer would be willing to sell a single alloy.

Quote:

2) what tyres am I looking for as someone told me that I should consider the load bearing capacity instead of going for cheap import manufactured tyres.

Please stay away from cheap and imported stuff.

Quote:

3) What would be the ideal size for the tyres(width, height) as I do not want the vehicle to look taller like an suv and also the i do not want the wheels to buldge out of the wheel arches.

Something I missed checking on my colleagues car. Can you post the stock tire size please.

Quote:

4) Cost( after exchange for the alloys and tyres on the factory fitted i20 asta, how much more do i need to shed).

If you are looking at 17 inchers am sure each alloy and tire combi should set you back at-least 10k or so. This if you are considering a good brand on the lines of Lenso's(alloys) and Yokos/Bridgestones(tires).

I know the i20 comes with Accelere tires from factory and stock Hyundai alloys.

I still would recommend sticking to 15 inchers , check this ride.

An i20 on 17" inchers is a sight to see. How do I know? Well one of my closest friends has them on his i20. A white i20 with Lenso Samurai 17".

Now to answer your queries.

How does it look?

Awesome. The wide tires due to the 17" rims look super hot under those flared arches. In fact they edge out of the arches a bit.

Are they practical?

I am not aware of the road conditions in Delhi, NCR, but in Mumbai they do pretty ok. The amount of grip is simply phenomenal. BUTTT it makes the 1.2 i20 feel slooowww!! Be ready to take a hit on the mileage too. Cornering at high speeds was fun on the Mumbai-Pune express way. At the same time we were in for a shock when we tanked her up at the fuel station.

What tyres?

This friend has Yokohama S drives on his i20. I don't remember the exact dimensions but I think they may be 205 or 215/50/17. I'll check on this if you want.

Cost

Around 50k with exchange of original tires and rims.

EDIT: - See the i20 in the link that rjstyle posted. That i20 is shod with Lenso Samurai in 15". My friend has the same design in 17" with Yoko S-Drives. Imagine how hot it looks!! :D

PS - On the practicality front I'll agree with rjstyle - 15" is the way to go.

PPS - But 17" looks hot! :deadhorse

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpzen (Post 1828323)

v6turbo

Frankly, 17" wheels on i20 is a crazy idea. Not worth it unless u want only LOOKS.

I would suggest u to stick with stock wheels or at the max upsize to 15".

Anyways, let me confuse u with some pics of i20 with 16" & 17" wheels:D

Attachment 325351

Attachment 325352

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@ kpzen All the pics you've posted look really nice.

@V6turbo I have seen 15 inchers on the i20 & I think that is the perfect upsize. Maybe even 16" - but one needs to drive carefully with low profile tyres..

My vote goes to 15" alloys. What is the stock size of tyres on the i20 ?? That will help you to conclude the upsize you can go in for .. try the tyre size calculator on 1010TIRES.COM — Tires and Wheels Absolute Authority.

Cheers

Thanks a ton, all you guys have been very helpful with the decision. 17 does adds a lot to the i20's stance. The other thing I know that I am trying to convince myself that I will be very careful with the car while driving but we all know what happens after some time of ownership. As I said I really hate worries of tyre cuts, rim bends etc. We have 3 cars in the family, dad drives his own but we all keep swaping up accordingly which is another concern as they will have to drive the way they normally does. As i said the research is still on my first step now is to get the car first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iraghava (Post 1834251)

I would suggest sticking to 15". 17" is a bit of an overkill.

Guys for i20, 15" alloys are the best for a comfortable drive and look. With 17"you will kill your alloys, tyres and riding comfort for nothing. But with 17"you will get a Outstanding sexy look.

I myself tried with seventeen and down graded to 15"alloys Yokohama s drive 205/55/15

Hey Guys......Am looking for a cheap yet well established option for an upgrade to my stock 155/80 for my wheels..Getz

Thinking of it I see it reasonable to get a slightly used oem rim/alloy for i20 14" wheels. Please IM me if you are willing to sell some in open market. please:HelP!!!

for Blr .. my ride is less than a 100km a week and spending on new options wont be really Worth my drive.

n everybody have a Safe Drive Home !!!!!!!!!!