[sAP]

Just want to chime in here... on something that might possibly go overlooked.

I recommend that anyone intending to install alloy wheels make an educated decision before installation. Tire sellers & installers may not be the best judge of your equipment. They were not in my case.

Sometimes research can be confusing, especially when one is also researching through what a whole lot of material on what other people are hypothecating. For this very reason, it is important to gather feedback from real users that have come across real issues and have solved them in real life.

Good luck.
sAP

[santosh.s]

completely agree

my previous post mostly belongs to hypothesis part... so be ware readers! put it in the right perspective...

[Ajay]

Originally Posted by sAP

You guessed right. Either of the steps should help.

(i) replacing to 55 profile sounds good enough -- considering you don't need to change the wheel -- results in less than 1% overall diameter reduction

Dia: 23.88" (stock 24.02")
Sidewall height: 4.44 (stock 5.51")

(ii) 16" requires both tire and wheel change, results in less than 1% overall diameter enlargement

Dia: 24.07" (stock 24.02")
Sidewall height: 4.04 (stock 5.51")

I am assuming you have already taken care of lateral clearance issues with the 205mm width. Personally, my choice would probably have been 195/60R15 (dia 24.21" and sidewall 4.61") if that meant not having to use spacers.





sAP

Thanks SAP!.Had zeroed in on the 195/60/R15 option but was wondering on the increase in height due to the 60 profile.That is when I decided to go in for 205/50/R15. Most issues like reduction in pick up, lateral clearance have been solved now(after the hub rings were installed) and due to the contact patch increase, there is considerable grip. Braking distance has increased and do not feel confident when braking. This might also be because of the tire contact patch since it has increased than the earlier stock ones'.

[sAP]

Originally Posted by Ajay

Thanks SAP!.Had zeroed in on the 195/60/R15 option but was wondering on the increase in height due to the 60 profile.That is when I decided to go in for 205/50/R15. Most issues like reduction in pick up, lateral clearance have been solved now(after the hub rings were installed) and due to the contact patch increase, there is considerable grip. Braking distance has increased and do not feel confident when braking. This might also be because of the tire contact patch since it has increased than the earlier stock ones'.

Ajay, I am reminded of an upgrade I did to my motorcycle tires 4 years ago that resulted in symptoms very similar to yours

1. Reduced acceleration
2. Increased braking distance

The upgrade I did was swap a 3.25x18 Michelin M45 rear tire in lieu of my stock 2.75x18 Dunlop Spectra. The culprit is the increased rotating mass (of the larger tire).

However, I kept the larger tire because I got rid of a bigger enemy at the time -- aquaplaning. The new spectra was great on dry road but a nightware in the wet [very unpleasant having to engage an "opposite lock" in traffic, on a 2-wheeler]

sAP

Aquaplaning/ hyroplaning
Opposite lock

[RedOne]

sAP,

Where can I get these hub rings (in Chennai or Delhi)? I had installed 14" OZ Racing F1 Cup alloys on my OHC. The car has this vibration between 90 and 110 which has been driving me nuts and all the tyre/wheel guys as well as ASS is clueless beyond suggesting the usual balancing & alignment.

Gears,
Red-One

[sAP]

Originally Posted by RedOne

sAP,

Where can I get these hub rings (in Chennai or Delhi)? I had installed 14" OZ Racing F1 Cup alloys on my OHC. The car has this vibration between 90 and 110 which has been driving me nuts and all the tyre/wheel guys as well as ASS is clueless beyond suggesting the usual balancing & alignment.

Redone:

In Chennai, you have 2 options:

(i) approach Majestic Tyres on Casa Major Road (Egmore) meet Anil -- the owner -- and ask him if he can get you centering rings for your car. I got mine from him because I bought my alloys there.

(ii) Better still, Lal's will custom-make them for your car. Will cost you Rs.1200 for a set of 4 rings. 2-nd day delivery.

Navarathan (cell: +91 98400 17171)
Lal Tyre Center, 262-A, Lloyds' Road, Gopalapuram, Chennai 86
Ph: 044 2835 0208 / 0958

sAP

[RedOne]

Thanks sAP,

I'll check them out when I'm in Chennai in Jan. Hope they don't have to see the car as I am currently in Noida and so is the car.

Gears,
Red-One.

[sAP]

You will have to provide the following information to the custom-ring maker:

1. Hub diameter of your car (from your dealer's service manual, not user manual)
2. Hub dia (aka center bore) of the alloy wheel (from the alloy wheel supplier)

Both values are expressed in millimeters, example 56.5mm, 73.1 mm, etc.

sAP

[sAP]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

one question- league brochure mentions PCD like 100~114.3, does this mean dual pcd 100 and 114.3 or anything in between also??

I think this means the alloys will fit cars with PCD 100 and cars with PCD 114.3, not anything in between. I infer this because my alloys had eight holes in them -- 4 of them were 100 PCD and the other 4 were 114.3 PCD. My car uses 100 PCD, 4-bolt.

sAP

[santosh.s]

I too thought so initially, but I saw such PCD specs even for just one set of holes (i mean 4 or 5, not 8). For example, you can go to following BSA site and see model 801... it has 4 holes but PCD mentioned is 98-114.3 !! Thats what confused me and led me to guess that bolt bores also must be oversized & tapered nuts may be used to "lug-center" such wheels...
http://www.bsa.com.my/web/newfproduct_full.htm

BTW, I asked a person at "hot tracks" in bangalore about this particular centering problem and availability of ready-made or custom rings... but he was not aware of such things... all he said was "no saaar, so many cars, no problem!" What I think is one of the following has to be true-

This problem may not be occuring that often
OR
Usually it may be causing only minor deviations in balance, easily pushed below noticable limit after normal wheel balancing procedure

[sAP]

Thought I'll post a few pics of my ride. She sails great now. No 65-75mph vibrations.

K-Speed Motorsport,
Classic 5 spoke
13", 4 bolt, 100 PCD
Centering rings, Conical lug-bolt kit
Stock Tires (175/70R13 Bridgestone S322)

It seems my fuel average has gone up after switching to alloys on the same tires. She runs 205kms on 20.3 litres of HP "Power" (versus 186kms on steel wheels earlier on the same gas and under the same conditions)

Love that.
sAP

[sAP]

Here's what I'd recommend for you Santosh. Install a set of alloy wheels that you like. Drive around and see if you have a steering vibration in the range of 100kmph (+-10kmph). If you don't, you are fine.

On the other hand, if you do have vibrations, you just need to get rings fabricated at a lathe. They are no big deal to make anyway. Just follow the link in my first post that talks about making custom rings.

PS: Aura makes different sets of the same 13" wheel -- same design, same width, same everything -- but with different PCDs & center bores to match different cars without using centering rings. Depending on which car you have, they ship a different wheel. Could be the same with BSA.

sAP

[islandman]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

Can any of many baleno owners out there tell me what type of mechanism is used for baleno stock wheels?? and what is the hub size?

A little late but neverthless, Baleno Center bore = 54.0mm

[islandman]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

Can any of many baleno owners out there tell me what type of mechanism is used for baleno stock wheels?? and what is the hub size?
(hub-centric should be safer, provided proper centering rings are used)

Originally Posted by santosh.s

?

A little late but neverthless, Baleno Center bore = 54.0mm

[Ajay]

Originally Posted by sAP

Ajay, your overall tire diameter has reduced from 24.02" to 23.07". Thats almost an inch less than stock. Your tires now need to revolve longer to cover the same distance... and need to rotate faster to reach the same speed.

sAP

The Tire upsize now has resulted in reduced FE. Stock tires- 175/80/R13, Upsized to 205/50/R15. On Shell super unleaded gives me about 9km/litre in B'lore traffic to 11km/ litre before the upsize.
I understand the resulting speedo error, but does the trip meter error out in case of a tire upsize? Is this normal for this kinda tire upgrade or is there someother culprit?Please help clarify.

Thanks.