Back to Front Page Enquiries & Site Index Choosing Alloy Wheels Summary Reasons Style Size Vehicle Fitment

1. Summary

• Most wheels are available to fit most modern cars
• Don't worry if the picture shows a 4 or 5 stud wheel - it is probably available in the correct fitment for your car
• Don't worry if the wheel width shown is not identical to your existing wheels - they will probably fit your car
• Before submitting an enquiry - please choose 3 wheel styles that you like just in case your first choice(s) are not available

2. Reasons

There are 2 main reasons for fitting Alloy Wheels: Weight and Style. Alloy wheels are a lot lighter than the equivalent size of steel wheels, so the unsprung weight of the car is reduced. They also look 10 times smarter than a steel wheel, even with a fancy plastic trim covering it.

Using modern alloy casting techniques it is possible to create quite exotic shapes and styles of wheel, whilst still retaining adequate strength. All the wheels we sell are manufactured to International Standards. They are X-ray tested and pressure tested before leaving the factory.

3. Style

This is actually the most difficult decision to make. So much depends on your personal choice: though it is also related to the other factors of size of wheels and available vehicle fitments.

You have to consider what look you want to create:

• The outlandish look of the 3 spoke wheel
• The smart sensible look of the 5 or 6 spoke softline wheel
• The finely tuned look of the square edged 5 or 6 spoke wheel
• The smart business like look of the 5 twin-spoke wheel
• The aggressive look of the claw spoke wheel
• The way out look of the twisted spoke wheel
• The rally style look of the multispoke wheel
• The fashionable look of the wide 5, 7 or 8 spoke wheel
• The look of Mercedes or BMW (or other make) using a replica wheel
• Or lower price replicas of TSW or Momo or other makes/styles
• and so many other styles I can't think of ways to descibe them!

You also have to consider all these styles in relation to the size and style of your car.

For instance, when 3 spoke wheels first became popular - they looked all right even on a big BMW or Mercedes because they were so unusual - but now that the novelty has worn off many people think they look silly on big cars - but still suit most small to medium cars.

Other wheels, such as the wide spoke wheel, look best on big cars where the wide spoke suits the size of the car.

Sports cars, such as MX5 or MR2 need a wheel with a bit of style. The simple 5 spoke wheel is lost on a stylish car - you need a multispoke or twin spoke wheel.

The smooth 5 or 6 spoke wheel is popular on family cars where a wheel with too much style will dominate the car and look "over the top".

Some wheels have an open centre - exposed bolts - and others have a centre cap. The open centre creates more of "rally" style look, while the centre cap gives a softer image.

Some wheels are so open in style all the braking mechanism is clearly visible.

Some makes such as Momo - Mille Miglia - Wolfrace - have a very upmarket style and image - and the price reflects this accordingly. Other wheels, such as EXcite - KN Alloys - BK racing - are made to the same standards, but are more reasonably priced.

Examples

I have taken photographs of some of the alloy wheels we have fitted. You can access them by clicking on the little car picture beside the wheels on the different pages, to see what they look like on the car.

You may have to use your imagination if your car is a different colour or make - but it gives you some idea of the final result. Obviously we do not have photos of every possible car or alloy wheel. Very often, even when we have fitted interesting wheels the weather has been unsuitable for photographs.

I intend to add an index of the pictures of the different wheels and cars shortly.

If you look at my Mille Miglia page or Wolfrace page or Rial page, you can also access the manufacturers web sites - the Wolfrace and Mille Miglia websites have a "Virtual Garage" that will show what their different wheels look like on your car.

4. Size

Alloy wheels are currently available in diameters from 12" to 20", and widths from 5" upto 10".

It is quite normal to alter the size of wheel when fitting alloys. Most cars are fitted with 13" or 14" steel wheels. When changing to alloys - you can replace with the same size of wheel, and keep the same size tyre, or move up to 14", 15", or even 16" or 17" wheels.

The larger the wheel and the smaller the tyre profile the more impact the wheel chosen will have on the overall look of the car. The important thing is to keep the same overall tyre diameter. This is done by using a lower profile tyre.

So if you have an Escort with 175.70.13 tyres, you can change to 175.65.14 tyres or 185.60.14, or upto 185.55.15 or 195.50.15 tyres. You can even go on to 205.45.16 or 205.40.17.

With some cars you are limited to the maximum size by the space available within the wheel arches; for instance Fiesta alternatives are 155.70.13, 185.60.13, 185.55.14 or 195.45.15

You will see that generally speaking, as we increase the tyre and wheel diameter (the last number of the size designation), we reduce the middle number (the profile percentage height) and also increase the first number (the tyre width).

Other examples:

BMW 3 series (E36): standard factory size is 185.65.15, alternative size 205.60.15, changing up to 205.55.16 or 225.50.16, then to 215..45.17 or 235.40.17.

Cavalier: standard size 165.13 or 175.70.14, go up to 195.60.14, then to 205.50.15 or 205.55.15, next comes 205.50.16, and then 215.40.17


• The important thing is that the overall diameter of the replacement wheel and tyre combination is the same as the original fitment - so that
  • Gearing
  • Speedo reading
  • Acceleration
  • Top speed
  • Fuel consumption
  • Ride height
  remain the same as intended.
  I do not recommend changing the overall tyre diameter by more than ± 2½%.

Increasing the tyre width and reducing the profile height will give the vehicle different handling characteristics. The car will be a lot more responsive when cornering, but a lot more sensitive to bumps and irregularities in the road.

You do not have to worry about working out these alternatives in advance - we will do that for you - this page has been written to give you an indication of what can be done if you want to change to a bigger wheel.

But if you want to work it out for yourself - it goes like this -

take the first number of your tyre size (this is the width of the tread) and multiply it by the second number (this is the profile height expressed as a percentage) and then divide by 100. You now have the height of one sidewall in millimetres.

Multiply it by 2 (for top and bottom sidewalls) and divide this by 25.4 to convert to inches and add it to the third number of your tyre size (the rim diameter in inches) to give the overall diameter in inches.

If you want to convert back to millimetres multiply by 25.4

Or click here for Tyre Size Calculator

5. Vehicle Fitment

This is where things get a bit more technical. Most of the wheels shown on this web site are available to fit most cars - we can order them with different bolt centres and different offsets to suit different cars.

You don't need to know what the technical dimensions of your wheels are, because we will supply wheels with the correct fitment, but for reference the illustration below shows the important dimensions.

PCD and OFFSET

	3 HOLE WHEELS Measure the distance X between the centres of 2 holes and multiply by 1.154		4 HOLE WHEELS Measure the distance between the centres of 2 OPPOSITE holes OR Measure the distance between the centres of 2 ADJACENT holes and multiply by 1.414
	5 HOLE WHEELS Measure the distance X between the centres of 2 ADJACENT holes and multiply by 1.7012		6 HOLE WHEELS Measure the distance between the centres of 2 OPPOSITE holes OR Measure the distance X between the centres of 2 adjacent holes and multiply by 2
	PCD stands for Pitch Circle Diameter OFFSET is often referred to as ET which stands for Einpress Tieffe in German
	P O S I T I V E O F F S E T
	OFFSET = BACKSPACE - ½(RIM WIDTH) or C = B - A
	N E G A T I V E O F F S E T

Most wheels in use today for passenger car purposes have a positive offset. Most 4 x 4 vehicle have zero or negative offsets. Just because a wheel from one vehicle has the same PCD and offset as the wheel from another does not mean they are interchangeable - the centre bore of the wheel and hub must also be the same to ensure centralisation of the wheel, and the shape of the spokes must ensure clearance of the brake calipers. Many manufacturers use the same wheel fitments as others, but some are unique: for example,

Fiat

these are either a 4 or 5 stud pattern with 98 mm diameter - and for lower price wheels for this make we recommend KN ALLOYS. or for higher quality we recommend Mille Miglia - but we can also fit 4x100 PCD wheels on Fiat group cars using special offset bolts at an extra cost of £1.50 each.

Citroen & Peugeot, 3 stud wheels

very limited styles available, only from KN ALLOYS.

Citroen & Peugeot (4 stud fitments), BMW E30 series

these cars require a low offset wheel, and only certain styles of wheel are available, please ask

Vauxhall Nova and Astra Mark 2

these cars require a high offset wheel and only certain styles of wheel are available, please ask.

Jaguar

uses a bolt pattern unique to this car - only a few styles available see JAGUAR WHEELS.

Porsche

uses a bolt pattern unique to this car - only a few styles available from Mille Miglia and Kahn Design.

Rover Metro & Mini

unique bolt pattern - very limited styles available from KN ALLOYS.

Older cars Triumph, MG, Morris, Hillman/Sunbeam etc.

unique bolt pattern - very limited styles available from KN ALLOYS.

When enquiring about wheels, it is helpful to give me as much information about the vehicle as possible, including the number of studs. I can then work out whether your choice of wheels are available and what size tyres to recommend.

• Please do NOT ask me for a complete list of suitable wheels for your car
  
  
• I do NOT have time to work out all the possibilities and then type them out when replying to emails!
  
  
• Please do it the other way round - give me your vehicle details and a short list of your preferences (size and styles) - say 3 wheels - upto 5 at most.

Click here for a complete list of common vehicle fitments

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