advice needed on wheels

[astra tom]

hi i have only just joined up but have used this forum loads in the past which has helped me out, so a big cheers for that

today i got a puncture, so i changed the spare only to realise it is a 15" and all my wheels are 14". i have bought a set of alloys (5 split spoke original vauxhall) which are 16" but was only planning on changing them when the standard 14 inch steelies had worn out. but could i put two of the alloys on the back and the other steel wheels on the front. the front wheels are 185 60 14 (i am almost certain off the top of my head) and the alloys would be 205 50 16

oh and i believe the offset was 5.5 original and 6 on the alloys

sorry for such a essay :S i hope i have been clear enough

[MSG]

I think you can as long as they are same on each axiel (spell) but you canot have different ones on the same axial apart from the emergency space saving spare wheel with speed and distance restriction.

[TINTIN]

As MSG said. Your fine so long as the axle has matching ends, lol

[astra tom]

cheers im feeling safer now lol i was just a bit unsure because of the differnaces in width...and also when i do change all four will this make the speedo less accurate?

[TINTIN]

You should be fine going from 14" to 16" on the grounds that the tyres will be lower profile. There will be little difference i would imagine.

[astra tom]

it will be going from 14 to 16's but still not more than a couple of % out though?

[Steve_Gers]

Good job you put the 16's on the back, I had a friend that couldn't work out why he was an idiot for putting the smaller wheels on the back. That was before it rained and he ended up on his roof!

[TINTIN]

Good job you put the 16's on the back, I had a friend that couldn't work out why he was an idiot for putting the smaller wheels on the back. That was before it rained and he ended up on his roof!

Please explain more. Maybe its me being thick but i cant see how the rain would cause a car to flip over. Maybe he just drives likes a ****?

[Steve_Gers]

Yeah his dodgy driving is part of it but he had 13" skinny steelies on the back and grippy 16" alloys on the front. With the added help of the rain making the road slippy he tried going round a corner at his usual pace and as you would expect the steel wheels on the back made the car go sideways which he couldn't control.

[astra tom]

^possibly less downforce from the higher front end was 2% and his driving the rest, but cheers for the top quality and speedy responses guys!

[Steve_Gers]

How big a puncture is it? McConechey's where I live will fix a puncture and balance the wheel for a fiver

[TINTIN]

Yeah his dodgy driving is part of it but he had 13" skinny steelies on the back and grippy 16" alloys on the front. With the added help of the rain making the road slippy he tried going round a corner at his usual pace and as you would expect the steel wheels on the back made the car go sideways which he couldn't control.

[astra tom]

that is a cracking deal but the tyre is on the limit with the tread so its not really worth it, and i had bought the alloys last month because i've wanted that style for a while...so its a good excuse to get them on and not lose out on the good tread on the other tyres

[Steve_Gers]

Not as good as 4 barely part worn Continental EcoContact tyres with 7-8mm tread left for 40 quid and that includes buying them and having them fitted + balanced. That was for my old corsa c though 175/70/13. Will be a bit more harsh on the wallet getting 205/40/16 on the new corsa's Irmschers