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Pimp_Dudu

What inch tires, and alloys can i put on my alfa 33 92 1,7 ie????? I have now 14" which i believe is standard but if i want bigger ones what must i do?? is it possible to shove 15" ones immidietly???any help will be great...also the same question goes for the the eidth of the tire what is the standard and how can i get bigger tires

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Pimp_Dudu · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2004 6:44 am Post subject:

tram lining??? aqua thinga magigee??? what do these terms mean? I actually have a pair of aluminum alloys now on my alfa and they've survived the whole winter with me so i guess i'll be using all year round alloys.

James Granger · Alfa 33 Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 302

Tram-lining is when the car takes it's own course from imperfections on the road. For example, if you are on the motorway the car may get stuck in tracks worn into the road surface by articulated trucks. The wider the tyres - the more tram-lining you get. The 195's on my car seem to be the limit - any wider and the drive would be too tiring and uncomfortable to comprehend.

Aqua-planing basically means when your car skims across a wet road. The narrower the tyre the more pressure applied over a smaller area, hence better driving qualities in the wet or in snowy/icy conditions (look at ice-rally cars). Wider tyres have a larger surface area and basically are more prone to skim over the surface of the water, like a pebble over a lake.

This is the reason why I'm asking whether the alloys are for summer use only. It's quite sensible to change your wheels with skinnier tyres for the winter. Also if you have a laquered rim (like the Speedlines I have) any salt that can get under the laquer through stone-chip cracks will basically corrode the wheel, making them look terrible!

Also the larger the wheel diameter, the slower the acceleration times. I'd seriously say that 15" is the limit on the 33 as far as road use is concerned.

Eddie W · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2004 9:52 pm Post subject:

Hi
Been running our S2 1.7 QV on 15x6.5 wheels with 34 offset and 195/50 directional tyres. Absolutely awsome grip , wet and dry ,no discernable tramlining, a slight increase in torque steer, no rubbing even when well loaded( standard ride height). The torque steer is not a great problem and I suspect has more to do with suspension bushes than the tyres. The past 3 days,work has had me commuting through a local gorge road that is Alfa to a "T" The car was an absolute dream to drive in the dry( the booster bracing bracket a distinct improvement) and the last day was done in an absolute downpour with sheets of water running across the road, mini waterfalls spraying off banks and patches of leaves scattered on corners. Again it was quite confidence boosting. HOWEVER, running the gorge road at night on the return journey behind a couple of bloody Roman Candles is not for the faint hearted. The common sense of driving wthin your vision was clearly impressed on me and I can only say that the rubber is probably why I don't have to search for parts in our for sale forum.
Regards Eddie
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A LITTLE FURTHER A LITTLE FASTER

RFlower · Posted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 4:34 pm Post subject:

RFlower · Posted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 8:27 pm Post subject:

Hi
I think the wheel/tyre combination depends on what is acceptable to you in terms of cornering power, handling, ride and comfort. Changing sizes to improve any one of these tends to compromise the others. I think Alfa got the balance just about right. The ideal would be to borrow and try different wheel & tyre combinations before buying them. It's a lot of cash spent if you don't like them Crying or Very sad

The 33 I just bought came with 35mm lower spring kit (Demon Tweeks), and 15x7 MiM alloys, offset 36, with 195/50 tyres. Standard alloys for 33 1.7 IE and Sprint are 14x5.5, offset 39, 185/60 tyres.

I drove the 33 UK to France, my wife drove the Sprint.
First things I noticed- the jack won't go under the car with a flat tyre and front wheels have about 1º negative camber unladen. Springs were fitted June '99, so should not have sagged yet. Camber is not easily adjustable, you can file out the mounting holes at the bottom of the strut as someone mentioned recently, or tubular suspension arms from www.ahmotorsports.co.ul/photos/tubrjarm.jpg look nice, and fair value.

Cornering power is greatly improved, handling & ride are OK on UK roads and motorways, but totally unacceptable on French local roads.
The car aquaplaned for about 50 metres on the Autoroute, downhill, at about 65mph, on a gentle curve, not braking, in the dark. My wife said the Sprint only twitched a little when she crossed the sheet of water running across the road. We stopped early for the night, and to change my pants.

I have now swapped wheels with the Sprint, which is to be laid up for repairs.

The 33's feels better with standard wheels, cornering power is adequate for me, but the ride is still bad. New dampers might help.

We tried the Sprint with the 15" wheels, and the car is awful. My wife stopped and refused to drive it any further. The track is increased only by 6mm, but there is vicious feedback to the steering, it wanders on every bump or hollow, and the ride is much harder. Tyre pressures are standard - F1.8 R1.6 bar. Maybe I've got something wrong, or spoilt by good roadholding and comfort in my Ro80.

Anyone want some cheap wheels and lower springs? I'm getting a set of standard alloy Sprint wheels and suspension from a T3 33 1.4 IE from the local breaker.
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Dick Flower, Nr. Carcassonne. '94 Trofeo 1.4 ie (F), '93 Imola 1.3/1.4 ie (now for breaking) (F), '91 1.7 ie (GB)(spare car), '86 Sprint 1.5 QV (F). '87 VW Syncro camper (F), '73 NSU Ro80 (F), '99 Fiat Seicento (F)

paddy granger · Alfa Sprint Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 248

The key issue concerning aqua-planing is the tread design. The 195/50 R15 tyres should not result in any serious aqua-planing problems, as long as you choose a tyre with for example an aqua-channel centre groove and directional patterns to prevent aqua-planning.

On our 33 we also have 195/50 R15 tyres fitted. Our tyre specialist suggested a tyre pressure of 2.2 bar front and rear. The tyres are of type Michelin Pilot Exalto. He mentioned that these tyres are very prone to wear if the pressure is below 2.2 bar. What tyre pressures do other forum members recommend?

Pimp_Dudu · Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2004 5:29 am Post subject:

but somehow im really sworried about using 15' alloys because i have jsut and just space between my body and my tires now with the 14' ones...and not to mention the fact that when snow gets stuck near the tires it will be really hard..so r u guys sure i can jsut stick on the 15' ones??

James Granger · Alfa 33 Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 302

Pretty much sure.

alfistjen · Alfasud Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 59 Location: Belgium

Hi,

I've driven 185/60 R14's, 195/50R15 and 195/45R16 The difference in total diameter isn't that much, max 1cm so there's not really a difference there. Most difference is in the tire hight. And from the three sizes I like the 15" best of all. Combined with good tyres (goodyear eagle F1 and Potenza S03 I've had) they give the best feeling to your 33. 14" tyres are too high and less sharp, 16" are quite sharp but the car runs too hard (uncomfortable) and won't let the car 'live'. 15" just give very good steering and general handling. And as said before, get a good tyre, my 33 cuts through heavy rainfall as a hot knife through butter. (certainly with the F1's). Must say that I have Koni's all around and that makes a difference offcourse too.

Regrads!

paul D!

1.7 16V QV

sudman · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 10:01 pm Post subject:

hey there,

I've just (finally....) put a set of 15x6.5 alloys with 195/50 tyres on my Sud Ti, and can't have been more impressed with the result!

Steering reponse has quickened up markedly, ride quality has not suffered massively as a result of the lower profile, no tramlining, and aqua planing doesn't seem to be an issue with the Dunlop Formula FM-901 tyres I am using (my second set... the 185/60/14s were also an awesome tyre!)

the same size wheels and tyres however were fitted to a plastic bumper Sprint... and the thing was terrible to drive, very heavy in the steering and inclined to bump steer.
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Just because it's old... doesn't mean it can't go fast!

alfistjen · Alfasud Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 59 Location: Belgium

happy to hear that you have good results with the 15"s!

Regards! and happy motoring!

Paul D.

Rolle · Guest

I had 205/45x16", the offset was 35. Only with 5 people in the car and lots of beer in the trunk and high speed the back tires rubbed a little bit in bumps, so about one time under two summers Laughing

Altough roads in Finland suck big time I had no bigger problems with tram-lining (vetelyä urissa in Finnish).

What size is the best regarding performance would be nice to know, if anyone have made any "reliable" tests.

alfistjen · Alfasud Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 59 Location: Belgium

Hi,

I believe that many will agree with me if I say a 33 drives best on 195/50R15 tyres. Diameter is only slightly (or even not) bigger than the 14" and tyres are slightly wider. Combined with the yellow koni's I have it's glued to the tarmac without running dry-bumpy like I had with the 195-45R16's before.

Regards!

Paul D.

RFlower · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 4:26 pm Post subject:

Hi Paul D

What rims and offset are you using with your 195/50R15 tyres ?

Regards
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Dick Flower, Nr. Carcassonne. '94 Trofeo 1.4 ie (F), '93 Imola 1.3/1.4 ie (now for breaking) (F), '91 1.7 ie (GB)(spare car), '86 Sprint 1.5 QV (F). '87 VW Syncro camper (F), '73 NSU Ro80 (F), '99 Fiat Seicento (F)

Rolle · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 5:02 pm Post subject: Re: 15"

Guest · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 1:12 pm Post subject:

i have a 33 16v with 16" 205/45's and standard suspension... the type of tyre makes a big difference on the grip and fit...im using falkens at the moment mostly because they are hard wearing. i have standard suspension and the insides of the tyres wear fast enough for my liking so dont forget that going for big wheels with a suspension drop will cause the inner edge of the front tyres to wear faster.
the rear tyre clears the trailing arms by approximateyl 5mm for your infomation!

Ken McCarthy · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 11:05 pm Post subject: 15 inch wheels

My Sprint has 16V (1990) front suspension but Series 1 (1985) rear suspension which has a different suspension arm arrangement at the rear. Can anyone please confirm if 15x6.5 with 38mm offset and 15x7 with 35 offset wearing 195/50 tyres clear the lower suspension arm on the older rear suspension?

Thanks
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Ken McCarthy - 16V Sprint

wille · Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 8:14 am Post subject:

Hi all.
I've wondered is it possible to put 205/40/17" wheels to 33? Now I got 15" with 195/50 tyres, and they're fantastic to drive, with so much grip. Which means I'm not buying new rims, just thinking.. Rolling Eyes

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-Ville-

Rolle · Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 8:31 am Post subject:

wille · Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 8:52 am Post subject:

My wheels are Alessio Imolas fitted with Nokian NRH2 tyres. After those 65-profile winter "tyres" Confused

it's really like a different car, funny(?) how you can forget in those couple of months how good 33 is to drive..
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-Ville-

Rolle · Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 9:52 am Post subject:

wille · Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 11:40 am Post subject:

Yep, those.. Wink

Actually I might be interested, current ones are little bit twisted, and two tires got just 2mm of rubber left Confused

Just gotta solve financial businesses first, pistän vaikka pm:ää.. Wink

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-Ville-