2018 5-Speed

[squatpuke]

New here, just saying hi!

I purchased my 2018 Ford Fiesta S, w/5 speed manually transmission yesterday.
Good shape, 55k miles.

Looking to get new wheels/tires...any recommendations?

Will the "alloy" wheels add performance to the car over the steel?

 

[Handy Andy]

"Performance" can be taken in many ways...

If you're dealing with slip-n-slide, look for good Traction ratings on your next set of tires.

But in regards to "rims" you're pretty much stuck between 15" Steel (some older Alloys are out there) and have the 4-bolt pattern of 4.25" (108mm spacing) and a rim width starting at 6" and goes wider from there - the hole or knockout for the hub is 62mm max. Diameter.

But your main concern would be tire size for those rims, and the "Offset" as in where the hub of the car, meets the hub of the rim, as how far the tire sticks out from the car, onto how far inside or tucked in?

 

[squatpuke]

Sheesh...sounds complicated. Surely there are members here with custom "rims".
I was just gonna go to Discount Tire and get a rim/tire combo...is that the way to go?

Something like this...

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-wheels/drag-dr-69/p/20456

 

[scotman]

15 inch wheels are what is considered the “normal size “ wheel. There’s a wide variety of prices for them but you want to make sure you get tires with an H speed rating which is an indication of the stiffness of the sidewall construction. It is not desirable to install a S rated tire. You won’t like how mushy the car will handle on those tires and they are not worth the money you would save on them over the H rated tires. Wheels above 16 inch diameter are problematic because you have to understand that the roads you drive on will determine how big you will want to go. 17 inch wheels will require a more expensive tire with a shorter sidewall that is much more expensive to replace than a 15 inch tire and wheel. A direct hit on a pothole will destroy the tire and very likely damage the wheel too. I like the look of a large wheel but I don’t like the price of getting and replacing them. That’s my two cents worth of opinion.

 

[squatpuke]

Thanks Andy and Scotman...good advice.

 

[Handy Andy]

To help,

My Fiesta came stock with 16" rims and they were 16 X 6.5 X 4 (108mm) and are alloy - they have a 47mm Positive offset - or Rim center-line to Hub Center-line are nearly spot on in balance - Smaller numbers will affect the balance the wheel will feel in your hands as well as how hard or how much effort it will take - to turn those wheels.

​

I have several posts 'bout those tires Ford chose to put on there. There were Toyo Optimo and must have had a 40,000 mile warranty. They barely lasted that duration. And they suffered being under the car in Michigan roads in winter and summer conditions - being 195 - 50 R16 with a +47mm Offset (Tucked in direction) - This was Ford's choice. I learned a lot remembering that...

Got better tires using 185 60 R16 on those OEM rims and even went out shopping and bought 15" steel - stock rims of that 15 x 6" x 4 (108) and use now 185 x 65 R15 and kept the 47mm Positive offset for balance and operation to help in winter. I then swap out the winter for summer tires using the OEM 16" rims I got with the car. I went with 60 and 65 percentage numbers on a Narrower tire to reduce the torque steering I got from the wider tires (195 width) on rough and rutted bumpy roads - which helps in controlling your vehicle from becoming a mess in a skidding condition - as well as kept similar height and perimeter (How far it travels per number of turns) so it doesn't affect the odometer and speedometer readings.

However - as a bit of advice, keep a spare set of rims and wheels / tires combo so you can keep going. You never know what will be laying on the road in your way - around the next bend.

Because? It's in the Physics - the wider tire caused several issues with steering - suspension and even Axles. Sadly - I am still working with the car to iron out many little things that dealerships have done to the car. Tire scrub, higher profile, being wider also affected traction, rolling resistance and subsequent fuel economy. This just their contribution - so friction, traction, stiffness and handling are affected by tires in size, and by their performance which will take it out on you and the car.

So in my opinion, please - do your research, you cannot leave the fate of your vehicle to others whom may not share your values morals or ethics on driving let alone the care and maintenance of your vehicle - without knowing what is at stake with any vehicle - let alone one that's no longer in production - so parts to fix it are scarce and even scarcer are the people that know how to fix these things.