[jaspal singh]

Got the stock setup on my new i20 replaced.

Tyres-185/65/R14Yokohama A -Drives
Alloys- BSK 5 Spoke

Cost:-Yokohama A-Drives Rs 4300/tyre
Alloys-Rs 10500 for a set of 4.

Buyback
Rs 3300 /tyre for stock 175/70/R14 Apollo accelers.

Alignment & balancing free.

Cost incurred-Rs 10500+4*1000= Rs 14,500

[riturajsharma19]

Guys, I am getting alloys installed on my punto this Saturday. I need advise on the following
1. Should I go for wheel alignment along with wheel balancing on the new tyres and alloys? I am asking this question as my car had undergone free servicing just 800 kms back where alignment was performed. I don't trust local tyre shops for alignment and all so I prefer skipping it during the installation process.
2. My new tyres are of 185/70 R14 specs. What is the ideal tyre pressure for the size? The recommended tyre pressure is applicable only to the stock tyres - 165/80r14.

[jaspal singh]

Originally Posted by riturajsharma19

Guys, I am getting alloys installed on my punto this Saturday. I need advise on the following
1. Should I go for wheel alignment along with wheel balancing on the new tyres and alloys? I am asking this question as my car had undergone free servicing just 800 kms back where alignment was performed. I don't trust local tyre shops for alignment and all so I prefer skipping it during the installation process.
2. My new tyres are of 185/70 R14 specs. What is the ideal tyre pressure for the size? The recommended tyre pressure is applicable only to the stock tyres - 165/80r14.

wheel balancing needs to be done each time tyres are mounted/remounted on rims, you can skip alignment part as its related to suspension and was done recently.
Make sure you install alloys from a reputed tyre shop to ensure professional fitment. Most reputed dealers don't ask for balancing charges, you need to pay only for the weights. and yes do post some pics of your punto after the install
Congrats in advance!

[riturajsharma19]

Guys, I am in need of urgent advise. Please refer to the picture and the screws marked in red. I had gone to install my alloys however, due to these screws, they did not fit. The tyre person suggested that these screws be removed to properly fit the alloys. I didnot go ahead with the installation, thinking I should ask the experts here first. So, do I get them removed? Would it be risky if removed? FYI my alloys are 98~100 pcd, so I was expecting proper fit on my punto. Urgent advise sought.

[FlyingSpur]

Sweet rims on an A4 I spotted. Not my car, of course.

[riturajsharma19]

Update to my previous post - I went ahead and installed my alloys by removing those index studs. Here are a couple of pics. League LG 236 14" 98-108 pcd alloys on MRF ZLO 185/70 R14 tyres.

[shk 8896]

The alloys and dark tints looks awsome on your Punto, Rituraj.Any special reason to stick with 14" wheels?Also how is the MRF ZLOs compared to other tires?BTW, what did the alloys and tires cost you?
Regards
Sreehari

[promit]

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

Sweet rims on an A4 I spotted. Not my car, of course.

woah!! thats really something! audi r8 V10's wheels or a similar design on an A4

[jerry can]

Originally Posted by riturajsharma19

Guys, I am in need of urgent advise. Please refer to the picture and the screws marked in red. I had gone to install my alloys however, due to these screws, they did not fit. The tyre person suggested that these screws be removed to properly fit the alloys. I didnot go ahead with the installation, thinking I should ask the experts here first. So, do I get them removed? Would it be risky if removed? FYI my alloys are 98~100 pcd, so I was expecting proper fit on my punto. Urgent advise sought.

Hi, you made the right decision by not allowing him to remove these. These are not ordinary screws but hub-guides that are there to help position the wheels correctly on the hub. Proper wheels for these cars have corresponding holes in them to allow them to fit over these guides.
Since Fiats, like many other European cars feature removable wheel bolts rather than nuts, these guides are needed to align the holes in the wheel with those in the hubs. Without these it would be tedious as well as dangerous to try and align these holes manually and then put the wheel bolts through them.
I've personally experienced the effectiveness of this wheel bolt - hub guides combination in providing tremendous safety, so wouldn't advise anyone to mess with it.

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by jerry can

Hi, you made the right decision by not allowing him to remove these. These are not ordinary screws but hub-guides that are there to help position the wheels correctly on the hub. Proper wheels for these cars have corresponding holes in them to allow them to fit over these guides.
Since Fiats, like many other European cars feature removable wheel bolts rather than nuts, these guides are needed to align the holes in the wheel with those in the hubs. Without these it would be tedious as well as dangerous to try and align these holes manually and then put the wheel bolts through them.
I've personally experienced the effectiveness of this wheel bolt - hub guides combination in providing tremendous safety, so wouldn't advise anyone to mess with it.

I guess he went ahead and got alloys by removing these hub-guides

Refer to his post #4371.

Cheers,
Sameer

[riturajsharma19]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

I guess he went ahead and got alloys by removing these hub-guides

Yes, I did that as there was no option to return the alloys. After returning home post the installation, I tried to gather some information about those hub-guides. What I learnt is that they are actually know as 'hub-locator pins'. They assist easy mounting of your wheels onto the hub. Now, while installing most after-market alloys, there is no option but to remove these pins as they hinder the alloys from being seated on the hub. Apparently, while the vehicle is being driven, these pins don't perform any specific function.

I installed my alloys a month after purchasing them, as I had to order and wait for a month for my hub-centric/spigot rings to arrive.While purchasing my alloys, I thought I made the right decision by sticking to 98 pcd that Fiats demand (actually 98-108 multi-pcd). Moreover, since there was a difference in the size of the center-bore of the alloys and the size of the hub-center, I also purchased matching hub-centric rings. After all this I was expecting a perfect fit of my alloys, but these locator pins threw up a nasty surprise, which is why I posted the query in this thread but didn't get instant replies. It's really baffling to note the number of complications associated with correctly fitting after-market alloys on a vehicle and most people (read non-TBHPians) install them without keeping these things in mind. Even though I went ahead with the installation, that niggle over removing those pins still remain.

Experts, please add more on the topic of hub-locator pins.

[Scorpioman]

Hi guys, Just saw this thread so posting a few pics of my alloys. Esteem VXI 2006.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by Scorpioman

Hi guys, Just saw this thread so posting a few pics of my alloys. Esteem VXI 2006.

Mind sharing the specs too?

The stance of the esteem has improved a lot! The side profile looks really good.

By the way, how is the ride quality after the upsize?

r-six

[Dolphin]

This is what I currently have on my ride.

17"x7.5J Evo stagger alloys with 205/45/R17 Nankang NS-2 tyres.

[Scorpioman]

Originally Posted by R-Six

Mind sharing the specs too?

The stance of the esteem has improved a lot! The side profile looks really good.

By the way, how is the ride quality after the upsize?

r-six

Hi R-Six,

They are 195/50/R15. I do most of my driving in the city and the ride quality has not been bad. However if the road is not tarmac you tend to feel every small stone you go over. I have noticed though that you feel it more only if your speed is say in between 20 to 40 kmph. Over 40kmph it is not that bad on a gravel road.

What I really like about it is that the car hugs the road and you are not thrown side to side even at high speed turns. Can not say that about the stock tyres and wheels the car came with.

Having done 39k with these shoes, the only issue I have is if there are 5 pepole in the car and the road is bumpy the wheel archs tend to touch the tyre if the is a slight bounce. Never had a problem with 4 adults in the car anything more is when you feel it. Im loving it as 90% of the time it is just me in the car.

Scorpioman.