Author Topic: Wheels and suspension  (Read 4851 times)

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Ricksy1121

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Wheels and suspension
« on: April 29, 2013, 05:13:43 PM »
Hi, wondering what size wheels and tyres are best for a 1986 air cooled polski.. Iv seen 2 lowering kits for sale as well one 2.5 cm and other 3.5cm,, so will 13's fit with 175/50/13 tyres and 2.5cm drop ?
Also what offset is best ?
Cheers

kev126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2013, 05:27:00 PM »
Hi Ricksy, it all depends really. Only 4x98 PCD will fit unless you used wobble bolts or adapters. The whe width (J) also matters on these tiny cars. People say the 'limit' is 5.5J (5.5 inches wide) to fit in the arches, however if the offset (ET) was say, for example -10 then the wheels would stick out 5 miles!

Are you wanting wide wheels with possibly a bit of dish? Be careful on what suspension kits you buy as most if not all are made only for the old air cooled italian ones.

13 inches is the standard wheel size which is fine, but it all comes down to the actual J and ET. Dont forget that anything is possible though, and we all have a little friend called negative camber ;)
1989 Fiat 126 BIS

dajwid

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2013, 07:02:14 PM »
Hi, wondering what size wheels and tyres are best for a 1986 air cooled polski.. Iv seen 2 lowering kits for sale as well one 2.5 cm and other 3.5cm,, so will 13's fit with 175/50/13 tyres and 2.5cm drop ?
Also what offset is best ?
Cheers

have you looked thorough any of the hundreds of old threads on this subject before asking ?

Ricksy1121

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2013, 07:26:18 PM »
Iv drive the car for the first time today and its very hard to drive! I don't expect it to be easy but the stearing the worst.. Will a new rack make any difference ?

kev126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2013, 07:37:30 PM »
Has the car already been modified? If not, you are experiencing driving a fiat 126 :)
1989 Fiat 126 BIS

Ricksy1121

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2013, 08:24:51 PM »
No it's standerd but I think it could benift from from a check over to see if it needs anything replacing

kev126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2013, 08:26:45 PM »
Definitely. Don you have any wheels in mind? Or are you just wanting to know what will fit? You will need to try them for yourself if you are lowering the car as well
1989 Fiat 126 BIS

1973/126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2013, 08:35:34 PM »
 Is your car LHD or RHD? Most left hookers got a steering box, where most of the RHD cars got a rack.

 Check the king pins are greased, as this could also be a cause.

 The steering on the 126 is normally very light as there is hardly any weight to the front.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2013, 08:59:07 PM by 1973/126 »
1972 Fiat 500
1980 Fiat 126

Ricksy1121

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2013, 08:44:57 PM »
It's a lhd and it's very heavy stearing..

1973/126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2013, 09:35:31 PM »
 
 Well in this case also check the steering box as they got a tendency of leaking. Might also need adjustment or an overhaul.
 I would make sure the car is all sorted before you think about lowering it.
 
1972 Fiat 500
1980 Fiat 126

Ricksy1121

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #10 on: May 01, 2013, 06:35:56 AM »
Thanks for your advice, I will be looking into the front end more before lowering, what is the best offset for wheels ?  Thanks

Hazey-n-Marc

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2013, 07:46:06 AM »
Fiatos has 13inch, 5.5j, et19 offset, and Deyan IYI has 13inch, 5.5j, et42.5 offset. These are the extremes I know of, if they have these fitted with no spacers or arch mods then you should be able to fit 6j at et26.

Marc

kev126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #12 on: May 01, 2013, 07:51:03 AM »
Thanks for your advice, I will be looking into the front end more before lowering, what is the best offset for wheels ?  Thanks

There is no 'best' offset because not all the wheels put there are the same width. If they were, it would be easy to answer. BUT as Marc has said, we know of people to have successfully fitted certain wheels. A Chinq wheel will fit fine, but you will need to either flare the arch or increase negative camber to get it to fit 100% correctly.

I have an idea: find some wheels you like and post them here. We'll do our best to workout if they will fit on a 126 :)
As you will be lowering, will you be modifying the arches and camber to allow a wheel you like to fit?
1989 Fiat 126 BIS

Hazey-n-Marc

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2013, 07:55:35 AM »
I have been trying to put together a definitive answer for this question, but keep getting busy instead.
I think it may be possible to go to a 14 inch 6j with the correct offset and no mods, just not quite certain of tyre availability.

1973/126

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Re: Wheels and suspension
« Reply #14 on: May 01, 2013, 10:17:29 AM »
 These are 13x6 alloys I recently bought for my brother(doing a swap for his Cromodoras:), but thought I`ll see how they fit on a 126.
 Not sure what the offset is, but they stick out a fair bit. The only other number I can see on them apart from size is 16.
 
 
1972 Fiat 500
1980 Fiat 126