Nova wheels

[davethepaint]

Hi firstly Hi to everyone on the forum,I have just become the proud owner of a 1.2 nova flair with 23000 on the clock At the present its on its on 13" steel wheels and I wanted to upgrade to alloys and have been advised that 15" will go on with no problems.My question because the wheels are 2" larger does this affect the driving of the car and if so in which way thanks in advance for any info.Regards Dave.

[paul james]

You will want lower profile tyres, so that the increase in wheel size is minimised. If you just take 15" wheels from another Vauxhall, they may have 'balloon' tyres that don't fit the arches of a Nova too well. Theres often alloys for sale on here.

[davethepaint]

Thanks for your reply do you think I would be better with 14" wheels or try to find 13" alloys as the car is fitted with newtyres anyway IE 13" softstars or maybe irmisers ?

[dannyb]

Generally the bigger the wheel, the more unsprung weight you'll be adding to the car. There are exceptions to this rule with alloys which are very light but these are expensive. If you go for a 15, your tyre options are pretty much going to be 195 45 15 tyres, if you have a 14, you'll be looking at 185 55 14 tyre or some such variant (like a 165 70 14 or 175 65 14 for example), check out tyre costs and see what types of tyre you get in the differing fitments.
The 15s may give a harder, crashier ride because of the lower profile tyres but there will be less sidewall flex. 14s will provide more comfort and will weigh less but may hinder you if you choose to put bigger brakes on in the future, they are not as common a size any more and are harder to find designs you like in them; they will also limit your options for more 'performance' orientated tyres.
My own key consideration would be how much different wheels weigh. No point adding heavy 15s as even though you get a wider tyre and less flex, it will upset the rest of the way the car handles, giving it a 'heavy footed' feel.

[davethepaint]

Thanks danny there are some Irmschers on Ebay for £70 only in Sheffield not far from me in Stockport, so I might have a bid at those as the car tyres on at the mo are brand new and I think they would suit the car.I'm only trying to update the cars looks so its not a perfomance thing at the moment.The reason for asking I thought that as the 15" are alot bigger they would have altered the gearing on the car and made it difficult from a standing start.