Just Bought An Aygo, But...

[TiJay-go]

Hi guys, just bought an 06 Aygo "Sport" with alloys, but the width and type of the tyres is worrying me slightly.

My last car was a Ford Puma with 195/50/R15 Pirelli P6000s and I'm worried the 155/65/R14 EcoContact tyres will be a bit poor.

Is there a noticeable increase in grip changing to wider "sports" tyres, and is it possible to fit wider tyres to the standard alloys (that last bit may be a silly question)?

Thanks in advance :)

[Rich H]

Standard rims are 4.5 inches and 165 section tyres are about as large as you can go.

The accepted optimum upgrade is 6.5 x 15 inch wheels with 195/45 section tyres with an offset of about 38mm (give or take 2mm). These will fit without scrubbing (unless you really overload the back end) and give a perceptible increase in grip with decent tyres.

The overall diameter is virtually the same so does n't materially affect the speedo reading.

This is the same rim width as you had on the Puma, which i also had before my Aygo.

Prefer my Aygo!

Roadnoise is likely to increase, but there's plenty of scope for upgrading the sound deadening in the Aygo.

You may also find, as i did , that economy suffers a bit due to increased rolling resistance.

Mine dropped by about 3 - 4 mpg when I changed from the OEM Turbine alloys to 6.5 x 15.

Overall though the change was worth it. Handles better and looks "right".

[TiJay-go]

Brilliant, thanks for the help :) Which tyres do you have on the 15s, I'm thinking Toyo Proxes of some kind or Goodyear Eagle F1s?

PS: What were your reasons for changing to an Aygo and why do you prefer it to the Puma, just out of interest? :)

[Rich H]

At present tyres are budget items which came on a deal with the rims. Still handles better than on the Contis though, so when i do get round to replacing those, improvement should be better still.

The Puma's mileage was getting quite high and was starting to cost money to maintain. On top of which i found that in my daily driving i never got a chance to use the performance, so why pay £900 for insurance (now £220) and only get 32mpg. Also had bad experiences with Ford dealers.

Traded the Puma for a new Corsa. My other half had one and as a daily driver it was more comfortable and economic.

Sadly it proved more unreliable than the Ford, so decided this time i was going to go with a manufacturer with a proven track record. Went round the local Toyota dealers, saw the Aygo Black on the forecourt, (11 months old demonstrator with 651 miles on the clock) , took it for a test drive and have never looked back.

[TiJay-go]

The Puma was fun on twisties, I still feel like it has more to give but I wouldn't feel safe driving stupidly quickly. Hopefully the Aygo will give me just as much enjoyment at normal speeds :) My Puma became expensive to maintain too and I never quite got over the fact it feels big and you can't see where the bonnet and boot end.

The high MPG and low insurance/tax of the Aygo are added bonuses for me.

Picking it up tomorrow, can't wait! :)

[PaulT]

The accepted optimum upgrade is 6.5 x 15 inch wheels with 195/45 section tyres with an offset of about 38mm (give or take 2mm). These will fit without scrubbing (unless you really overload the back end) and give a perceptible increase in grip with decent tyres.

It isn't really optimum unless you like the look of 15s. If you keep to 14x6 and use a 185x55 tyre, you will most likely save a bit of weight and roll inertia and the ride will be better.

Paul.

[TiJay-go]

Took the Aygo for its first trip on the twisties today, the dealer put four Kumho Solus tyres on and the handling is brilliant fun - didn't get tyre squeal or any real understeer. I was pleasantly surprised so will probably keep the default size wheels on for the moment :)