New Wheels Today

[Planemo]

Went for a trot up to the local hoop store. Only planned to have a look around although I had an idea what I was after. I was originally going to go for a fairly plain design (no bling) just a normal 6 spoke (Wolfrace Urban Racer) or Hockenheim type (Calibre Motion) both polished silver with black accents. I was shown towards a set of the Calibres but in full matt black. My initial thoughts were 'hmm' but they grew on me even in the shop. I decided to go for them and was told that they were actually £60 less than a set of the silver ones! All in they were £392 fitted, balanced, new wheel bolts and 195/45/15 Nankang rubber.

Well pleased with them, stealthy as well which was what I was after! I think the black works with the tints and other black bits on the car. Quite fancy a black roof wrap now but need to do some googling as I haven't got a clue where to start.

[Raistlin]

Very nice...

[FROSTYBALLS]

Wheely smart ....

[Planemo]

Cheers chaps! Only thing I'm on the fence about is the polished 'sticky out nipple' centre caps. Black ones, which were maybe flat, might look a bit better. Oh, and forgot to say where I got them - Rochford Wheels and Tyres near Southend in Essex. The sales guy was exceptional and he had all the time in the world for my initial indecision.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Personally I think the polished centre caps and chrome(?) wheel bolts act as a contrast.

[DaveNT]

They look really good, is your car lowered? They fill the arches nicely. That seems a good price, cheaper than the website is showing.

[Planemo]

Yes the car is running Eibach springs. I think the package price on the site is right, but for 'budget' tyres, not with the Nankang rubber I got. They did me the same price because they didnt have the budget tyres in stock!

[Planemo]

Bit of an update for anyone interested.

After doing a few hundred miles with the new wheels, I kinda regret not going for 16" instead. The only reason I didn't go for 16's in the first place was because I was paranoid that ride quality would suffer badly. Many moons ago I fitted 16" alloys with respective 40 series rubber to a Golf Gti 16v and it made the ride considerably harsher. I didn't want this with the Aygo, especially as it's fitted with Eibachs.

As it happens, fitting the 15" and 45 series tyres has, unbelievably, resulted in a better ride quality, aside from the expected gains in general cornering ability and overall grip. The ride now is noticeably less 'crashy' over bumps which surprised me no end. I can only assume that the original 55 series tyres were trying to cope with the bumps before they got transmitted to the Eibachs. The fact that tyres are obviously not damped could lead to this situation.

I know the situation won't work with all cars (as it didn't with the Golf) but an Aygo with lowered/stiffer springs seems to relish working the suspension rather than the tyres. This could be a combination of light weight, good suspension, well designed geometry or a combination of all three but all I know (having owned and modified many cars/bikes) is that the result is a surprise. I have no doubt that going for the 16's wouldn't have made the ride noticeably worse, and could possibly have made it even better than it is now.

In any event, I have now reached the limits of the stock seats. The thigh support in particular is woeful as I find myself having to jam my knees wherever I can to hold myself in which is irritating at best and painful at worst. Having looked at my preferred choice of seat (OMP Design 2) being around 700 sovs for a pair with subframes I am looking to see if I can use something like a Recaro from a stock car (which many manufacturers use) and make it work in the Aygo. The crux being, if Recaro use a standard fitting on their seat bases I could maybe buy a set of specific Recaro runners for the Aygo and get a pair of used Recaro's to mount on them as used Recaros can easily be had for £200 a pair.

Finally, I had a play with the centre caps on the wheels. I found a place on the Bay selling generic caps for £12 a set although they only came in silver. A quick rub down with wet and dry and some satin black (which matches the wheels far better than matt) and I think I do actually prefer them to the chrome silver Calibre 'nipples'. That said, I have ordered some TRD centre cap badges which I will try on the caps I have before making a final decision on which of the three options I prefer the look of.

If anyone can offer info on fitting manufacturers Recaros into the Aygo I will be most thankful!

[kevin65]

Car looks really well! Any problem with rear tyres rubbing against rear arches?

[Planemo]

No rubbing from front or rear, and thats 4-up with a bootful of gear. I actually wanted to load up the car to test, as my Mrs would have got the right hump if it rubbed. Thankfully it doesn't. I must admit though, the rears in particular do appear very close to the arches. I don't think there can be much in it!