wheel cant decide 13 or 15

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kylepiggy
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wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by kylepiggy » 02 Apr 2011 11:49 am

guys can you help me out cant decide to buy 13 or 15 inch wheels can you guys give me some pros and cons with 13 or 15s or tell me what your running is 13 or 15 more popular thanks Kyle

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Speedy88
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Speedy88 » 02 Apr 2011 01:41 pm

Depends if you're running a mk2 or 3, 15s look better on the mk3 as they fill the arches better. 13s on a mk3 look like skateboard wheels but they suit mk2s pretty well.
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

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jon-ovlov
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by jon-ovlov » 02 Apr 2011 01:46 pm

ARGH! FULL STOPS MAN!!

Ahem, anyway. Im running 13s. The standard wheel size is 13 inches, with a higher profile tyre. At the mo, I have 175/50s stretched on a 9 inch rim (tyre may as well not be there) :lol: The pros of 13s is improved acceleration (smaller wheel radius), and clearance within the arch. Thats not to say that 15s slow you down. Tyre variety is a little limited on the 13 front, and pot holes are found a lot easier with 13s too. Its depends really on your opinion to be honest, I cant say how a 340 drives on 15s, other lads have them though. As far as I know, they are very good on 15s. I quite like the silly look of small wide wheels though, that, and I cant afford "posher" rims either. :mrgreen:

Theres a thread here with pics of 340s on 13 and 15s, if it helps http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... +your+rims
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kylepiggy
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by kylepiggy » 02 Apr 2011 06:25 pm

thanks for the replies my 340 gl is 1989 so mk3 think im going to go for some 15s might look at some E30 bmw wheels but i do like ats cups but bit out of my price range

Nimminz
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Nimminz » 03 Apr 2011 11:47 am

15" tyres tend to be cheaper, where i get my tyres 195/50 15 tyres are the cheapest they do

I'm after 15s for my mk3 eventually, i was also looking at e30 wheels or ats cups :)
'88 360 +T LSD - sold
'87 760 TDI (D24TIC) - sold
'04 V40 D sport (F9Q, decat, Remapped, launch control)
'89 740 SE (b230ft, 12psi, V-cam, headwork, 'remapped', banded steels)
'86 340 DL 1.4

Ride_on
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Ride_on » 03 Apr 2011 02:34 pm

The standard 14" alloys tend to get bent on the inside rim, many 2nd hand ones I've looked at are and I had to get 2 sets to get 1 good set. This is always the problem with going lower profile, the rims are much easier to damage with less tyre wall. I think 14" is manageable with careful driving up kerbs etc. I would worry about 15".
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

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Speedy88
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Speedy88 » 03 Apr 2011 03:16 pm

Running 195/50/15s and never had much trouble with kerbs. Would be careful if the profile was lower or was running stretched though.
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

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SteveP
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by SteveP » 03 Apr 2011 04:01 pm

Definitely 15... much better tyre choice, improved grip, less sidewall flex, and c'mon it's 2011 - a 50 profile tyre is fine imo
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

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Chris_C
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Chris_C » 03 Apr 2011 06:17 pm

Fine for road cars, just not for rally cars ;) This was signifacantly more than a curb (9" stepped pot hole) off public highway at lotsty.

On road I've always been fine, just come off the brakes before you hit any pothole/curb, then you still have some suspension travel. Lowered cars with less travel might have more problems.

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'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
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'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

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Nikdev
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Nikdev » 06 Apr 2011 10:17 pm

Ive had 360`s on both wide 15`s and 13`s, I reckon they look more right with 13"`s but properly lowered theres not much clearance
Just bought some 15x9(juup overkill thats me) to fit my on my daily :twisted:

Ride_on
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by Ride_on » 07 Apr 2011 10:35 am

SteveP wrote:Definitely 15... much better tyre choice, improved grip, less sidewall flex, and c'mon it's 2011 - a 50 profile tyre is fine imo

Its is certainly more trendy, and great if your roads are good, but IMO roads havn't gotten any better in the last 20 years, even some manufacturers like BMW have been having problems with wheel damage. It really doesn't take much to bend a wheel so it vibrates, balancing won't fix it.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

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SteveP
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Re: wheel cant decide 13 or 15

Post by SteveP » 07 Apr 2011 06:59 pm

Thing is 50 profile on a 195 wide tyre is still fairly chunky. BMW have been having trouble with their wheels because they use ridiculously low sidewalls (ie. as low as 35!) so I'm not surprised. I ran 15's on a 360 with 195/50/15's for about 4 years and approx 30k miles and never had any issues. The benefits far outweigh the sloppyness you get with 13's and even to an extent 14's with the correct profile tyre imo.
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

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