Alloys and Tyres advice?

[davehal7]

Hi Guys,

I have an R reg saxo 1.1 has got VTR bonnet and skirts on at 15 inch alloys with 195/45 R15 tyres.

On Tuesday i noticed my steering wheel vibrating and pulling to the right, took it to my local garage and had balancing and tracking done for £40!!.... the problem did not get solved.

Had a mehchanic friend check it over and he cannot find anything wrong with the car at all everything that could be causing it is in fine condition. He has advised it must be because there is either a dent in the alloy or there has been a slight knock and its messed the the steering.

He has said the only way to solve it is by putting the stock wheels back on. Now when i first got the car he warned me to remove the 15 inch alloys and put standard wheels on as the alloys are too big for the car and are not designed to fit a saxo. The drift shaft in the saxo is very small and not suitable to be turning bug wide wheels he says it is only a matter of time before something more serious goes wrong like steering rack, arm , trip rods, wheel bearings etc. He states that time and time again he sees young people forking out hundreds of pounds every six months due to having big wheels and it will continue to cause problems over time and worse case my axle could become damaged. and it just overall shortens the life of the car....

Now im a 19 year old lad and you know how it is i want my car to look good and with the VTR bodykit on will look wack with standard tyre's.

Was hoping some of you more clued up guys would be able to shed some light on the situation??

Sorry for the easy and look forward to some advice..

What are the pros and cons of me putting standard wheels on or sticking with 15 inch alloys with 195/45/R15.

[Gandi699]

40 quid for tracking? fuck me.

What wheels are they out of interest?

[Jizanthapus]

He's talking bull. Well not complete bull but all old people will tell you not to put 'massive alloys' on.

My 1.1 was running lowered on 195/45/15's for 2 years and never had any major problems.
But Yeh I can't help you other than that lol.

[davehal7]

40 quid for tracking? fuck me.

What wheels are they out of interest?


The alloys are 3 stud 15 inch brand is league. and tyres are 195/45/R15.

£40 for tracking and wheel balancing yeah madness i know. Drivers side wheel has about 6 magnet weights on and when i questioned this it due to them having problems leveling it out... My mehcahnic friend phoned the garage as he knows them well soon as he mentioned my car garage laughed and said are you surprised with them size wheels on that car.... I just confused as like i say my friend knows his shit he is in his late 60s and been in motor trade for last 45 years. but then i look of forum and other sites and see everybody has 15 inch alloys on 1.1 saxo..... however i must admit he has told me to speak to two local lads that i know and both have told me the problems they had with there saxos and 15 inch alloys saying that it did cause damage over time and eventually is what killed the car or change wheels back to normal...

[Jizanthapus]

Like I said its obviously going to put a bit more stress on everything, but the fact is its not going to wreck your car - otherwise you wouldn't see anyone do it.

Its just old men set in their ways, that only like standard cars. Just ignore them your car will be fine.

[Quick]

Try swopping the fronts with the rears to see it makes it any better!

[Mickswan]

40 quid for tracking? fuck me.

What wheels are they out of interest?

I had to pay that to get mine done, solid centres are a bitch. Where I live only one place can balance a solid centre and that's kwick fit. What a bastard!

Convert it to a 4 stud and your laughing, not practical but well worth it.

[davehal7]

Hi mate,

I have changed wheels over and little improvement but not much mehchanic reckons my wheel is buckled or i have a dent in the alloy which is what causing it, but im not to sure as it is only intermittent.... I really dont wanna take them off but the vibrating steering wheel and pull can be so annoying..... i thinking about but stock wheels on this weekend and seeing if it makes a difference if it does not then stick with the 15" alloys and just lump it..... just so annoying it never used to do it but nobody can find what it is. my car is in good condition!!

[AlexFocusST]

Check to see if the diameter of the hub matches the diameter of the slot that the wheel has, you might just need some rings to fill in the gap on the hub.

[davehal7]

Check to see if the diameter of the hub matches the diameter of the slot that the wheel has, you might just need some rings to fill in the gap on the hub.


this has already been checked and all is ok

[AlexFocusST]

Don't know how to describe it properly in english ,
but it could be that one of your driveshafts is about to go or has bent in some manner causing the wobling

[davehal7]

Don't know how to describe it properly in english ,
but it could be that one of your driveshafts is about to go or has bent in some manner causing the wobling

i understand completely that it could be the cause, however as mentioned two independent sources have looked the car over and driveshaft and every possible cause is in good working order....

It really bugging me especially as it is so intermittent for example today handling has felt great and smooth because the tracking and balancing have been done. But yesterday when i drove a bit more it was terrible again but not constant....... guess the only way to really find out is to change the wheels and see if it stops but tbh i dunno if i ca bring myself to take the alloys off lol its gonna look so tacky with standard wheels as its got VTS body kit it will just ruin the look... plus im guessing if i revert back to 13 inch original wheels handling will be piss poor and no more cornering at 50mph +

[AlexFocusST]

i understand completely that it could be the cause, however as mentioned two independent sources have looked the car over and driveshaft and every possible cause is in good working order....

It really bugging me especially as it is so intermittent for example today handling has felt great and smooth because the tracking and balancing have been done. But yesterday when i drove a bit more it was terrible again but not constant....... guess the only way to really find out is to change the wheels and see if it stops but tbh i dunno if i ca bring myself to take the alloys off lol its gonna look so tacky with standard wheels as its got VTS body kit it will just ruin the look... plus im guessing if i revert back to 13 inch original wheels handling will be piss poor and no more cornering at 50mph +

We had the same problem many years ago with my brothers 16v rallye , after a long time of problem searching we found out it was the driveshaft, only way to know is to replace it , as it is impossible to check otherwise!

personally i wouldn't take the wheels off , are they bent or have badly worn tyres on??

[davehal7]

hi man right had a busy Saturday on the car firstly I changed the thermostat as cooling system not been working and stat was closed shut got all that done and the blue sensor on the the radiator has broken one of the wires is loose and I need a replacement plug but cannot fond one anywhere. ..

changed all 4 wheels back to the 13 standard wheels and the problem is still there! !! so the problem still there and I have now got shitty looking wheels on too..

its so strange tho the vibration is only intermittent its always up to 40mph and when I accelerate but sometimes car handles and steers perfectly and then the wheel is vibrating crazy at other times but only when accelerating not just rolling
.. also hear a clanking noise when I corner does this sound like it could be a drive shaft as 2 garages have checked it over and nothing can be found everything looks fine grrrr..... thanks for your input really helpful
.

[Mickswan]

I'd say drive shaft, get to a car park and do circles with full lock each way and listen for the sounds.

[davehal7]

I'd say drive shaft, get to a car park and do circles with full lock each way and listen for the sounds.

do drive shafts need replacing in pairs and how much am I looking at for it as think that bit too much for me to do

[Mickswan]

You don't have to do them in pairs, just replace the knackered one. I need to replace one but I'm going to do both because I'm a knob like that lol.

I've been pointed towards J&R driveshafts you can get them off ebay one sides £23 and the other £27 you'll want to replace the oil seals as well (you don't have to but it's worth it for piece of mind, you don't want it leaking after its back together), you might need new pinch bolts but thier well cheap.

It's a pretty simple job, all you need it a socket set and a breaker bar helps.

http://www.saxperience.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173716

[davehal7]

right driveshafts have been check again and they are as good as new was only fitted 12 months ago according to receipts..... so i am clueless have been told it could be an engine mount but surely this would make it vibrate 24/7.......... my mechanic has said there is the slightest bit of play in my steering rack but wouldn't cause problems i am saying and if it does turn out to be the rack then just live with it as not worth the money doing my nut in.......

[davehal7]

UPDATE have had car looked at by a third garage and my mehchanic again, still nothing has been found wrong with the car......... both places have told me to just accept the fact she is an old car and turn the radio up... they said i could change driveshafts to see if it makes a diffrent but if i do it will but pressure on the rest of the components which will then also need replacing sooner than if i just leave it be.... what sort of advice is that ffs!!!!............. im starting to hate saxo's!!!!

[AlexFocusST]

Bet your mechanic thinks that its total waste of money to repair or change parts on a car!! Just scrap it and buy a new one , is that his thinking???

The thing with drive shafts is that if they are to blame it isn't visible, meaning you could check the boots to see they are properly greased and not torn ,
but if one of the "crown forks" ( sorry can't describe it otherwise ) is slightly bent or out of shape it has to be taken off and machine checked!

[Dean-VTR]

if the wheels are afteirmarket ie not standard citroen fitment.

if the centre bore of the wheels are bigger than the bore on brake disk it sits on, you will require spigot rings to correct the difference.

ive had to do this with most alloy wheels ive had on various cars.

if your not sure on what i mean google alloy wheel spigot rings

hope this helps :)