Wheels

[breon]

What's the smallest wheel we can put over our huge brakes? The manual recommends a 16" for snow tires and we have a 16" spare. Is that the smallest we can go? I'm looking to put a stock focus 15" on my car......don't ask why.

Thanks
breon

[deactivated]

15" will not work. That's why SVT Focus have 16" spares and not rinky dink donuts.

[breon]

:( :( :( :(

the search continues....anyone have 16's for sale?

[deactivated]

be on the lookput for some SVT Contour wheels. They are 16s and should work well.

[breon]

how hard would it be to do a brake swap to a smaller size? and would this be a quick operation? i would want to go from large to small several times a month.

[deactivated]

the cost differences between the wheels and a brake swap would not justify the latter. If you have lots of money to burn sure go for it. Once you make the initial investment in tires and wheels you are going to buy tires less and your car will handle the same. If you swap out the brakes, no telling how the car will operate....but definitely not within spec.

[breon]

The most common size for the type of tire i'm looking for is 15". Pirelli KM Dry Gravel Tire. It's for rally.

[roger]

Originally posted by breon
The most common size for the type of tire i'm looking for is 15". Pirelli KM Dry Gravel Tire. It's for rally.

Do they make the tires in a 16"? Since you're talking about rally, you may want to contact Baer, Brembo or Wilwood and see if they have a caliper that would bolt up and clear the 15"wheel. I'll warn you upfront tho, as new as the Focus is, the data may not be available yet.

One way to find out where you're at is to measure the distance between the caliper and your existing 16" wheel at the closest point. Then try to mount and rotate a 15" wheel, and see what clearance issues you have. Sometimes the clearance problem isn't on the edge of the caliper against the wheel bottom, its on the front, against the spokes. Changing to a wheel with a different spoke configuration will cure it. Although I personally don't recommend it, in some cases you can use a spacer to kick the wheel out a touch and gain some clearance.

As an example, in 2001, SVT changed the wheel design for the Lightning to allow owners to install brembo calipers without being forced to change wheels--the 99/2000 versions had spokes that would interfere.

All that said, I'd suggest trying to find the tires in a 16". Even if you were successful in finding some smaller calipers that would bolt up, it could very well mess up the ABS calibration not to mention the front/back bias. While a brake bias valve could most likely be plumbed into your hydraulic brake lines to cure the front/back problem (not guaranteed tho), the ABS could remain messed up enough to really reduce braking capacity (or worse!).

Any reduction in braking capacity would nullify any traction gains given you by the tires you want to use.

Hope this helps...