alloy or chrome 19-20 inch for 159?

Has anyone had dealings with a southern German Alfa dealership and hop-up company? See http://www.novitec.net/com/159gal.htm

I am particularly interested in replacing the 18" Alfa Spoked alloys with their 19" or even their 20" chrome alloys for same car see here.............http://shophost.net/shop_n/catalog/p...ec1e7c0cd6c1e1

I know they may seem expensive but this I can offset with the sale of the originals on my car.

Any info anyone please?

I would be careful about putting 20" on a standard 159. it will cause a lot of extra stress on the wheel system, and a 20" wheel will only last about 10-15,000km. Go that info from a car dealer, that has done the same.

And to your question, I have done some shopping with them in the past, and had no problem.

i'm no longer a fan of chrome-finish wheels (had them on my 156). i prefer a brushed metal finish or sprayed metallic silver usually. depends on the colour of the car.

there's always a compromise when fitting bigger wheels, including extra cost (incl of tyres), usually worse ride comfort, and higher risk of buckling the wheel (over pothole or similar).

as for added stress, i don't think this is necessarily an issue, and would depend upon how you set up the suspension, and how long you keep the car for. sure, over a 10 year period, the car may end up 'looser' compared with a standard one, but if you only plan to keep the car for no more than 5 years, i suspect it will be perfectly fine.

not exactly sure what is meant by "will only last about 10-15K" - what will happen thereafter? were they referring to the chance of buckling a wheel?

i think with any big wheel upgrade, you 'need' to upgrade the suspension too. this can go a long way towards compensating for any loss in ride comfort and suspension control. dampers will play the biggest part here. and to improve 'the look', you should lower the car, and reduce the air gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch. an FSB (front strut brace) is also a very good idea to help stiffen the front end; because it reduces body-flex, it will also prevent the whole car loosening up over time (ie: the FSB will absorb the stress).

so if you do it, do it properly. change the dampers, springs, FSB, and the wheels/tyres. 19s should be fine for a 159, and i don't think 20s are too big (ie: are also ok). 159/brera were designed with a 1" larger (diameter) overall wheel/tyre package compared with the 147/156/GT. basically, fitting 18s to a 156 is like fitting 19s to a 159 (ie: 40-series profile tyres), and is as big as most people like to go; whilst 19s on a 156 and 20s on a 159 are certainly do-able. btw, i have 19s on my GT, and am very happy with the compromise.

Originally Posted by shiny_car

i'm no longer a fan of chrome-finish wheels (had them on my 156). i prefer a brushed metal finish or sprayed metallic silver usually. depends on the colour of the car.

there's always a compromise when fitting bigger wheels, including extra cost (incl of tyres), usually worse ride comfort, and higher risk of buckling the wheel (over pothole or similar).

as for added stress, i don't think this is necessarily an issue, and would depend upon how you set up the suspension, and how long you keep the car for. sure, over a 10 year period, the car may end up 'looser' compared with a standard one, but if you only plan to keep the car for no more than 5 years, i suspect it will be perfectly fine.

not exactly sure what is meant by "will only last about 10-15K" - what will happen thereafter? were they referring to the chance of buckling a wheel?

i think with any big wheel upgrade, you 'need' to upgrade the suspension too. this can go a long way towards compensating for any loss in ride comfort and suspension control. dampers will play the biggest part here. and to improve 'the look', you should lower the car, and reduce the air gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch. an FSB (front strut brace) is also a very good idea to help stiffen the front end; because it reduces body-flex, it will also prevent the whole car loosening up over time (ie: the FSB will absorb the stress).

so if you do it, do it properly. change the dampers, springs, FSB, and the wheels/tyres. 19s should be fine for a 159, and i don't think 20s are too big (ie: are also ok). 159/brera were designed with a 1" larger (diameter) overall wheel/tyre package compared with the 147/156/GT. basically, fitting 18s to a 156 is like fitting 19s to a 159 (ie: 40-series profile tyres), and is as big as most people like to go; whilst 19s on a 156 and 20s on a 159 are certainly do-able. btw, i have 19s on my GT, and am very happy with the compromise.

Hi, I am referring to the tire, the car dealer had a set of 20" on his demo car, and told me that the tire wears out in about 10-15.000km. But I have never had 20" so I can't say if it is right or not, but then aging, why would he lie on something like that, don't believe he will make a extra deal after a comment like that

I think what everyone is attempting to describe is unsprung weight on each corner. The bigger the wheel the greater the forces as the wheel weighs more.

Many thanks everyone.

....and from my mountain biking days, a pound saved on the wheels is worth two anywhere else. Lighter is better! so if the wheel tyre combo saves weight it will improve the performance of the car.