14 replies to this topic

[danny_rye]

hi just wondering if changing 12 wheels to 13 inch wheels is a striaght swap or do any mods have to be made, im changing the wheel arches aswel. thanks for reading!

[Danpolk]

to fit 13s you will need to cut some of your front wing in order to get full steering lock and to stop rubbing. How wide are the 13s?

[danny_rye]

i haven't brought any but im looking at the 13 x 7 so i would probably have problems...

[Danpolk]

if you go for them the wings will definitely need trimming. I dont think its much! Best to get the wheels and fit them, then turn the steering until they hit the wing mark it and cut it off keep doing this little at a time until they clear. I will be fitting 13x7s to mine and this is how i read to do it! Dan

[danny_rye]

ok thanks for the help dan

[kieranr24]

I have 13x7 on mine, and yes you are right you will definitely have to cut the front arches so you can steer I only took about 1 1/2 inches off but prob could have got away with less

[Daviewonder]

Do you need to modify the rear arches? I read a few bits about tubing the arches, is this needed when fitting 13s?

[Bungle]

no

in height a 13 inch wheel is almost the same size as a 12 inch wheel, this is because a 13 inch wheel has a lot lower profile tyre than the 12

arches onlt need cutting on the front if your going wider than 5 inches with any size wheel

[Daviewonder]

That's good to know, thanks Bungle.

[chrisandsarah]

Not trying to hijack this thread - but out of interest - would you need to change the speedo cable if you alter wheel size, I imagine not...

[mini-luke]

As the outer radius of them is almost identical, I can't imagine the end result would be much more inaccurate than usual.

[Bungle]

and changing just the cable wouldn't make any difference to the speedo

[chrisandsarah]

Ah - twas a silly question Cheers guys!

[Ethel]

Also watch out for the tyre fouling the flitch. As above, all tyres are closer in diameter than wheel width.

175/50/13 = 19.89"
165/60/12 = 19.79"
145/70/12 = 20.1"

[Mini 360]

Front arches need cut and the lip reformed (ideally with genuine reinforcing strips)

Rear arches dont neeed to be modded but its best to have them tubbed. Removed the outer section and you reform the lip about 1-2" higher giving you epic clearance meaning you can go pretty low too