SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 1 Feb 2018 14:48
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - offshore

Another one of my village idiot type questions.

Would it just be a simple swap to change 18" alloy wheels for 16" or 17" standard steel rims - or do mechanical factors prevent this on a SEAT Leon ST?

The reason i ask is that I have seen a demo vehicle at a seeming reasonable price, but with 18" alloy wheels - everyting else seems good.

From what I have been reading, sooner or later these wheels will buckle and I will need to replace them - care of our traditional british pot holes. I need to factor in this cost to avoid later shocks.

Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 1 Feb 2018 14:53
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - SLO76
In 23yrs of buying and selling cars I’ve yet to see a buckled wheel. If you can live with the ride quality then stop worrying unnecessary.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 1 Feb 2018 16:11
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - skidpan

With 16" wheels and normal suspension the Leon is a really nice car to drive and be in.

With 17" wheels and sports suspension its not as nice, harder ride and noisier.

Hate to think what they are like with 18" wheels.

But for some the fact that fashion dictates bigger wheels must mean they are better.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 2 Feb 2018 18:05
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - Mr Carrot Cake

Agreed. Our company car Leons are all 17 inch wheel and I'd have much prefered 16 inch. Comfort is under-rated these days.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 1 Feb 2018 16:29
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - RobJP
In 23yrs of buying and selling cars I’ve yet to see a buckled wheel. If you can live with the ride quality then stop worrying unnecessary.

The good lady P managed to buckle a wheel very heavily on our Z4 last year (but didn't tell me). A few days after she'd done it, I took the car out, and found the ride and handling really felt wrong. So I mentioned it, and she 'fessed up to hitting a 'rather large' pothole at about 40 on a bend.

Took the car into our local tyre indy, and they mounted the wheel on their balancing machine and span it up. Looked like an egg !

Surprisingly, it's only a 17" wheel

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 1 Feb 2018 17:43
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - Nomag

I have just replaced my IX35 with a Leon FR with 17" wheels (has the "sports" suspension"). I agree with Skidpan, the ride is firm, but it is composed and hence I find it comfortable

I am planning on getting separate rims for winter tyres. For these I will get 16". This will improve the ride, whatsmore 16" tyres are cheaper and will last longer.

Having researched I can therefore confirm that 16" wheels will fit round the front brakes on all Leons up to the 184TDI (which I have). However, the cupra has bigger front brakes and the minimum wheel size is 17" on that.

THe tyre size is 205 55 R16 vs 225 45 R17.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 1 Feb 2018 17:56
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - skidpan

Sold a set of brand new unused 205 55 16 Kumho winters tyres on Leon 16" wheels last weekend on ebay. They won't fit the Superb so were just taking up space. Shame there is no for sale section on here. Tried the Seat forum, got 2 interested people but neither wanted to travel or pay.

We had a Kia Ceed fitted with 225 45 17 tyres. The ride was ok but on 205 55 16 winters it was so much better. The 118D I had was fitted with 205 50 17 runflats, the ride was better than many say but when fitted with 205 55 16 non runflats the car was in a different league.

The Superb is on 17" rims but as the tyres are still 55 profile the ride is excellent.

At present we are looking to swap the wifes car come the summer. Her Note has 195 55 16 tyres and the ride is good. We have discounted several cars because of the tyres fitted, Skoda fit 215 45 16 to certain Fabias which is totally barmy. I want 55 profile by preference but will drop to 50 since they are unlikely to be run flats.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 1 Feb 2018 18:22
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - Nomag

Aah I wondered if that was you I was texting Skidpan regarding the wheels....thank you for your responses and glad you managed to sell them, I'm looking round for some alternatives!

Edited by Nomag on 01/02/2018 at 18:23

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 2 Feb 2018 22:00
SEAT Leon - Seat Leon Wheels - Smileyman

I've researched changing wheel size as this is on my agenda as soon as the existing tyres need replacing, I've done this before, I changed from 17" to 16" wheels for my Primera, I purchased genuine 16" wheels as stated in the brochure and saved a fortune with tyre costs (tyres cheaper for this size) as well enjoyed a better ride. I believe the speedo was slightly out, but not by much.

For my existing car I will be going from 17" to 15", to a size supported in the manufacturer's brochure and already fitted by another user on the vehicle owner discussion forum. Why? well the smaller tyres are much cheaper to buy, the ride will be better and my prefered choice of tyre (CrossClimate) is not availaible in the 17" size.

This website helps when changing wheel size, note the importance of making sure the new size wheel will not foul braking system, and speak with insurers too. The spelling is American but the informaiton includes European cars.

https://www.wheel-size.com/

Another useful website, includes information about the impact on the reading of the speedo

http://www.willtheyfit.com//

Edited by Smileyman on 02/02/2018 at 22:10

Reply | Report as offensive | Link