17 Inch Wheels

[Coop]

I wish Ford Racing would sell the 17 inch wheels that were intially released for Fiesta production (a pre-order option) but were pulled from production (I believe due to tire damage because of poor USA roads). They are so fantasic looking!!!!!!!!!

They still show them on the Fiesta Accessories website (on Lime Green Fiesta) at http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fiesta/accessories/ even though you can't purchase them! They are on the European Fiesta but I believe the European wheel won't fit on a USA Fiesta.

[GapBoyPCS]

Originally Posted by Coop

I wish Ford Racing would sell the 17 inch wheels that were intially released for Fiesta production (a pre-order option) but were pulled from production (I believe due to tire damage because of poor USA roads). They are so fantasic looking!!!!!!!!!

They still show them on the Fiesta Accessories website (on Lime Green Fiesta) at 2011 Ford Fiesta Accessories | View All 2011 Ford Fiesta Accessories | FordVehicles.com even though you can't purchase them! They are on the European Fiesta but I believe the European wheel won't fit on a USA Fiesta.

Who knows exactly why the rims weren't offered. I think it was more than just the possibility of damage (maybe cost at almost $2k? production issues? maybe the lack of people who wanted to reserve theirs with those rims).

Still, the price they wanted for those rims were enough to cause people to balk at them.

[Mike@MPT]

Aftermarket options seem like a better route.

[LMTech]

Originally Posted by GapBoyPCS

Who knows exactly why the rims weren't offered. I think it was more than just the possibility of damage (maybe cost at almost $2k? production issues? maybe the lack of people who wanted to reserve theirs with those rims).

Still, the price they wanted for those rims were enough to cause people to balk at them.

That is why I didn't have them on my reserved Fiesta because you can get a whole lot better wheels for a whole lot cheaper in the aftermarket for sure.

[Fiesta33460]

In addition to the ridiculous cost, Matt Wolfe told me there were other issues:

1) The larger diameter wheel and low-profile tires meant a harsher ride, which Ford felt Americans would find unacceptable, and

2) The standard Dunlop handling tires that Ford was using on that wheel had a poor wear rating, meaning Americans who avg. 15-18K miles/yr.(vs. about 10-12K for Europeans) would probably be buying a complete set every year at a cost of some $500-600 or more.

They may been right on both points, but they should've offered more wheel choices. In the UK, there are a dozen wheels available from 14" to the 17" in question here.

[Rodewaryer]

The harshness of ride from the 40 profile 17" tires I have doesn't alarm me and couldn't possibly be what I would call dramatically different from the 50 profile the car came with. I will be the first to admit I never drove the car on the hancook junk it came with. My 17's were installed at the dealer on delivery day. The ride is still not what I would call harsh.

Performance tires (worth their salt) are generally going to have lower tread wear ratings. Get used to it. If you get a 'real' performance tire and it has a high treadwear rating, be prepared for premature squeeling around corners and compromises in the handling/grip. It's kinda like buying an exotic car and whining about the gas mileage. Really good performance tires that are 'really' good are not going to have a high treadwear rating. If they do, they're reaching for people that not only expect to have their cake and eat it too, but expect it to be cheap as well as good.

Everytime we get compromises in our cars because we are Americans, it's embarrassing. Seriously.

[DelayedZ]

I road on both sets of wheels my 15's and my 17's and the ride quality is a little bumpier but not enough to annoy me. Plus the car really does look sharper with the better sized wheels.

[BRGT350]

There are a number of reasons why the 17" wheels did not make it into production. The harsher ride would turn off many people, extra rotational mass slows the car down on acceleration, trouble finding suitable tires was a big issue, and the Fiesta Movement showed that the 205/40 17 would not survive in the US. Countless tires and wheels were destroyed by agents from road debris, pot holes, ect. I have been living with low profile tires for 10 years and only suffered one failure from a pot hole. The average consumer would have lived with the compromises needed to live with a 17" summer tire. Increased NVH, decreased wet traction, zero snow traction, issues with pot holes, and extra cost were things that 99.8% of Fiesta owners would not want. Since there are a few of us, and I mean very few of us, who want a performance summer tire in 17", we can pick something from the aftermarket. If Ford would have offered a 17" wheel and tire, it may have been with an all-season tire, which would have been worthless for performance. Having the option to buy our own 17" and pick our own tires is a way better solution.

[Fiesta33460]

Maybe Ford should've offered a Sport(SVT?) model with the body kit, FRPP handling kit, maybe a strut brace and/or sway bars, and the 17's. That way the buyer should have no expectation of a ride similar to stock. Would've saved some of us some money, too

[BRGT350]

Originally Posted by Fiesta33460

Maybe Ford should've offered a Sport(SVT?) model with the body kit, FRPP handling kit, maybe a strut brace and/or sway bars, and the 17's. That way the buyer should have no expectation of a ride similar to stock. Would've saved some of us some money, too

keep your fingers crossed as there is a good chance of stuff coming in the future. There has never been a performance model that was launched at Job1. Every Cobra was a few model years into production, the SVT Contour and Focus was a couple years in, the Lightning and Raptor both came later. I am not saying there will be one, but chances are good in the future for a performance model. You didn't think all this rally and motorsports exposure of the Focus and Fiesta is for nothing?