Modern wheels look shit on old car thread

[eddyramrod]

Wire wheels need to be on the right car.  To me that means one that was designed before or during my primary-school years.  I've always liked them on a P6, for example, but I agree they're not quite right on a Stag.

 

[UltraWomble]

30 minutes ago, MrBig said:

If I ever finish my beetle it's going to be universally hated on here 🫣

Probably, but if you like it, thats really all that matters isnt it?

[IronStar]

4 hours ago, MarinaJosh said:

I did a double take there when I realised that's the set of wheels I sold a few years ago pictured sitting on my old living room carpet!

The reason I sold them? I found a complete set of original GTi wheel trims. Annoyingly, my BX GTi had an original set of trims on it not long before I bought it.

A previous owner decided to literally bin them and fitted these...

BBS RC fits on everything and is the best wheel ever made.

Sorry.

[chadders]

I'm happy with these:

[Peter C]

1 hour ago, eddyramrod said:

Wire wheels need to be on the right car. 

 

 

Definitely.

MGBs look best on painted (not chrome) wire wheels.

[Shite Ron]

I am a big admirer of mk 1 and  2 Granada’s as well as Cortina’s but as @FakeConcern has noticed there are some very unwise wheel choices amongst some Ford owners, last year at the NEC the Granada stand had some nice cars but not one had decent wheels on, I cannot find any pictures of the cars but below are examples of great cars not looking as great as they could. I admit I am a skinflint and have had incorrect wheels on cars to save money when using them especially on daily drivers, so not entirely innocent myself but I get the impression that many of these are by choice not poverty.

 

[yes oui si]

On 13/10/2025 at 01:12, Spiny Norman said:

Very this. Apart from looking wrong it does hateful things to the car's ride & handling, especially if it's combined with lowered suspension.  Cars from the 70s were designed to have wheel travel and sidewall flex. 45 profile tyres simply didn't exist for road cars back then.

 

45 profile tyres were first used on road cars by BMW in '77 iirc.

[yes oui si]

1 hour ago, Shite Ron said:

 

 

Mercedes Pentas on a Granada is a cracking bit of lateral thinking.

[Spottedlaurel]

Remember the tyre profile/aspect ratio is just a percentage of the width. Saying a 45 or 50 or whatever is bad doesn't really make sense in isolation.

I reckon the optimum seems to be around a 5" / 125mm deep sidewall. 165/80, 185/70, 205/60 or even the 235/55 on my RX all give about that dimension.

On a practical level that puts the wheel rim slightly above a typical kerb height of 4" / 100mm.

On the subject of Granadas......

 

Or?....

 

[Soundwave]

Whenever I see wire wheels, whether they suit the car or not, my immediate thought is what an absolute pain in the hoop they must be to keep clean. Puts me right off them, regardless of the vehicle they're on.

[chadders]

17 minutes ago, Soundwave said:

Whenever I see wire wheels, whether they suit the car or not, my immediate thought is what an absolute pain in the hoop they must be to keep clean. Puts me right off them, regardless of the vehicle they're on.

Especially chrome ones.

[warch]

1 hour ago, Soundwave said:

Whenever I see wire wheels, whether they suit the car or not, my immediate thought is what an absolute pain in the hoop they must be to keep clean. Puts me right off them, regardless of the vehicle they're on.

Apart from proper old fashioned (pre war) cars I do like them on motorcycles, pretty much all off road and adventure bikes are still fitted with them. Obviously easier to clean on a bike because you can get to either side of them.

On 12/10/2025 at 07:56, Marina door handles said:

Most modernised rally Escorts sit on big wheels and look completely wrong.. Just say no kids!

They don't look as good, but I assume they've been fitted in order to clear the much larger diameter brake discs fitted to track or tarmac stage cars, especially if its got a bit more power than originally intended. 

[Shite Ron]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Remember the tyre profile/aspect ratio is just a percentage of the width. Saying a 45 or 50 or whatever is bad doesn't really make sense in isolation.

I reckon the optimum seems to be around a 5" / 125mm deep sidewall. 165/80, 185/70, 205/60 or even the 235/55 on my RX all give about that dimension.

On a practical level that puts the wheel rim slightly above a typical kerb height of 4" / 100mm.

On the subject of Granadas......

 

Or?....

 

I fully agree with your explanation of tyre sizes and it makes perfect sense. I do not know what the owner of the Granada Coupe was on when they fitted those wheels! The estate looks ok to me if the tyres are much cheaper than the metric TRX’s which are fantastic but a bit pricey if used daily. The two lower pictures are spot on, especially the later mk1 Ghia on Ronals. These are beautiful wheels on a mk1 Ghia but a pain to clean.

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, yes oui si said:

45 profile tyres were first used on road cars by BMW in '77 iirc.

In no way does that go towards making them acceptable.  As @Spottedlaurel said above, there needs to be enough sidewall to allow flexing.  He followed that with two Granadas ruined, and two on their OEM wheels which were ideal.  Of course some of us here have form with a Granada...

185/75/14 Delta Majestics.  Almost indistinguishable from the Maxxis I now have on WiFeY.

[IronStar]

Dons flamesuit

I really like period correct looking but 1-2-3-4 sizes bigger wheels on cars. There's obviously a limit to this, you can't make a donk out of your car and get away with it, but in general big wheel + USABLY lowered car + low sidewall = good in my book. I know it comes with a trade off making car less comfortable, but high sidewalls allow for too much flex IMHO and make handling spongy, which is something I generally dislike.
Oh and thin tyres need to go into the bin on anything that's actually driven. Those 4 bits of rubber are the sole thing that's in contact with ground, so I'd rather have something that's not the size of a peanut there.

With all that said, slapping 20-30+ years newer design of wheel on a car is a crime, so when in doubt BBS RC 😄

[dieselnutjob]

 

vs

 

thoughts?

[LightBulbFun]

17 hours ago, captain_70s said:

One of few easy wheel options for Dolomite/Toledos is the MGF/TF.

Personally I reckon they look naff and oversized and make the cars ride too high.

 

anytime I see a car like an old car on modern wheels, like that Triumph or that Morris Minor Traveller, I always think "Cuba!" I remember someone on here sharing a bunch of pictures of the old cars still about in Cuba and what I noticed was the modern wheels a lot of them where on, im guessing in their case as a make-n-do-mend with whatever they could get ahold of?

and it looked so incongruous, and still does to my eye, especially with the lower profiler tyres like that, I have also wondered what it does to the handling of a vehicle, not just because you remove the sidewall, but a lot of low profile tyres tend to be wide, and flat where as older 80 profile tyres often had a curve to their surface, so as the wheel itself tucked/rolled in and out, you still had a fair bit of tread in contact with the ground (much like for the same reason Motorcycle tyres are curved), but you obviously dont get that with a flat and wide tyre, so I do wonder if those are fitted to an old car, do you actually get worse grip as you chuck it into a corner and most of the tyre just lifts itself off the tarmac?

[Lord Sterling]

😧 😖 🤢

[yes oui si]

3 hours ago, IronStar said:

Dons flamesuit

I really like period correct looking but 1-2-3-4 sizes bigger wheels on cars. There's obviously a limit to this, you can't make a donk out of your car and get away with it, but in general big wheel + USABLY lowered car + low sidewall = good in my book. I know it comes with a trade off making car less comfortable, but high sidewalls allow for too much flex IMHO and make handling spongy, which is something I generally dislike.
Oh and thin tyres need to go into the bin on anything that's actually driven. Those 4 bits of rubber are the sole thing that's in contact with ground, so I'd rather have something that's not the size of a peanut there.

With all that said, slapping 20-30+ years newer design of wheel on a car is a crime, so when in doubt BBS RC 😄

*RS

[yes oui si]

On 13/10/2025 at 11:58, FakeConcern said:

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compomotives(cx on the van, turbo on the saloon) on the escorts look great, and are period correct. Image VX(?) on the fiesta are astounding.

The last three are cheap shit reps.

The escort cosworth in particular... Putting rep wheels on one of those is like being blessed with a nine inch cock but choosing to fuck your wife with a strap-on.

[Shite Ron]

3 hours ago, dieselnutjob said:

 

vs

 

thoughts?

I like the alloys, they do not look too big and look period correct. I am no expert on Peugeot’s though but they look good to me.

The Jag that @Lord Sterling posted I like, series 1 XJ’s are one of the only cars which I think suit slot mag’s. I don’t know why but think it is probably because I remember seeing one when I was a child and thought it looked great, I still do now. It certainly looks period correct so no real crime there.

[captain_70s]

4 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

anytime I see a car like an old car on modern wheels, like that Triumph or that Morris Minor Traveller, I always think "Cuba!" I remember someone on here sharing a bunch of pictures of the old cars still about in Cuba and what I noticed was the modern wheels a lot of them where on, im guessing in their case as a make-n-do-mend with whatever they could get ahold of?

I think a lot of Cuban cars are significantly Lada Riva/Niva or GAZ Volga based at this point as that was about the only "new" car arriving on the island for 40 years.

There is definitely an Austin Allegro over there, presumably ex-embassy, which is now rwd and on springs!

[Wibble]

1 hour ago, captain_70s said:

I think a lot of Cuban cars are significantly Lada Riva/Niva or GAZ Volga based at this point as that was about the only "new" car arriving on the island for 40 years.

There is definitely an Austin Allegro over there, presumably ex-embassy, which is now rwd and on springs!

There are also a lot of MG6s there now, in a deal done with China. They suffered the same parts problem as owners here and my Cuban friend made his compulsory return, a few years ago, with a suitcase full of head gaskets, which he’d ordered from China. Probably the most modern car they’ve had.

[Asimo]

From the lazy spotters' thread:

 Wheels are ok but need to be an inch or two smaller. White stripe on the tyre wall needs to go though...

[Snipes]

They've become almost passé after 40 years but an 8-6 Corolla on Watanabes has never been beaten. 

[dieselnutjob]

3 hours ago, Shite Ron said:

I like the alloys, they do not look too big and look period correct. I am no expert on Peugeot’s though but they look good to me.

The steels are 14" whilst those alloys are either 15" or TRX.  Early 604s like mine are older than that style of alloy, but I think that the alloys were common on the "facelift" 604 (when they went from chrome or stainless door mirrors to black plastic).  So strictly speaking they aren't period correct on a pre-facelift.

[Spiny Norman]

10 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Remember the tyre profile/aspect ratio is just a percentage of the width. Saying a 45 or 50 or whatever is bad doesn't really make sense in isolation.

I reckon the optimum seems to be around a 5" / 125mm deep sidewall. 165/80, 185/70, 205/60 or even the 235/55 on my RX all give about that dimension.

 

The other issue you'll probably run into replacing say a 5.5x14 with an 8x17 with a 255/45 tyre  (which will maintain your 5" sidewall) on a 70s car is a huge increase in unsprung weight. The 'light alloy' wheel nowadays is nothing of the sort as anyone who has had to carry one with a tyre fitted can confirm. I spotted this at a car show a few years ago and it's by no means the worst I've seen but I can't imagine how that would tackle the shit roads round here.

Each to their own I guess, everyone has their likes and dislikes. I quite like Minilites, don't particularly like wires on anything but an old MG or E type, and detest BBS style cross spokes on anything. 

[Mrcento]

On 13/10/2025 at 11:58, FakeConcern said:

Funnily enough I just saw some pics from a recent Ford show and pretty much all of them illustrate the point.

Not saying i'm biased or anything, but.....

Guilty, M'Laud 😂

[warch]

6 hours ago, Mrcento said:

Not saying i'm biased or anything, but.....

Guilty, M'Laud 😂

I absolutely adore Compomotive rally wheels and think they look fine on almost anything built in the modern era. There’s something very workmanlike and fit for purpose about them. 
 

One issue on old cars is also increasing wheel/tyre width which can bugger the steering feel and make the car wander on roads with tramlines or adverse cambers. I love the diddy little 13” wheels and 175 tyres on my car, it feels quite nimble and fun to drive even with 70 or 80 section sidewalls, which also do a grand job of protecting the wheels and suspension from potholes.

[Matty]

8 hours ago, Asimo said:

From the lazy spotters' thread:

 Wheels are ok but need to be an inch or two smaller. White stripe on the tyre wall needs to go though...

Now thats a little sweetheart 😍