Does anyone use 15" wheels on the Trophy

[is1]

I am one of the people that mourn the loss of Pilot Exalto 2s. I know they do them in 195 50 15 V (at half the bloody price of 16s!) so wondered whether it might be an idea to run 15" wheels and have the benefit of cheaper (better?) tyres?

Could there be other advantages such as lower weight (rim and tyre) and better ride or would the disadvantages outweight the advantages?

Thanks.

 

[j333evo]

I ran 195/50/15 winter tyres on 15" rims over the winter months, nicer ride, less sharp turn in, quieter, but not a true comparison being a winter compound.

The wheels though I got off a friend with a 172 where he ran them with 15" PE2's and loved them. He also runs 15" wheels for track days with R888's for similar reasons you state, lighter, cheaper rubber. He only reverted back to 16" rims as wanted it to look OEM again when not on track.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Imho, it drives nicer on 15's anyway. As well as allowing cheaper tyres, lighter wheels, etc.

I've only gone back to the 16" Turinis as i wanted to go back to standard.

 

[hoolio]

So what 15" rims? I've liked very few alternatives that I've seen on the T apart from some Anthracite (I think) 2118's Can you get these in 15's with the correct offset? Does using smaller rims have any bearing on what offset you would need?

 

[is1]

Interesting responses. I had heard that the Clios drive better on 15s.
Thanks for the responses, I might have a look into this. Camskill have 195 50 15 V PE2s at just over £50 each!

 

[is1]

So what 15" rims? I've liked very few alternatives that I've seen on the T apart from some Anthracite (I think) 2118's Can you get these in 15's with the correct offset? Does using smaller rims have any bearing on what offset you would need?

Required offset would depend on the width of the wheel. If it was a 7 x 15, then I suppose you'd look for ET45 per standard or you may prefer ET43 for a couple of mm "wider look".
If you are looking at 6 x 15, then offset would need to be closer to ET35 to keep the outer part of the wheel similar to the standard position.
I believe the 2118s are available in appropriate offsets. I think the Clio 16v wheels Dave used to have also work well because they are 6.5 x 15 with a 36 (maybe 38) offset so the loss in width is made up for by the lower offset (which makes the wheel stick out a bit more and thus compensating for the loss in width).
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Will#I#Ams]

so the williams rims being slightly wider would be better than the 16v rims......hmmm.... might just have to try a set.

 

[is1]

so the williams rims being slightly wider would be better than the 16v rims......hmmm.... might just have to try a set.

It would depend on their offset. If they are 7 x 15 but the offset is, for example, ET43 or ET45 (as opposed to ET36 for valver wheels), then it won't make much of a difference in terms of how much they stick out as they would be the same width and similar offset to factory Turinis. Would still be a perfectly good option though.
I was amazed by the difference in tyre prices (Hankook V12s can be had for about £40 per corner!).