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I often see people asking questions about whether such and such a wheel will fit on their car, so I though I might as well do a bit of a thread to help people out.
I'm going to focus on wheels that will fit straight on without any driveability issues, so no body mods required and no major rubbing.
Width:
The maximum width tyres that will fit under the rear arches of a standard "round arch" 106 are 195s on 7 inch wheels. 205s will just about go but they are so tight that you have to get the offset just right and any beam misalignment will mean you will end up shimming them each side by the millimeter. Any deflection in the beam bushes will mean scrubbage.
The largest diameter wheels you can fit with everyday profile tyres are 16". These will need 195/40/16 tyres and you need to get the offset right especially on the rear
Your wheels need to be the correct offset, especially at the rear. ET 16mm-19mm for cars with rear disks and ET14mm-17mm for drum rears.
Offset explained:
The offset of a wheel is the distance between the mating face of the hub of a wheel, and the theoretical centre line of the wheel.
A higher offset means the wheels sits further in, and a lower offset pushes the wheel out.
Spacers are available to push the wheel out, these are required in some cases but try not to use more than 3mm unless the spacers are "hubcentric" and positively locate the wheel in the centre of the hub.
When bolting your wheels on, they use the circular lip to hold them in the centre of the hub while you bolt them on. After this, the bolts take the load. Different manufacturers use different diameters for this, and aftermarket wheel manufacturers tend to have a very large hole and then use plastic "spigot rings" to shim this down. Ford use a smaller diameter, so this needs to be machined out for the wheels to fit over the hubs in most cases.
PCD Explained (Pitch circle diameter)
The PCD of 4 Stud Peugeots/Citroens is 4x108mm. This means there are 4 studs, and they are located equally around a circle with a 108mm diameter. Most wheels will have this information stamped on them, but it is not a huge job to measure the distance between the centres of opposite holes on the wheel.
Another common PCD is 4x100, for most Smaller Japanese cars, VWs, Vauxhalls and Renaults. The PCD is not negotiable. Get this wrong and the wheels WILL NOT fit without expensive adaptors which you'd probably have to get custom made (nobody makes them to put 4x100 on 4x108 hubs, but they do make them the other way for the VW boys)
I'll throw a few examples in:
14 inch wheels with 185/60/14s:
Yes, these will fit with slight rubbing on full lock on the front. The speedo will read a few % lower than before.
15 inch wheels with 195/50/15s:
These will fit but will rub quite a lot on full lock. Not recommended. The speedo will read a few % lower then before.
16 inch wheels with 195/45/16s:
Same as above but worse. The speedo will read a few % lower than before.
15 inch wheels with 195/45/15s:
Fit fine, these are standard size on a Saxo VTS. Very Very slight rubbing on the front arch liner if the offset is greater than 17mm
16 inch wheels with 195/40/16s:
Exactly as above.
Wheels off a Ford:
The offset of most Fords is 35-38mm, so these will need about 20mm spacers to fit on a 106. If the wheel is aftermarket you will be able to get hubcentric spacer kits to fit (£60-80 including longer bolts) but for original Ford wheels you are stuck (the centre bore is too small for these spacer kits to fit). Don't bother.
Some Ford wheels (Cosworth, Older RWD offset ones, OZ motorsport ones) are just about the right offset, but the centre bore is too small. These wheels will need slight machining to fit
Wheels off a Citroen:
Most older Citroens that are 4 stud will fit fine. Newer cars may need 3-10mm spacers.
Wheels off another Peugeot:
Same as above, Most older Citroens that are 4 stud will fit fine. Newer cars (206 for example) may need 3-10mm spacers
Wheels off a Vauxhall:
Nope! not a hope without custom expensive spacers.
Wheels off a VW:
Nope! not a hope without custom expensive spacers.
Wheels off a Renault:
Nope! not a hope without custom expensive spacers
I hope that helps some people. Note that this is a guide for people who just want to bolt some wheels on. There are ways to fit pretty much any wheel to any car if you have the money and are stupid enough to spend it!
I'm going to focus on wheels that will fit straight on without any driveability issues, so no body mods required and no major rubbing.
Width:
The maximum width tyres that will fit under the rear arches of a standard "round arch" 106 are 195s on 7 inch wheels. 205s will just about go but they are so tight that you have to get the offset just right and any beam misalignment will mean you will end up shimming them each side by the millimeter. Any deflection in the beam bushes will mean scrubbage.
The largest diameter wheels you can fit with everyday profile tyres are 16". These will need 195/40/16 tyres and you need to get the offset right especially on the rear
Your wheels need to be the correct offset, especially at the rear. ET 16mm-19mm for cars with rear disks and ET14mm-17mm for drum rears.
Offset explained:
The offset of a wheel is the distance between the mating face of the hub of a wheel, and the theoretical centre line of the wheel.
A higher offset means the wheels sits further in, and a lower offset pushes the wheel out.
Spacers are available to push the wheel out, these are required in some cases but try not to use more than 3mm unless the spacers are "hubcentric" and positively locate the wheel in the centre of the hub.
When bolting your wheels on, they use the circular lip to hold them in the centre of the hub while you bolt them on. After this, the bolts take the load. Different manufacturers use different diameters for this, and aftermarket wheel manufacturers tend to have a very large hole and then use plastic "spigot rings" to shim this down. Ford use a smaller diameter, so this needs to be machined out for the wheels to fit over the hubs in most cases.
PCD Explained (Pitch circle diameter)
The PCD of 4 Stud Peugeots/Citroens is 4x108mm. This means there are 4 studs, and they are located equally around a circle with a 108mm diameter. Most wheels will have this information stamped on them, but it is not a huge job to measure the distance between the centres of opposite holes on the wheel.
Another common PCD is 4x100, for most Smaller Japanese cars, VWs, Vauxhalls and Renaults. The PCD is not negotiable. Get this wrong and the wheels WILL NOT fit without expensive adaptors which you'd probably have to get custom made (nobody makes them to put 4x100 on 4x108 hubs, but they do make them the other way for the VW boys)
I'll throw a few examples in:
14 inch wheels with 185/60/14s:
Yes, these will fit with slight rubbing on full lock on the front. The speedo will read a few % lower than before.
15 inch wheels with 195/50/15s:
These will fit but will rub quite a lot on full lock. Not recommended. The speedo will read a few % lower then before.
16 inch wheels with 195/45/16s:
Same as above but worse. The speedo will read a few % lower than before.
15 inch wheels with 195/45/15s:
Fit fine, these are standard size on a Saxo VTS. Very Very slight rubbing on the front arch liner if the offset is greater than 17mm
16 inch wheels with 195/40/16s:
Exactly as above.
Wheels off a Ford:
The offset of most Fords is 35-38mm, so these will need about 20mm spacers to fit on a 106. If the wheel is aftermarket you will be able to get hubcentric spacer kits to fit (£60-80 including longer bolts) but for original Ford wheels you are stuck (the centre bore is too small for these spacer kits to fit). Don't bother.
Some Ford wheels (Cosworth, Older RWD offset ones, OZ motorsport ones) are just about the right offset, but the centre bore is too small. These wheels will need slight machining to fit
Wheels off a Citroen:
Most older Citroens that are 4 stud will fit fine. Newer cars may need 3-10mm spacers.
Wheels off another Peugeot:
Same as above, Most older Citroens that are 4 stud will fit fine. Newer cars (206 for example) may need 3-10mm spacers
Wheels off a Vauxhall:
Nope! not a hope without custom expensive spacers.
Wheels off a VW:
Nope! not a hope without custom expensive spacers.
Wheels off a Renault:
Nope! not a hope without custom expensive spacers
I hope that helps some people. Note that this is a guide for people who just want to bolt some wheels on. There are ways to fit pretty much any wheel to any car if you have the money and are stupid enough to spend it!
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