1.1 Correct wheels for a Mardi Gras

[jeremypurkiss@gmail.com 0]

I have just purchased a very nice but slightly "boyed"  1994 205 Mardi Gras reg M540 NBL  1.1L with 205 gti wheels and track tyres. It drives terrible.

Does anybody know  if the drive will improve by putting normal tyres on these wheels,  or would it be better to find some original wheels and  matching tyres (  165/70R13 )   as well.

I am told the gti wheels are worth something, as are the road legal track tyres 195/50R, maybe ! although they look pretty worn to me........

I am also trying to find an original cassette/radio for her.

Any suggestions gratefully received,

Jeremy (Novice)

 

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

Personally I think a 1.1 will be nicer to drive on either its standard 13" wheels and tyres, or perhaps 1.6 GTI 14" wheels.

[Anthony 1,000]

Can you expand on what you mean when you say that "it drives terrible"?

 

I agree with Tom that it will feel nicer on 13 or 14" wheels, particularly with regular road tyres, but I've never found base model 205's on 1.9 GTi wheels to be terrible - over-tyred definitely and lacking some of the finesse and sweetness of the smaller wheels, but I wouldn't have said terrible by a long shot.  That is talking road tires though - proper track day tires on the road often feel a bit off and can be prone to tramlining and the like, something that I imagine isn't improved with the soft base model suspension setup.

[Gohn 62]

I haven't ever driven with 15" rims but they must be a fair bit heavier unsprung weight wise

so maybe your little 1.1l is struggling with that as it didn't come with a lot of extra power to begin with

 

the 14" alloys "pepperpots" Tom mentions are good but they don't have a centrehole so not every tyre place can balance them which can be annoying

there are also some nice 13" alloys (no. 4 in the first pic) but they also don't have a centrehole

and there are some great 13" steelies, "cheesegraters" (no.1 in the second pic), they're pretty common but need 4x little plastic hubnut covers

 

[jeremypurkiss@gmail.com 0]

Many thanks for these comments. Curiously I am finding it incredibly difficult to source some 13 inch 205 wheels.

[Gohn 62]

you could try Dean at http://www.peugeotparts.co.uk/page1.htm , he'll probly have a set

 

or https://classicpeugeotspares.co.uk/ , will have a set also, but make double sure you get what you pay for if you go this way

 

put in "peugeot 205 wheels" into ebay and lots of leads come up

there's a set of the cheesegraters (they'll need a refurb)

and even new steelie 13" sets being made in germany (although they look way too pricey)

 

nice cow J

[jeremypurkiss@gmail.com 0]

cant find the cheesegraters but messaged Dean many thanks

[Leslie green 81]

You still have said what drives terrible is , if the tracking is out it will be rubbish , if its on track tyres and its wet it will be rubbish ,  I drove a 205 diesel for many years and on cheap 13 tyres it drove terrible and I could hang the back end out on a wet roundabout just by dropping a gear !  

Edited September 13, 2022 by Leslie green