Ultralight 15" wheels for Citroën/Peugeot owners
 

Looking for a second set of wheels I came across lightweight wheels for Citroën's C5, serial number 5401.Q8. They look like steelies, but are supposedly alloys, and weigh only 4 kg each. Size: 15" 6J, 4x108 screw pattern, ET18.

From the info I've found, the first batch of wheels could dangerously crack, but this was fixed with new screwholes and special screws.

I'd love to get a set of those on the car, but I'm not sure how to discern the "bad" batch from the fixed wheels. I also don't know whether special screws will fit my hubs. Plus the ET18 offset means they will stick out 9mm compared to mine (ET27). This may make my rear skirts obsolete.

Thread and pitch will most likely be identical if your car has the same bolt pattern. The special part is usually how the bolt seats onto the wheel.
(My Volvo also has different bolts for steel wheels, and bolts that can fit either steel or alloy wheels.)

Found this on
The lightest "steels"? - 106 Rallye Register Forum

the part number is 5401.Q8 , i just bought 5 of them from citroen last week , they were £22.16 each + VAT

the wheels that originally came with the C5s were recalled , these are the wheels with the flat seats for the bolts , the replacement wheels have tapered seats and special wheel bolts , the kit of bolts is 5406.08 , and its £11.92 +VAT

The wheels were actually that cheap originally? I wonder what they can be had for now. Seems like a great steal (wink).

I saw them new on an auction recently for 150 PLN plus 60 PLN shipping ($53.50+$21.50=US$75 at today's rate) for each wheel. I've spent quite a bit on the car in the last month (and that's not the end if it:(), so I have to be careful when talking about investments with the Wife, but a deal like this is hard to pass up...

Ah, the old joint account issue. I have that one too. The best approach is to make the investment and then tell her about the benefits in the afterglow of success. Thats how I handle these situations.

(When I say 'handle' I mean 'apologise')

Nevertheless, sounds like quite a deal. :turtle:

The lightest wheels I could find for my car are 9.3 lb(4.2kg) Kosei aftermarkets that cost $134 per wheel, so $75 is quite a good deal. :thumbup:

Update.
I've found these wheels used on various auctions, for as low as $40 each. I almost picked up two, but the trip got cancelled and I didn't want to do a 500km round trip just for them. I asked the guy who replaced my tires for the winter what he thinks, and he said that lighter wheels would be great, but I should buy only one first to see how it fits.

He also gave me a sermon about summer tires should be wider than winter, to improve grip and handling at higher speeds. He had a hard time believing that I don't do higher speeds.

Without going too OT, what is the advantage of winter tyres vs summer ones ? I have never switched for the seasons - although last year's long snow here with near slick Yokohamas was 'fun'. I don't have a spare set of wheels or space to store them, and most tyre places here won't (at least not regularly) fit / remove /replace anything they haven't sold you.

Also what about oil ? I run the VW certified stuff (505.5 ?) which seems to have a low enough temp for anything I see in winter yet I read people here also swapping that for winter. I also have American friends who change every 3 months, I go 6 as my mileage isn't high and it fits in with a summer / winter service together with MOT (safety certificate) expiring at the end of the year.

Temps and weather here don't vary normally very much - the temp range maybe goes from 20-30 Deg C in summer to -5 in winter. And, in Scotland at least, the only noticeable difference is that the drizzle and wind gets colder :D

Grip on snow / ice is way better with winter tire. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGfvyPtYR0Y

Living in Quebec, Canada, I can tell you I won't ever ride a car in winter without winter tires (plus, it's illegal :rolleyes:). It already saved my life more than once, and saved many lives around me too (read: anyone driving a car living here.)

The oil VW recommend (5w30 synthetic) for my car fits for summer and winter; but I still change oil before and after winter. I'd rather not have to do it by -25*C :p
Temps around here vary from +30*C to -30*C, and first snow was two days ago ;)

Oh, and I almost forgot. They (the tires makers ?) recommend we switch tires when the average temperature goes below 7*C. Higher temp will ''melt'' winter rubber too fast, and a lower temperature will make the summer rubber too hard to have good grip (assuming no snow/ice).

Otherwise, nice find on the light wheels ! Wish I could get some lighter wheels for my jetta...

So its really down to extremes of temp then, thats OK. I wondered if I was missing something here. The Gulf Stream is lovely :D

You're lucky, Arragonis: I have to switch between summer and winter tyres every few months, sometimes I have to put on snow chains, while all you need is a good set of rain tyres. Oh, and I don't know if you've heard of sunglasses? Drivers on the Continent sometimes use themhttp://ecomodder.com/forum/member-pi...re2511-sun.gif

The sun is called 'The Elusive Fiery Ball' in my house.

There is a reason for this :D

I have to tap though I got Rainsports on the front of my VRS after I got fed up of missing my exit on roundabouts due to understeer on Paradas in the wet. Superb tyre given the 'applied from a roll' nature of the low profile tyres I have to use.

Now I need a pair on the back - Helga gets a little twitchy sometimes...

I got a set of these wheels:D

I found them for 85 PLN (30 USD) each, and no shipping since I picked them up myself yesterday. Two of them still have tires on them - they were thrown in for free since the owner couldn't get them off. The tires are worn down close to the markers, so my tire guy will get a present.

The first thing I noticed was how light they are, I was expecting more when
I picked the first one up. From looking at two of the wheels in the daylight this morning I noticed that one is slightly bent, but my brother-in-law says that can be fixed.

The guy I bought them from said that he used the wheels for only 3 months, that the previous C5 wheels were recalled and replaced with these shortly before he had an accident (that may be how one wheel got its dent), so these are the goodies:) I asked for the screws and he looked but couldn't find them. He promised to look again this week and send them (for free!) if he finds them.

When I find some free time I'll clean the dust off and post a picture. I wish my summer tires were worn down more so I could put new LRR's on these wheels, but I'll have to wait another 2-3 years for that...

I put one of the new wheels on the bathroom scale (Don't tell the Wife!) and it showed 5kg, but this is an analog (dial) scale, plus it always shows too much when I'm on it;) Wheel+tire registered around 12.5kg, so that's about 7.5-8kg for the tire. A normal 15" steel wheel weighs something like 6-7.5kg, correct? The Wife's nephew got a set of 18" alloys with wide low profile tires for his coupe and they weigh in at 22kg each!!! No wonder he's always driving his dad's car saying he's low on cash for gas:rolleyes:

Here's a picture:


They look like steelies, huh? Well, that's good, because hopefully it'll reduce the risk of theft. I checked that I can't get my OEM hubcaps on the new wheels, even though they are so similar to the original wheels. It may be something with the rim's hump profile, which is H2, compared to the original H2M, whatever that may mean:confused: Not that I'm worried, since I have piece of ABS that's been waiting in the garage for almost two years to become a set of flat wheel covers...

I can tell from the dust (the one's on the pic have been wiped, but there is still a mess of dried mud on the other side) that the wheels have been sitting in a garage for a few years, no rust (they are aluminum, remember?) but some white corrosion on the surface of scratches. I wonder if I should paint them, say grey to match the car? Svietlana looks really awful with black wheels...

Small update.
I got that wheel straightened out and summer tires fitted. Before they get put on the car I need to:

1. Buy bolts,
2. Get some work done on the brakes and steering,
3. Wait until it's a little warmer outside (still getting -8°C nights).

As for the bolts, from what info I've found they can't be any old nuts, but a special type made by Citroen for these wheels. The part number is 5405.72 for one bolt, with a price of 17.5 PLN (6.1 USD, 4.5 EUR, 3.8 GBP). This is about 280 PLN for a set of 16, but there is also a kit (part number 5406.08) with all 16 bolts, plus a spacer and key, for 210 PLN.


I saw somewhere that in the UK this kit costs only 12 GBP (plus VAT tax), about 55 PLN (4 times cheaper!). I'd love to get that kit so cheap, but apparently Citroen wants to make more money on much poorer Poles. Maybe I can find a Citroen dealer that will find the kit for less? I doubt it:(

I called around some and found out that in the UK the kit costs 34 GBP, not 12 GBP, but that's still cheaper than here. In fact, a Citroen dealer told me that the kit is no longer available in Poland, so I'll have to keep looking:(

BTW, the wheel with my summer tire weighs 12kg. I'll compare that to the steelie with the winter tire once it comes off.

How much would shipping be, I'm in the UK...

EDIT : A quick check on Voovit (?) suggests a large suitcase sized box from the UK is £120. :O

Yeah, I figure that kit will weigh at least 1.5kg, if not more than 2kg, so shipping would be a killer. Gives me all the more reason to visit Scotland this year;)

I got that brake work done today, and weighed the steel wheel with a winter tire on it - 15kg. Compare to 12kg for alu wheel with summer tire. Even allowing for the scale being off, that's at least 2.5kg (or 17%) less on each corner. I read somewhere that losing 1 kg on a wheel is like losing 5kg in the rest of the car, but this probably regards acceleration.

Do you want me to ask a price at a local dealer ?

Someone in Denmark told me the bolts are even more expensive there than in Poland:eek:

Thanks, but no need. Two hours ago I would have said "Yes, please!", but my brother-in-law found these screws at an automotive warehouse and his car repair shop should have a small discount. The price is 50%-80% of the price through the Citroen dealer. I believe it is the same manufacturer, but without the middleman Citroen. I'll post more info when I get it.

I was thinking you must be able to find them closer to home, even in Germany which is much closer.

I assume you already have a spreadsheet prepped for A-B-A testing :D

Tempting, but too many variables: I'd be comparing more than just stock steelies and alloy steel-clones, but also the summer and winter tires (each a slightly different size) on them. The RR of those tires would have much more to say than the weight of the wheels.

Also, since the alloys stick out 9mm further (ET18 vs ET27), the rear skirts will have to go:( This may mess up any gains I'd get from the new wheels, but we'll see. On the other hand, I'm sure that without wheel skirts I'll have less harassment from picture-takers.

Update: My brother-in-law got screws through his shop, for about 60% of the price of what Citroën is asking:cool:

The screws are made by Febi Bilstein, part number 30400.

We put the new wheels on Svietlana last week, but I haven't had a chance to check them out (my eco-conscience won't let me go for a spin around the block with a cold engine). This weekend we plan on driving to the mountains, hopefully there won't be any problems.