1973 Fiat 128 Wheel Size Fitment

Red128

Daily Driver
Hey everyone! Just looking for some recommendations on wheel size fitments! I know these are 4x98 which limit us on wheel designs. Not a big fan of the fiat wheels so I ordered some 19mm 4x98 to 4x100 wheel adapters. I’d like to install some 16’s.
 

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Your 128 came with about 65 horsepower and did not have the power to spin the 145SR13 tires that came on the 4 1/2" wide wheels.
Pretty much any 16" wheel/tire will be heavier than stock and therefore, will slow your car down. If speed and efficiency are important to you, you might want to consider a set of the 5" wide steel wheels that came on 79 and later X 1/9 and some 165/70R13 tires. If you have more than 150 hp, you will benefit from 6" wide wheels and 205mm wide tires if you can find something that will fit.
 
You will be in new territory with wheels that big. I think 14" rims are the largest I have ever seen on a 128 and 15s on an X. If this is a style issue then by all means go for it but fitment will be an issue, especially on the front. What size tires are you thinking of?
 
Some people like that look, take for instance all those old Impalas with giant twenty something wheels on them.
 
As long as you keep the overall diameter of the tire similar to the original you are in pretty good shape. That means that with a larger wheel you should use a thinner tire (less sidewall height). As you get larger and larger wheels you would end up with rubber band tires. Those can be hard on wheels if you hit a pothole. If you install tires that aren't rubber band thin on larger wheels you end up raising the car up, which is probably not what you want. Unless you want to go off road.
 
Fiat 500 wheels will bolt up directly, the 15s available with 185/45 15 tires should work but installing them would tell the tale.

16” wheels? Good luck finding a tire with low enough profile to work.
 
Fiat 500 wheels will bolt up directly, the 15s available with 185/45 15 tires should work but installing them would tell the tale.

16” wheels? Good luck finding a tire with low enough profile to work.
I believe 205/40/R16 are perfect size
 
That is honestly way too much tire for a car that weighs 2000 lbs and will have at most 100 or so horsepower.

The combined weight of the rim and tire will be close to 40lbs, much more than OE and will negatively affect acceleration and braking.

You will have add flares and likely cut back the fenders to have it work.

if you are after looks more than performance this is a fine way to go.
 
Hey Red,

Tire clearance will be a big problem, especially in the rear. My old '72 128 sedan had 165/70R13 tires on X1/9 steel wheels (13x5") and they rubbed in the back if I carried passengers. Look for a rear spring from a wagon to stiffen the rear and watch tires size and wheel offset (with spacers if using them) carefully. There is not much room between the rear struts and the inside of the wheel well.

I am going through this myself because I want to upgrade to bigger brakes. I will be running Alfa Romeo Alfetta 14x6" Campagnolo wheels (4 on 98, 58mm center bore, 36 mm offset) with 20 mm H&R spacers. 185/55R14 Yokohama A052 are 22" diameter (945 revs per mile).

I know a guy here on the forum who was running 15X6" Fiat 500 steelies using 195/45R15 tires. He took them off and switched to old school 13" wheels. Honestly, I love my 13s. The only reason I'm switching to 14s is to fit bigger brakes. The Maserati BiTurbo wheel is the easiest and most cost effective solution, no spacers required and bolt right up with longer lug bolts. I just love these old Campagnolo wheels because I had a set on my old Alfetta racecar.

BMW OE E30 alloy wheels will work with your adapters and give you basically my setup. The 14x6.5" 325is wheels may be too wide, I am not sure. Mk1 VW GTi wheels will also work. There are cheaper 185/55R14 tires than the Yokohamas if you don't need or want that much grip and that short a tread life, but the choices are very limited.

Have fun with your engine swap. The injection will fit. 75 HP in a 1700 lb car (your car if you remove the bumpers) feels pretty fast. These engines are smooth and love to rev.

Chris
 
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Perfect size for something, but WAY too much for a 128 .... but blow your dough if you want.

Let me guess Red128, you are under the age of 20?

SteveC
I’m actually 32. Ignorant much? I have a 4 door 1981 128 in Argentina and it has 16’s. Wasn’t sure if there is a difference in years.
 

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I’m actually 32. Ignorant much? I have a 4 door 1981 128 in Argentina and it has 16’s. Wasn’t sure if there is a difference in years.

No difference in years. Did you own and drive the 1981 car? I'd be very surprised if there weren't clearance issues. Larger wheels will also sap performance, not enhance it. It is like putting a heavier flywheel on the engine. It hurts acceleration, braking, and handling. It is why 13" magnesium wheels for these cars are so in demand.

Everyone here means well and has an opinion. They want you to enjoy your 128 and have a great result. But this is your car and your money. Do what you want. If you don't like the result, you can always change your mind and go a different direction.

What I would do is carefully measure the clearance you have in the rear wheel wells with your existing wheels and tires with one friend in the back seat. Then, figure out how wide and tall a tire will work and what overall offset you will need to keep the tire off the strut and the inner fender.

Good luck and have fun,

Chris
 
Just beause you can doesn't make it a good option.

It's not just clearance issues, and the additional weight (which is all unsprung) the tyre width and the wheel width / offset really affects how the front of a 128 will "track"

If you were to draw a line down the centreline of the strut right down to where this intersects the ground and compare where this intersects the ground line to where the centreline of the tyre contact patch is.... if by fitting much larger / wider wheels your contact patch centreline ends up too far offset from the strut axis, the car will follow road contours badly.

SteveC
 
Just beause you can doesn't make it a good option.

It's not just clearance issues, and the additional weight (which is all unsprung) the tyre width and the wheel width / offset really affects how the front of a 128 will "track"

If you were to draw a line down the centreline of the strut right down to where this intersects the ground and compare where this intersects the ground line to where the centreline of the tyre contact patch is.... if by fitting much larger / wider wheels your contact patch centreline ends up too far offset from the strut axis, the car will follow road contours badly.

SteveC

Red,

Excellent advice from Steve about steering scrub radius. My Abarth style 13x5.5" wheels (offset 7mm) do follow pavement irregularities. More offset will reduce this. The 14" Alfetta wheels will fix this, as would 14x6 E30 wheels or 14x6 Mk1 GTi wheels with your spacers.

I have not checked center bore for the BMW or VW wheels. You may need to modify the wheels or get centering rings. Do your research.

Chris
 
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Hi@Red128,

I think you should consider all advice given in this forum. Most are from owners with some experience. But in the end, it's your car and only you know what you like. It's your car, your money, your life. Read carefully about the risks, reserve, specs and make what you want knowing the facts.

Also, consider the North American market tires is not offering low profiles like the European countries. I don't know about Argentina. So you may have some problem to find the size you are looking for. It's true for the 15" tires.
 
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