banded steel wheels on a skoda felicia fun...what have i got to look out for as i am looking to buy off internet etc. i know about somthing 8.6j? would like some info if anyone knows. cheers jack

Retrorides.com has a few people who will band your wheels. I think getting them done by somebody who is recommended is essential.

I've never tried the banded steels thing before myself, but I think you will run into problems, if the wagon is lowered it scrubs out the inner edges of the tyres even on standard width wheels, what I really needs is to pull the camber angle in slightly but there is no easy way to do this without major bodywork surgery.

Tom weren't you going to make some adjustable top mounts a while back? Surely it wouldn't make a huge amount of difference whether the wheels are wide or narrow, they'd still scrub the inside edge. I get my tyre rotated to try to even out the wear. Uneven tyre wear and an uncomfortable ride are a small price to pay for looking cool and making ones car handle a bit better!

I've never tried the banded steels thing before myself, but I think you will run into problems, if the wagon is lowered it scrubs out the inner edges of the tyres even on standard width wheels, what I really needs is to pull the camber angle in slightly but there is no easy way to do this without major bodywork surgery.

It's usual to band the outer edges of the wheels though.

Anyway, you want a really good welder to do this job.

Well yes it doesn't make much odds, it will still scrub the inner edges, I was thinking about it more along the sheer practicality of having to replace the tyres every 3 months more than anything, wide tyres are expensive.

Lowering increases camber (and castor) angle. Banding the way I'm talking about will affect the needed toe angle but the extra width will tend to be lifted away from the road by the camber angle in the straight-ahead. It doesn't need to change the ride height though.