20" on a 156... Would this be a bad idea?

[grimnicholas]

 

So, without coming across as a tosser, i am quite interested in putting some nice new wheels on my alfa to give it a bit of character.
Some more info, its a 2002 156 Twin Spark 2.0L. Silver colour, black interior.

I was thinking Maybe 19", or 20" (in a tasteful way) if thats even possible 
Ive been floating around the internet (with little success)... i did find this:

http://www.saveontyres.com.au/wheel-tyre-packages/dvinci-blade-ii-20x8-5-5x98-chrome-wheel-tyre-package.html

But i dont really think its very legitimate, and not ideal looking.

Any advice guys?

[Duk]

Smallish car, with massive rims and tasteful???

To each their own, but in my book, 'No'. Practicality aside, and in my own opinion, you just end up with a car that looks ridiculous. Too much rim and not enough car.
I saw a black VE SS (a car I think can look very nice) the other week and it was on 22" (at a guess), and it looked stupid! Firstly the 'too much wheel/car ratio' looked wrong, but it also showed the essentially puny brakes off in all of their feebleness.
Then there is the shear weight of the damn things.
You also won't get the tyre diameter correct so there goes your speedo accuracy and acceleration.
Legal? Maybe, but I doubt it.

At the end of the day it's your car and you can do what you want with it.

[John Hanslow]

With bigger the wheels and less rubber the harder the ride.

[Neil Choi]

First pothole, you lose $2000.

[shiny_car]

Wheels are definitely a personal preference thing. I like big wheels and low profile tyres, but it is difficult to get looking 'tasteful' on Alfa's.

IMO, chromies are a no-no in this day and age (I was guilty of having 18" chromies on my 156 back in 2000). 

Those 'DVinci' look very rice to me, but fair enough if that's the look you're after.

Whilst it's a little 'trendy', anthracite or black wheels can look good on silver cars.

As for being practical, 20" is not practical. That would likely mean a 30-series profile tyre, which is unforgiving. And you may not find a tyre in the right size that provides the right load index (required for roadworthy and insurance).

19" is as big as you might go, to remain practical. Use a 235/35R19 tyre. 8.5" wide max, but 8" would fit with less risk of fitment issues; offset around +35mm. As Duk mentioned, the puny brakes inside wheels like 19s will show your true penis size  ; or at least, that's what some people may think, so be mindful of that!  Different on a GTA that has Brembo calipers and big discs.

If you actually want a good quality wheel, then you could look at OZ Racing wheels (eg: Ultraleggera) or BBS (CH are classical and look great on the 156). Quality wheels tend to be relatively light, and also designed to be strong (contoured rim profile for strength).

The full package would be a quality wheel + quality tyre + adequate lowering and good shocks (eg: Eibach springs + KONI shocks, or coilovers). But because we're potentially talking $5~7K, most people don't do it, or get the cheap stuff.

[Mr156_2.0]

In not so many words I'd say.......no.
The car comes out with a specific size for a reason. If you want bigger wheels look for a larger inch in a original wheel for that car.