S2 Wheels are they rare and worth good money?

[thewheelrestorer]

HI all,

I'm a Newbie with zero knowlege on the Elan, but been sniffing at one for almost 10 years and I took the plunge 4 weeks ago.
I'm Considering changing to 17" and wondered if the wheels on ther car now are rare and worth good money?
I think they are what you call the S2 wheel? 16" five spoke and ET60.

Regards
thewheelrestorer

[Galsia]

.

[ektrolleyboy]

They are still readily advertised with LOTUS dealers/specialists at I think 119 GBP each or thereabouts, but that's a rough memory guess...

I think a full used set should fetch around 220-250 GBP with good tyres and 200 GBP without. That's my opinion anyyay...

[paza1]

New S2 wheels are around £180 each
Good luck with your project. I am sure you will find lots of help and advice on this forum.
Cheers
Mark

[lotos]

I'd love to have S2 wheels...

[thewheelrestorer]

thanks for your replies..........

I've just copied and pasted this from another post on the suspension, only I also replied about the cost of Wheel repairs and I think this needs putting on this wheel & Tyre section too..

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Wheel Repairs and Restoration is my business and I'm trying to re-educate the masses that a wheel is another metal component on a car no different to a car's wing or a bonnet etc... which is my response to "How much is a refurb" as it's almost like "How long's a piece of string"

All costs are dependant on the amount of time, materials and expertise required to make as good as new, not really any different to repairing and respraying a bonnet etc...you will never find (To my knowledge) a body shop listing a set cost to spraying a car bonnet, because it;s all dependant on what the application is.

Saying that, most wheel refurb places only offer a Powder coated finish some do have a set price, but this is because a if it's a Fiat Panda wheel or a lotus wheel, or a Bentley wheel they are go through the same process.

For those of you that are unsure of the powder coating process this does not involve much work by hand, but rather a chemcial strip to rid all the paint, a quick grit blast (2 mins) to key up the surfaces, spray the wheel with powder which is not that skillfull like wet spraying because the powder gun electrostatically charges the powder so it clings to the bare metal, and then cook for 25 mins in a oven ay 200 degrees. Job Done.

When I started the business in 2007 I spent 2 days repainting 1 car !! because it was all lovingly done by hand like it was a hobby!, Now I still do this process but I will only do it on a job where the customer wants perfection. EG: Concours etc..

There is a guide line price based on the size of the wheel, either a repaint for the front only, or the whole rim needs restoring and but this guide which you can view on the website
www.thewheelrestorer.co.uk but it's difficult to cost untill we see the work and the fionish required etc...

All LEC members receive a 10% discount.
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I also like the S2 Wheels, only as I look, prep and paint whels all day I'm obsessed with them and I would like to see what a 17" set look like but more importantly feel like to the handling, hence the question if they are worth reasonable money this would pay for a 17" set.

I have a few sets of split rims in the workshop and with some 3 piece designs you can change the offset by bolting the centre piece either inside or outside the 2 outer hoops. This may enable me to get near the original et60 offset, which I know is a common discussion on this forum.

We also have a very very trick professional aluminium welder on board who can producr miracles and outstanding work, he could literally weld up bolt holes on a wheel and we could get a machine shop to re drill a wheel to the 4 stud x 100mm PCD pattern. So in essence if you find a wheel with a et60 or clsoe offset but it's off another car pattern like say a 5 stud x110 vauxhall or silmilar, I reckon if you like the wheel and design that much, we could modify it to suit the Elan.

regards,

[Monty]

For a used set off S2 wheels will cost you over £400 and they don`t come up for sale very often. Sometimes you get the odd wheel turning up on ebay but even they can go for around the £80 and i remember one going for well over the Ton mark.

[bobbrown]

Not forgetting the issue with the offset.
17" are not available in 60mm offset so you will effect the handling if you chose to fit a smaller offset wheel

Welding alloy wheels is not in my opinion a very good idea as you will introduce stresses that may cause the wheel to crack, plus the material issue some wheels are cast some are forged, This should be treated with extreme caution.

Bob

[lotos]

Now if only this project would proceed:

Making progress : replica 16" wheel/rim with offset +60

[Enright]

So there you have it - S2 wheels ARE rare and ARE worth good money.
But changing to anything else will mess up the delicate balance of your car's handling.
Also nobody seems to have mentioned just how personal a thing wheel taste is.
Very few aftermarket wheels look good on an Elan, and a lot look downright chavvy!
That is also likely to affect your resale value at the end of your ownership experience, and you can expect to lose through negotiation (or have to knock off) the equivalent value to the prospective buyer.

[Specky]

S2 Wheels are they rare

Yes, but so are the cars they fit...

worth good money?

Yes again, but it's trying to find that buyer


A few ideas and prices...

For a full set of average OZ rims... £100

For a full set of average BBS rims...£250 - £300

Refurb of the above £100-£250 ish

An Ebay example...(Not my cup of tea)

These fellas are quite good if your a southern

On another front, I've tried for a few years to find the "OZ" paint code, you wouldn't happen to know it by any chance...

TTFN

[ektrolleyboy]

I think performance car wheels should be left alone and non more so than our ELANS, particularly the S2. Residuals will suffer if you get rid of at least the availability of the original wheels.
Having said that. I think MattDon's steel blue looks superb on its Khan's!
But not something I'd consider doing...

[thewheelrestorer]

ok , thanks for all your replies.

I understand a car of this ilk will always retain it's value on it's original equipment (Wheels) although this car I've purchased is an se, and the previous owner has changed from the original 15" set, so you could say it's not original anymore and not worth as much?? I think the S2 wheel is much more attractive and looks better being 1" bigger diameter

I also understand Bob your feedback on it's risky to weld aluminium wheels, but this is exactly why part of my company services specialise is repairing cracked, buckled and bent aluminium rims. I have a sub contractor who welds and reshapes all my wheels, he is fully trained as a professional welder 20 years ago, he represented Great Britain in thailand and finished 3rd overall in a world competition, and has worked for the works Honda Motocross team welding aluminium frames, gearboxes etc.....

I'm lucky that he is local to me because for sure I would, and never did, intend to offer a service to repair wheels becuase I too felt it was too risky. Now that I literally had an expert I understand the credentials more and I'm happy to be able to offer my customers this money saving service. we repair wheels from all over the country and have a brilliant success rate. We use crack detection and can also x-ray if the customer wants this level of security. Last week we repaired (1) Ferrari f40 Speedline 3 piece splitrim, a new one is approx £3000, we reshaped the outer lip, repolished it and lacquered it for £140, the owner was chuffed to say the least....

I'm also aware of the importance to retain the original intended geometry, I've raced and prepared engine & Chassis on 125cc gearbox Karts for 14 years now, worked at places like Demon Tweeks for almost 7 years, and looked after 6formula one, and 2 world rally teams for 4 Years with the kevlar Fuel cell manuifacturer Aero Tef laboratories.


I'm fairly sure i can find, modify or source a set of 17" wheels that will be very close to the 60 offset figure even if its ET50 - or 55 I think will not make any fundamantal difference to wear or teat or handling traits........imo.

Once again my business is repair and refinishing Alloy wheels, My Van has 18" wheels and 245mm wide Tyres and also a custom paintjob.

Please view my 2 websites where you can see the services and tyres of finish and work available to you all not forgetting your 10% discount as a LEC member.

www.thewheelrestorer.co.uk
www.twrcustom.co.uk

If I'm breaching any forum policies please let me know, I'm only too willing to help you all should you need my services, I don't think I'm ever gonna get rich in alloy wheel refinishing
I've had a quote this week from a chippee to put up some stud walls to make an office ion my new unit and he wants £5000 !!!

regards

[theelanman]

dont forget the original Oz wheels for the fed spec elan....they were 16"
so there are 3 types of original wheel....
SE
SE (fed spec)
S2

[theelanman]

sorry forgot to mention
SE...15" rims
SE (fed spec).....16" rims
S2.....16" rims

[GeoffSmith]

I have an S2 wheel with a four inch flat on the inner rim. I've replaced it with a new one as I was very sceptical of anyone's ability to repair it (especially if they were only going to twat it with a hammer, fill and paint it). From what you're saying though, it might be worth doing something more than nailing it to the garage wall! What sort of price are you talking about if anyone was interested?

[abmunro]

I like a lot of others would like a set of S2 wheels!!

[bobbrown]

I also understand Bob your feedback on it's risky to weld aluminium wheels, but this is exactly why part of my company services specialise is repairing cracked, buckled and bent aluminium rims. I have a sub contractor who welds and reshapes all my wheels, he is fully trained as a professional welder 20 years ago, he represented Great Britain in thailand and finished 3rd overall in a world competition, and has worked for the works Honda Motocross team welding aluminium frames, gearboxes etc.....

I'm lucky that he is local to me because for sure I would, and never did, intend to offer a service to repair wheels becuase I too felt it was too risky. Now that I literally had an expert I understand the credentials more and I'm happy to be able to offer my customers this money saving service. we repair wheels from all over the country and have a brilliant success rate. We use crack detection and can also x-ray if the customer wants this level of security. Last week we repaired (1) Ferrari f40 Speedline 3 piece splitrim, a new one is approx £3000, we reshaped the outer lip, repolished it and lacquered it for £140, the owner was chuffed to say the least....

There's a big difference in welding a crack on the outer edge of the rim, to what you proposed of welding up the bolt holes.
Your welder may be good but he will have trouble getting a good weld down a hole.
Do you heat treat your wheels after they have been welded?
A lot of the strength of aluminium alloys can be lost when they are welded!
Forged wheels would present problems as the grain structure of the wheel would be disrupted if welded.

I can see welding a wheel to take out some kerbing damage but any thing else I do not see as an option.

Bob

[thewheelrestorer]

Hi Bob I understand your concerns, but I'm not going to get in a debate with your opinions.

If it's not for you, it's not a problem.

We've done a lot more than weld up a crack on the outer edge of the rim. As mentioned previosuly a few people (Quite rightly) are jittery about welding wheels but if you think about how many metal items are welded in life not to mention motorsport it's not a problem if done properly.

Some people don't always understand the processes, we have many customers turn up at our door every week with a 2 inch crack and expect to"Fill" up the hole. This is not the correct procedure........a crack will be be made much bigger and dug out so that it has fresh metal all around it etc.... I sometimes think the term "Welder" produces an image of a big lumberjack bloke who aggressively fires up his torch and fires a blobb of molten metal weld into a crack or hole !!!

This is top notch engineering work previously charged at £180 per hour, but he now works for himself having done this, done that, travelled the world and worn the t-shirts etc... so he charges me £55 a hour.

He can weld virtually anything......he's even made a Porsche wheel narrower by cutting off the front and rear sections and welding an aluminium band in the centre. ! Welding up 4 holes is not a problem.........we are lucky here in sunny Wrexham, we have one of the biggest Industrial estates in Europe. There are machinists, CNC Lathe operators, enginners workshops galore, carbon fibre manufacturers and even Kellogs cornflake factories !!

I'll ask him about your questions:

"Do you heat treat your wheels after they have been welded?
A lot of the strength of aluminium alloys can be lost when they are welded!
Forged wheels would present problems as the grain structure of the wheel would be disrupted if welded."


I've forgot who asked the other question now!, but usually most buckled wheels take 1 to 1 1/2 hours and hence are between £55 and £90. If a nerw wheel is only just over £100 then it's not worth doing but if they are much more expensive then it's a good option. Sometimes it can not be repaired but this is probably 5% of what we receive.

Regards Roger

[bobbrown]

Roger

I know it is only an opinion and views differ but my concern is one of saftey, a wheel failure at high speed can be catastophic and life threatening, so I hope you and the welder have good insurance cover.
I have access to probably the best people in the world with regards to welding at "The Welding Institute" as I know the MD who only lives a couple of miles away. They were the people who developed most of the forms of welding that are used today and have welded some pretty exotic stuff even going to the lengths of welding the component in a large vacuum chamber, by robot need less to say.
When I next see him I will ask him the question which no doubt he will ask his guys there.

Bob