OZ Alleggerita HLT superlightweight wheel!

[Don.Hasi]

Has anybody thought about it too? Perhaps they are not the optical highlight, but they are light. Very light 6,3kg with ET44, which should be practicalbe. But they are in 17'' There much talks about greater wheels and their less dynamics (unsprung weights...) How must this be estimated if they are much lighter than even the stock 15'' concerning the cornering.

Would it be interesting at last?

Please let me know your thoughts


http://www.oz-racing.de/at-team/wheels/ ... ita-hlt/de

Thx in advance, best regards

[bratboy_y2k]

i would much prefer a lighter wheel that isnt as pretty. its all about the driving. i have been looking around at various manufacturers for a forged light wheel that would work in 16 or 17 inch. i figure i can wangel a good group by deal or use my "i work at a car dealership credentials" to at least get a substatial discount.

[Monty]

It`s nice to have lighter wheels but whats more important is the Offset, you need to get as close to 60mm as poss.

But i do like the style of those wheels

[tigerdog]

I had similar wheels on my Prelude in the years BL (Before Lotus.) I made a list of everything that would fit, drew a line at a reasonable price point, then started weighing. I saved nearly 6 lbs (2.5 Kg) at each corner. The difference in ride quality was amazing - much less harsh even with harder springs and stiffer dampers. Never underestimate the adverse effects of unsprung weight. If these came in 16" with the correct offset, I'd be sorely tempted.

[bratboy_y2k]

17's are fine but if you google the ultraleggeras they come in 16 and 17's. they are around the same sort of weight. cost is the question. ive noticed ebay had a whole pile of light wheels, around 16 pounds each for 700 bucks a set. offset of 45. i suspect you can get away with anything 44 and up.

[bobbrown]

The change to a wheel with a different off set effects the scrub radius, the standard setting is -3mm.
If you change the wheels to an off set of say 50mm then this effects this figure and makes the scrub radius +7mm.
Changing to positive scrub radius can effect things like steering effort, torque steer and kickback on bumps and some other undesirable things.

Scrub.gif

Pic shows positive scrub radius, on the Elan with standard rims the intersection of the two lines would be above the road surface.
The scrub radius was set by Lotus and is not adjustable.
As a note most FWD cars are designed with a negative scrub radius.

Bob

[saska]

The change to a wheel with a different off set effects the scrub radius, the standard setting is -3mm.
If you change the wheels to an off set of say 50mm then this effects this figure and makes the scrub radius +7mm.
Changing to positive scrub radius can effect things like steering effort, torque steer and kickback on bumps and some other undesirable things.

The other point about reducing the offset is that the centre of mass of the wheel and tyre is further outboard which means the lever arm that weight operates upon is longer. While this effect can be reduced by lighter wheels it does mean that the spring rates and damping are affected.

As a note most FWD cars are designed with a negative scrub radius.

Yes. ICBW but the Audi 100 of the early 70's springs to mind as the first neg scrub setup.
Whenever I consider changing anthing in the suspension/wheels/etc. department, I'm always reminded that this area is where Lotus are expert.

[bratboy_y2k]

m what i understand the factory allows a 20% variation in offset. i can appreciate keeping things to stock specs for best results however nobody makes a wheel with our offset so compromises must be made when needing to replace or wanting to upgrade to a 17 inch wheel. i am talking to a couple of companies right now about producing a forged wheel in our offset. beleive it or not but pricing should be really goo, as in affordable. the big question is how many people want a set and are they willing to take 17's or 16's. any answers on that one?

[bobbrown]

m what i understand the factory allows a 20% variation in offset.

I can not see Lotus saying that as they will have done all the suspension work with the off set at 60, even the S2 with BBS rims has the same off set and they even went to the lengths of changing the dampers setting to allow for the change in unsprung weight.
If the scrub radius is suposed to be -3mm any change will effect how the car handles.

Bob

[max and andy]

I think any companies thinking of producing a wheel would sell more sets in 16inch. What is the big problem producing a 60 wheel? We see programs such
as American Chopper. They put a block of alloy in the CNC machine and it copies what ever program is input. We are finding it hard to understand how producing a 60 offset would be more difficult then any other offset. Andy

[Monty]

I think any companies thinking of producing a wheel would sell more sets in 16inch. What is the big problem producing a 60 wheel? We see programs such
as American Chopper. They put a block of alloy in the CNC machine and it copies what ever program is input. We are finding it hard to understand how producing a 60 offset would be more difficult then any other offset. Andy

It`s not, it`s down to cost and minimum order

BTW IIRC Elanlover has aftermarket wheels in 60mm

[bobbrown]

I think any companies thinking of producing a wheel would sell more sets in 16inch. What is the big problem producing a 60 wheel? We see programs such
as American Chopper. They put a block of alloy in the CNC machine and it copies what ever program is input. We are finding it hard to understand how producing a 60 offset would be more difficult then any other offset. Andy

Even I could get any design machined from a billet but at what cost just in terms of the material 420mm diameter x 200mm is going to cost in excess of £350.00 each billet so x 4 = £1400 then there is machining on top and as most of the material is discarded as swarf and there is a lot to remove so you are probably going to double the figure so at £700.00 a wheel I think not. Oh! and that is not using a material that is particularly special

It is one of the reasons a lot of aftermarket wheels are cast and the better ones are forged the latter is stronger due to the grain structure.

Bob

BTW: In europe they have to meet certain standards like TUV, do not see TV shows checking the strength of a wheel.

[bratboy_y2k]

so basically i should be bugging the companies for a 16 inch wheel? id personally rather go for 17s but the majority rules if it can happen.

[bratboy_y2k]

hang on, do we know what kind of wheels these +60 are? or are they not available?

[Elanlover]

BTW IIRC Elanlover has aftermarket wheels in 60mm

Yup.