17" Wheels on Elan M100 S2.

[mfriel]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying my first Elan and have seen one offered with 17" lotus alloys? Would this be ok mechanically? Not too bothered about ride comfort for now. Also, won't be driving it hard or tracking, but will be doing a 90 mile trip to take her home if she's a good one!

The seller has a couple of lotus's and says is an enthusiast and is wanting to free up some cash for a project, so I'm assuming it will be ok?

I've printed off the M100 buyers guide from car & classic, so will have an idea of what to look for!

Thank you for any help!

Kind regards.

Mike.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

There is also a detailed buying guide here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7207

I am NOT aware of any Lotus supplied 17 inch wheels for the M100. The M100 uses and needs a larger than normal offset to counter some of the negative aspects of front wheel drive.

You should verify what whells they really are and the dimensions - including offset.

[mfriel]

Thank you for the reply. Yeh, the 17" are not stock for the car, but they are lotus alloys and have low profile Pirelli sport tires on them. I'll ask about the off set tomorrow when I view the car. Anything I should look out for when test driving, with regards to the 17" wheels? I'll ask why they are on and if not happy to replace with stock alloys.

Thanks.

Mike.

[wayne]

Thank you for the reply. Yeh, the 17" are not stock for the car, but they are lotus alloys and have low profile Pirelli sport tires on them. I'll ask about the off set tomorrow when I view the car. Anything I should look out for when test driving, with regards to the 17" wheels? I'll ask why they are on and if not happy to replace with stock alloys.

Thanks.

Mike.

Although I can not back this up by experience..... From memory... 17" wheels seem to tram line in ruts in the road and are not recommended....

Take it for a spin on an uneven road and see what happens!! If after reading all of the buyers guides and that there is no LEC member local to you that could offer better advice or accompany you when you view the car. then you will have to use your own judgement of it.

At the end of the day if all is wrong is the wheels.. then it may be worth changing them.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The important question isn't if Lotus made them, it is what is the offset. Anything not close to the +60 will not help the handling at all, rather most that have tried say the handling is quite poor.

S2 wheels are very hard to find and if found VERY costly. Even S1/SE wheels are not cheap for decent, straight examples.

Factor this into the price so you are not disappointed in the end.

[DavidEJM]

I have 17inch wheels on my M100 and I don't get any tramlining. In fact it rides better and pulls straighter than it did on the original 15's but that is due to the poor and mixed tyres on my original wheels.
And that's the point, the diameter of the wheels will have no effect on the handling nor anything else. It is the knock on effect of the change of wheels that will potentially have an impact.
Lower profile tyres - potential deterioration in ride quality
Wrong offset - potential torque steer or tramlining
Heavier wheels - increase in unsprung weight adversely affecting suspension reactions.

Just my personal opinion but i think poor tyre choice or combination will have a bigger impact on the handling of the car. I changed my wheels, kept the offset as close as I could within budget and, to date, I have noticed no ill effects. The car handles better than most hot hatches and rides significantly better and that's with 20+ year old suspension, which is the other thing to consider. Old suspension with tired dampers, soft springs and worn bushes will again have a bigger impact on these cars I suspect.

So, my feeling is don't get too hung up on the diameter of the wheels and consider the whole package.

Having said all of that, I cannot think of any Lotus wheels (Elise?) that would fit the M100 and be even close on offset and the M100 is, of course, the only front drive Lotus built (and ever likely to be built).

They are great cars, really underrated, made even better by the great group of people in this community. Good luck and if you buy, don't forget the photos.

[Jeemy]

I am in need of 17" wheels with 48mm or more offset, having found the Oz I bought are 4x114, not 4x100 as advertised. They were a real bargain so its not a problem.

At present I am considering Oz Vittoria with 48mm, but I recall there was a US supplier offering custom offsets and I took a note of it. I'll post up more when I dig the details out...

[HJ2]

Perhaps they are aftermarket wheels with a Lotus badge / center on them?

[Rusty Wishbone]

Personally, I would base my decision on whether to buy a car or not on other things besides the wheels. I can always replace the wheels. If the wheels are wrong, I would just factor this into the price I am prepared to pay.

[mfriel]

Hi,
Thanks for all the advice and help! I will certainly ask all the questions. The car does look good on paper, but I have a thorough check list to go with and luckily my friend who is more mechanically experienced (builds his own cars) and who's an engineer has the afternoon off too!

I have tried to decrease the risks and hope it's not a wasted journey!

I will of course post the pics if purchased, to see what you all think!

Thank you all once again.

Kind regards.

Mike.

P.S. In making this decision I have researched lots of cars in the same category, and I can't believe how highly a car of this age still scores against it's more modern rivals. I agree, very under-rated; but keep it that way until I find a good one!

[hatters]

Hi Mike
I hope the Elan you are going to look at is up to scratch ,You sound as if you and your mate have all your ducks in a row ,Don't worry too much about the wheels ,you can always change them if you budget for them ,I personally prefer the original wheels on the S E ,they are hard to beat for looks ,and you know you have the right ones on so it won't affect the handling or suspension set up
I hope it's the car for you
R.H

[Rob P]

Mike, good luck with looking at the Elan, hope it fits the bill, I am a fairly new member and can say the car is marvelous fun.
On the subject of the 17 inch wheels there were a few cars at the Donington Meeting running BMW MINI wheels which were slightly modified to fit the Elan and chatting to a couple of people they didn't have any adverse comments to make. I would agree with Hatters though that the original SE wheels look the part and they are usually more available at a lower price than the S2 wheels.

Look forward to seeing the new addition to the LEC family in the very near future

[mfriel]

Hi Guys,

Well, the first S2 I went to look at actually ended up being a CAT C! and was a complete waste of time. Enthusiasts would have probably asked for the petrol money back! It failed on almost every check from the guides. No front spliter, no cover under the radiator, no lock on the drivers side, no carpet, damaged prongeron. Cracks in the interior, gear leaver cover hanging off, door panels hanging off, glove box falling down.......lots more I could go on!

I stopped there and didn't even turn the engine on! God knows what would have happened!

Asking price was 5400 pounds? I could have gone to scrappers and saved 1000's!

Can't believe what some people will actually try and sell!

Then darted over to see another S2, much better condition but still a bit shabby. Just had M.O.T. and service by lotus specialist, this month.

It would need: 1. New seals for the roof. 2. the engine had some slight oil on it (but if serious, I would have thought this would have been picked up, as just had service and M.O.T.) 3. A weld was needed for the anti-role bar and new bits to sort some corrosion out (again carried out by lotus). 4. There was a dent/scruff on the Pongeron (there is a big sticker there saying don't use this as a jacking point, but I assume the mechanic didn't care? Or will this have been normal as it's so low and I'll find this on every one?) 5. The central locking on passenger door didn't work. 6. Black plastic at rear is grey-ish. 7. Some delamination of the windscreen (small amount). 8. I will need to carry out an H.P.I. check.

Apart from that, there were no advisories on the M.O.T. All other electrics were ok. Previous lady owner since 2004. Mileage 95,000. Service history. Tool Kit. Yellow.

Price agreed 6000 pounds.

What does everyone think of that. Any points that make any one go Ouch!

Sorry for such a long post and thank you for any help!

Kind regards.

Mike.

P.S. The drive seemed great. Oil pressure and Turbo in correct range.

[hatters]

I am sure you can find one much better than that for 6k it should be almost concourse for that kind of money .When I bought mine it was under 4k and I have now owned it for nearly 4 years and it's sailed through the M O T every time
I suggest you dismiss it and keep looking

[mfriel]

Cheers Hatters,

I'm looking at an SE on Sunday, one owner from new and full service history etc, concourse standard, 70K, but will still want around 6K I would think!

I'll have a look and compare.

Thanks.

Mike.

[Rob P]

I agree with Hatters 6k sounds a lot for that particular car, I bought mine for far less than that off a trusted member on here and the car had many of the mechanical upgrades sorted and runs great, just needs a bit of a tidy up cosmetically but to me that shows the car has had some use in it's life and I'm already in touch with a retrimmer locally to sort out the seats and door cards.

There are a good many M100's out there so make sure you widen the search area and see as many as you can to get a feel for the kind of car you want.

Best of luck

[dapinky]

Mike,

What area of the world are you based, and where are you looking (geographically) - it may help people to point cars out to you that may fit your requirements....


..... Like mine

[Rob P]

Very good point, there are a few cars on offer from LEC members and given the good situation I had obtaining mine then I would suggest following up on Dave's suggestion. I travelled 200 miles to collect mine and just think of the fun you'll have driving it home from a long way away

Assuming of course you don't live ten minutes from Weston Super Mare

[mfriel]

Hi guys,

I found a great SE! (I hope). Put a deposite down and just checked the HPI.

On the train on the way back now, so will post more soon with pics.

Here she is if people want to take a look:

http://m.gumtree.com/v?adId=1018757540

I have been through all the checks (as much as I can) and the seller was really nice, no pressure what so ever.

I got a fair price I think too!

More detailed pics to follow.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for all the help so far!

Kind regards.

Mike.

[hatters]

This one looks clean and tidy ,right price too?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-Lotus-El ... 0342697%26