Your recommendations for 16" aftermarket wheels for my S2

[TOWATL]

Hello Community!

My black S2 came fitted with 17" wheels. While they look nice and suit the car, the tyres fitted to them are way too wide, the fronts being 235/40, the rears 245/40 in dimension. They do fit, but whenever I run over a bump or tackle a set of bends with courage, the tyres hit the inside on the wheel arches and the smell of burnt rubber is evident.

So I am now looking to replace them with the specified 205/45 Pirelli P Zero tyres and a set of nice 16" alloys.

What is your recommended set of wheels for a black S2?
I should mention that they should be silver in color, but I am open to any design suggestions from you guys.

Thanks!

Cheers,


Wolfgang

[epipete]

Check out M100sandra thread: viewtopic.php?t=21904#p275963. (Speed lines on an Elan, your thoughts) for a view

[Peter_W]

What is the width and offset of the current wheels?

205/40/17 tires are very close in diameter/circumference to 205/45/16's (just 0.8% larger). If the wheels are not too wide to accept 205's, and the offset is not too far from the stock offset, that could be another way to go.

[TOWATL]

Thank you guys!

I will have to check the exact dimensions of the wheels currently fitted, but if the 205/40 17" tyres should fit, that would indeed be an option.

I will browse through the other thread for some ideas...

Cheers!

[TOWATL]

Just found this: www.wheelbasealloys.com

They let you filter for wheels that will actually fit our cars.

[TOWATL]

I quite like the look of the following wheels and think they suit the car nicely:

Autec-Zenit

Wolfrace-Campo

Dezent-V

What do you think?

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Remember, the offset of the Lotus wheel is a lot more than what most wheel makers will offer today. That (along with the RAFT) is how Lotus resolved the steering issues normally found in front wheel drive.

I don't see any offsets near the required +60. You can't trust a tire store to know anything about the M100 design, they have a hard time getting the bolt spacing right most of the time.

[m100sandra]

Compomotive and Speedline are as close as you will get (I think) The speedlines are very close been a wider rim.

[TOWATL]

Thanks again for your thoughts and assistance, guys!

Personally I do not like the looks of the Speedline wheels and I have yet to find a store that sells the Compomotive wheels.

Why is a higher offset preferable?

The Wolfrace wheels I am looking at have the following dimensions:

They are 6.5X16 4/100 ET42 RIAL CAMPO (SILVER) 63.3

Could any of you helpful chaps please give me the details on the standard Lotus wheels for comparison?
Will a bolt spacing of 4/100 fit the Elan?
And what doea the number 63.3 indicate?

I am thinking of buying these wheels with the Dunlop Sport Max tyres fitted. A friend of mine says they work brilliantly on his MX5, but since the Elan's setup is very different to the Mazda, I thought it wise to ask you guys for your opinion on that subject as well. Lotus greenlighted the Pirelli P Zero tyres for the Elan as a replacement for the Michelins. My experience with them is, that they are brilliant in the dry, but not so much in the wet. I currently have them fitted on my Alfa GTV.

Thanks and cheers,


Wolfgang

[Denny]

Could any of you helpful chaps please give me the details on the standard Lotus wheels for comparison?

See attached extract from the service manual:-

[TOWATL]

Sweet, thank you Denny!

[TOWATL]

Compomotive and Speedline are as close as you will get (I think) The speedlines are very close been a wider rim.

I have checked out the Compomotive wheels, but do not really like their design. However, I am looking at the Speedline Alessio 2 wheels. They are close to the original design, I think, and should suit the car nicely. But not sure yet, as I also like the Wolfrace Campo very much.

Both have a smaller offset than the original wheels, but should fit the car just fine.

[TOWATL]

Since I cannot seem to get a certificate for neither the Wolfrace nor the Speedline wheels for the Elan, I am now looking at the Decent V wheels. They look, well, decent, and the certification for the Elan should not be a problem.

[theelanman]

I cannot seem to get a certificate for neither the Wolfrace nor the Speedline wheels for the Elan

is this insurance or MOT/safety/road worthiness test?.......

[TOWATL]

I cannot seem to get a certificate for neither the Wolfrace nor the Speedline wheels for the Elan

is this insurance or MOT/safety/road worthiness test?.......

Both, in fact. Here in Austria, you are required to have aftermarket wheels registered for your car and in order to do so, I will require a certificate from the manufacturer of the wheels, indicating their detailed specifications. We call this ABE. And yes, it is a pain in the butt!

[TOWATL]

I have finally decided on a set of wheels to buy.

Enzo B

They will arrive sometime next week together with the Dunlop Sportmax tyres. I will post photos for you then.

Cheers

[TOWATL]

Hi guys!

I have now got the new wheels fitted and have the first few photos ready for you. The Lotus emblems for the wheel center caps should arrive in a couple of days, but even without it, I personally think the Enzo B wheels look quite nice on the Elan.

Your thoughts please...

Cheers!

[trig]

Very nice they look like they could be original

[inkitin]

I don't normally like aftermarket wheels on our Elans but those do look really good.

[TOWATL]

Thanks guys!

After fooling around with a few quite different designs, I went for the classic look.