LOTUS ELAN WHEELS???POST YOUR WHEELS!

[Scott]

So if that's correct why many guys here use different tire size for front and rear??

Do they? I hadn't noticed.........

regards

John

Yes in many subjects here I have read about different tire size and wheel size!

[dapinky]

Scott,

Although many guys on here have swapped all of their wheels for lots of different options, I believe that they have always done a complete set, and never mixed types on a car (well, I've never seen or heard of any car with different wheels on different axles, but I suppose such a thing may exist).

As you say, many other vehicles have wider wheels/tyres on diffent ends, but mainly on RWD vehicles. There would be no advantage in doing so for the Elan.

[Scott]

Scott,

Although many guys on here have swapped all of their wheels for lots of different options, I believe that they have always done a complete set, and never mixed types on a car (well, I've never seen or heard of any car with different wheels on different axles, but I suppose such a thing may exist).

As you say, many other vehicles have wider wheels/tyres on diffent ends, but mainly on RWD vehicles. There would be no advantage in doing so for the Elan.

I know, wish I could show but I've been reading so many things inside here that's it's difficult to remember the subject.
Anyway..

[Grant]

I did it. 18s on the rear and 17s on the front. See link near the top of the page.
forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=4706&p=265883#p265883

IMG_0943.JPG

[Elanlover]

I did it. 18s on the rear and 17s on the front. See link near the top of the page.
forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=4706&p=265883#p265883

IMG_0943.JPG

What difference in handling did you notice (if any)? For all the talk about larger, staggered wheels on the back being of no value on a FWD car I can't help but wonder if there will be a little more stickiness on the tail end of the car. Which, as we all know, can be a problem in corners with the back end getting loose.

[XiPHiAS]

I did it. 18s on the rear and 17s on the front. See link near the top of the page.
forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=4706&p=265883#p265883

IMG_0943.JPG

What difference in handling did you notice (if any)? For all the talk about larger, staggered wheels on the back being of no value on a FWD car I can't help but wonder if there will be a little more stickiness on the tail end of the car. Which, as we all know, can be a problem in corners with the back end getting loose.

I'm 100% sure the handling is ruined.
But the looks

[Scott]

I did it. 18s on the rear and 17s on the front. See link near the top of the page.
forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=4706&p=265883#p265883

IMG_0943.JPG

Which brand are those wheels?

[Grant]

They are OZ wheels. See link to original post above.

[Grant]

What difference in handling did you notice (if any)? For all the talk about larger, staggered wheels on the back being of no value on a FWD car I can't help but wonder if there will be a little more stickiness on the tail end of the car. Which, as we all know, can be a problem in corners with the back end getting loose.

I would have to say the car is probably a bit more loose in the rear now with the 18s since they have a slightly larger overall diameter with tires. I did try to keep the overall tire diameter as close as possible to the fronts but none the less, the rear was higher than it should be. I have since lowered the car on adjustable coilovers and made adjustments to redistribute the weight to be more on balance with the stock setup. needs some adjustments to camber, but for now I am happy with the handling.

[twotwincams]

I have a US spec M100 with the OZ OEM 16 inch wheels but I would rather have the 5-spoke ones that I believe were standard equipment on the S2. I have searched wheel manufactures web pages but I have not been able to source them. Any guidance will be appreciated.

[clemo]

I have a US spec M100 with the OZ OEM 16 inch wheels but I would rather have the 5-spoke ones that I believe were standard equipment on the S2. I have searched wheel manufactures web pages but I have not been able to source them. Any guidance will be appreciated.

good day to you twotwincams
you will be looking for the BBS 16' 5 spoke alloy wheel then ..

good luck with your search ..

[Saltire]

I have a US spec M100 with the OZ OEM 16 inch wheels but I would rather have the 5-spoke ones that I believe were standard equipment on the S2

Sadly, so would a lot of other people, which is why a good set fetches so much money second-hand. I have known them sell for upwards of £400 per wheel, and seen them advertised for far more

[Brit-Car-Nut]

I have a US spec M100 with the OZ OEM 16 inch wheels but I would rather have the 5-spoke ones that I believe were standard equipment on the S2. I have searched wheel manufactures web pages but I have not been able to source them. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Gary: The S2 wheels are very scarce as are the original US/FED wheels. Lotus liquidated their stocks of the S2 wheels back in 2007 for almost nothing and a lot of resellers jumped on them for profit. Even those are now hard to find and just a few breakers are listing them on eBay UK every now and then. The S2 wheel center caps are also obsolete and they are even harder to find. Now, the only solution is a slightly smaller cap and some glue to make up the difference in diameter.

Remember, you can't just go to the local tire store and buy replacement 16" rims. The M100 uses a very high offset value to help overcome front wheel drive anomalies. There are a lot of postings about rims/wheels and the very few alternatives.

[Anders T]

New here. Question, where do I buy a set of standard M100 16´" Wheels?

Here in Sweden we just got the 15"

Thanks

Anders T

[Saltire]

Hej Anders

I don't think you do. I have an S2 with the original 16 inch UK wheels, and they are pretty much unobtainable, new or used, in this country at least. The last decent used set I saw was upwards of GBP2000 for the four - without tyres.

I believe Federal cars had 16 inch SE wheels (different design from mine), and they may be more available, at least in the US, although postage costs would be substantial. The Sage of Charlotte will no doubt be along to correct me if I'm wrong

Several folks hereabouts have fitted 16 or 17 inch wheels from third party manufacturers, but the Elan wheels have unusual dimensions (in terms of PCD and offset), so you'd need to be sure they fitted before buying.

Hope this helps

[chipp]

There was a set on Ebay recently, someone on here I think.

chipp

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Anders:

The US/FED M100 came with 7J-16 inch OZ wheels that are not quite as hard to find as S2 wheels, but Jonathan is right, postage/Duty/VAT will be quite dear.

They are OZ wheels so similar to the 15 inch verisons you have: slightly different "spokes" and obviously taller and a bit wider.

The wheels weigh around 20 pounds / 9.1kg so quite heavy.

This is a set that sold off eBay US last month. They were used but no road-rash, just some minor scuffs.

Wheels1.jpg

I couldn't find the original listing They sold for around $1,000.00 with shipping to the US.

There is also a set of scuffed wheels on eBay right now but more damaged and asking S2 prices+:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-ALUMINUM-W ... 2422610839

That is for ONE (1) wheel. The other 3 are also listed separately. They are kind of nasty...

There are a few cars in the UK with FED wheels on them, but I don't know of anyone that is looking to sell theirs.

[gtr_gtti]

Doing justice to the M100 design... 17" 8.5J ET20, 205/45R17 tires.