[lolo]

working with a company to make a copy of the esprit wheel on my 1988 turbo.
But they will be a 17'' wheel, 8' front and 10'' rear. two piece welded center. forged aluminum wheel.

they will look the same as the stock turbine style wheel but bigger and deeper outer lip size. I will be getting them with the lotus name in the spoke as oem is.

drawings very soon, my set will be done is 5-6 weeks.

is there any interest? of course people would like to see a finished product first, but just wondering

thanks!
josh

 

[EspritNOOB]

Not that I am looking but what about an 18" rear? Bet it would look nice either way.

 

[Gallagher]

Probably more tire options for the 17/17 setup.

 

[lolo]

17/18 would cost more because of two different size centers and cnc design programs...

 

[EspritNOOB]

Yeah but you'd be the coolest kid on the block!

 

[lolo]

haha true true:nanner2:

 

[G8nightman]

Can they make An OZ nova wheel?

 

[Turbo R]

Although not many have spoken up here yet, there are a lot of '88s out there. Even now, summer high performance tires in the factory rear 235/60R15 size are virtually non-existent with most owners now having no choice but to lose the speed rating and go to regular or touring tires in that size. Same goes for the factory front 195/60R15, although there seem to be some performance alternatives out there in that size if one is lucky. A matched set is practically a pipe dream at this point.

While later Esprits can easily make the switch to later factory wheels, '88 owners have to deal with the rear offset and often prefer not to run spacers. I believe that a 17" combo in 8" and 10" widths would be a wise and quite popular choice. As tire availability inevitably worsens, demand for a quality 17" wheel alternative (with subsequent greater tire availability) can only increase over time, especially if they are reasonably priced. Not everyone can afford to custom order $3K or $4K HRE or Fikse wheels for their Esprits.

As for 18" on the back, IMHO, I am usually all for bigger is better, but in the case of the '88 Esprit Turbos which lack the deeper airdam and straight side skirts of the SE and later models, a 17" X 10" on the back would give it a nice look and make it look less 'stunted' than an 18" due to the shorter "tucked in the middle" side skirts inherent to this model year.

Roy

 

[Turbo R]

A 17" x 10" would ensure performance tire availability for a long time since a very common Corvette 275/40R17 (also Corvette 285/40R17) size would fit perfectly. Although the tire industry would not even think of maintaining a particular tire size just for the Esprit, it will certainly cater to the ton of '90s C4 Corvettes out there that require those two sizes. Definitely something to keep in mind for the future as tire selection dwindles.

 

[89.5 Esprit SE]

Remember the S4 wheel is 17" front and rear, and looks quite good with a 30mm spacer.

LoLo,
I like your idea, but make sure the fronts will fit aftermarket brakes, at least a 4pot, and the rears would need to have 2 different offset options so they can also fit the later GM injected cars.

And then as other posters are mentioning, we need something with availability of tires.

Randy

 

[carbuff]

Subscribed!

 

[Gallagher]

I love the idea!

Pics! We need pics!!!!!

 

[carbuff]

Pics! We need pics!!!!!

Somebody Photoshop a pic of an '88 with BIGGER stock wheels for those who have no imagination.






BTW, a cost-saving idea might be to forgo the LOTUS name on the spoke, and just sell a sticker for those who can't remember what kind of car it is. :no: Or, we could just get the center caps with the Lotus emblem as later cars had.


Might prevent any kind of copyright/trademark hassle, also. anic:

 

[esprit888]

Take a look at PK's Northstar powered esprit in Victoria, he has already done it using the original wheel, no idea how, something about splitting them ???

I love the idea!

Pics! We need pics!!!!!

 

[Lancia]

Someone was offering TSW rims drilled to order.

Few years ago.

 

[sleekgt]

I love the idea!

Pics! We need pics!!!!!

Same Esprit image, but with crudely enlarged OEM wheels (115% = ~17.2" diameter

 

[sleekgt]

Remember the S4 wheel is 17" front and rear, and looks quite good with a 30mm spacer.
[snip]

Yep - S4 wheels are what I have now - 17x8.5" rear, 17x7" front (factory front offset of 23mm (OEM). But my custom rear wheel adapter is 50mm to retain exact OEM 1988 rear offset (30mm+ negative 20mm OEM offset).

 

[Gallagher]

Same Esprit image, but with crudely enlarged OEM wheels (115% = ~17.2" diameter

That looks great! Thanks!

 

[Turbo R]

Wow...those 'shopped and enlarged factory wheels look really nice!

The larger diameter suddenly makes them look modern and up to date again. I guess a classic design never truly goes out of style

Good job, Eddie!

Roy

 

[Turbo R]

Another issue that you may or may not want to address for the new design is the direction of the spokes. On the factory wheels, they only go one way. Looks right on one side and backwards on the other. For me, it's never been much of an issue, but I know that it has really bugged some Esprit owners over the years.

You could duplicate the original factory spoke direction (one direction only on all four wheels) or possibly make an improvement on the initial factory offering and make dedicated directional left side and right side wheels with spokes going in the proper direction on each side. Just a thought.

Roy