[John4378]

Does anyone know if you can purchase the rims that come with the LSS....without ordering the LSS? I want the rims not the stiffer suspension.

 

[usofrob]

If not, you can always wait for someone who ordered LSS to replace their wheels, and purchase their wheels.

 

[Randy Chase]

Moving to wheels.

I have been told by Nick Adams that they will not sell bits of the LSS for fear of creating a car that does not handle well.

On the other hand, I have been told that wheels are parts and you can always order parts.

 

[John4378]

the dimensions on both sets of wheels are the same. I just want the other set without having to pay for two sets of wheels if it can be helped.

 

[Robert Puertas]

the dimensions on both sets of wheels are the same. I just want the other set without having to pay for two sets of wheels if it can be helped.

Actually, the front wheels on the Sportpak are 1" wider than the standard front wheels. 6.5" x 16" vs. 5.5" x 16"
The rears are 7.5" x 17" with either set.

Hard to imagine there would be people wanting to trade straight across, but there should be a market for the standard wheels.

 

[Evl]

I have been told by Nick Adams that they will not sell bits of the LSS for fear of creating a car that does not handle well.

On the other hand, I have been told that wheels are parts and you can always order parts.

I agree with the parts are parts... It is fairly common to damage a wheel in a wreck (hitting curb, etc), so I would be very suprised if lotus wouldn't sell them as parts.

 

[Less Moore]

parts is parts

When I spoke to my salesman, he said buying wheels as 'replacement parts' is typically a very expensive proposition, based on his experiences with other manufacturers. He suggested aftermarket wheels as a much better deal.

 

[ConeFusion]

Re: parts is parts

When I spoke to my salesman, he said buying wheels as 'replacement parts' is typically a very expensive proposition

From the numbers I have seen for other cars, that is very true. Car prices (for most cars) are very competitive, so there's not a whole lot of profit there. Parts are a great money source for manufacturers.

 

[AutoXr]

Regarding the availability of aftermarket wheels for the Elise, check this thread

Looks like Blackwatch Racing is working on something. I can't imagine places like TireRack sitting back without a solution either, especially when they sponsor Solo II. The Elise just screams Solo II and track events which = more wheels!

 

[theob]

Does anyone know if you can purchase the rims that come with the LSS....without ordering the LSS? I want the rims not the stiffer suspension.

Yes you can.

Removable Steering Wheel (Red) A111H0026J
Removable Steering Wheel (Black) A111H0027J
Forged Wheels Front A121G0013H
Forged Wheels Rear A121G0015H
Yokohama A048R Front A122G0013L
Yokohama A048R Rear A122G0131L
Hard Top A117B0437J
Hard Top storage bag LOTAC05316
Car dust cover LOTAC05317
Car shower cover LOTAC05319
Boot tidy LOTAC05321
Car rain/sun cape LOTAC05323
Level 1 Sport Exhaust LOTAC0533K
Level 1 Sport Exhaust unknown yet!
Exige black rims unknown yet!

With black rims, my 111R will become bad

 

[Less Moore]

Panasport?

For my Lotus Eleven replica, I bought Panasports from Leitzinger Imports/Leitzinger Motorsports (somewhere in Pennsylvania several years ago). Since I used Triumph GT-6 front suspension/hubs/brakes and the rear axle is from a Mazda RX-7, they fixed me up with front wheels intended for a Honda CRX, rear wheels intended for a Toyota MR-2, but not yet drilled or machined. They machined and drilled to the Triumph bolt pattern front and rear and machined the hub centers to match the Triumph front and Mazda rear. When I had the axles shortened, I had the hubs fitted with 7/16" studs in the Triumph bolt pattern. The guy I dealt with (at Leitzinger) isn't there anymore and, in fact had his own business for a few years, but has closed that. However, if Leitzinger could do this then, assuming Panasport wheels are still available to someone with blank centers, it would just be a matter of matching wheels intenede for other cars that have similar calipers and wheel offsets. At the time I bought my wheels, I was pretty impressed at how inexpensive it was. Like not much more than the price of standard wheels. I don't know if I lucked into a good situation with someone willing to help out or if this is not really such a difficult operation. Again, as others have mentioned, the 6-1/2" front wheels might be a problem in the correct offset. I think there are Miata wheels in that width, but they may not have the right offset or clearance for calipers.

 

[John Stimson]

The Minilite replicas made by Panasport seem to be very poor in terms of brake caliper clearance. Their standard 16" wheels don't clear the brakes on the newer Miatas, while most 15" wheels do.

They are not particularly light or inexpensive wheels, although they do look pretty on Miatas.

 

[Ara]

Panasport actually makes a lot of different castings for each wheel size they sell. We sell custom wheels that Panasport makes for us for our race cars. We went through the different castings they had and found the best one for our application and had them manufactured to spec such that they are optimal given the parameters we face in our class. We race in a spec series, so every opportunity has to be maximized (we have custom lightweight clutches because our flywheels have to be stock, etc).

As soon as I can get some measurements, I will have some made to order for trial. It WILL work.

Ara

 

[Less Moore]

Panasports

Ara, When you get some numbers/results/etc. will you please post the info on Panasports. I ordered LSS for performance and was thinking about some less aggressive 'touring' tires on 15" & 16" Panasports. I really like the looks of the wheels and I know they make quality wheels. I'm also aware they make lighter weight/'not for road use' wheels. -Thanks

 

[James A]

I have a set of 15" Panasports on my Seven with some very sticky tires for autocross, I like the classic look of the wheels.