[msink]

Hello Folks,

Im debating on which Elise to buy. a Storm Titanium 08 SC or 60th Black w/ Silver stripes. I REALLY like the Storm Titanium color, and I've never seen a black or 60th in person. (Dont like the red stripes and black wheels of the other 60th).

I recently realized the 08 SC had its front wheels narrowed to 6.0 from 6.5, and tires are 175's v/s the older 195's What's up with that?!

The 60th is going to give me the 6.5" fronts, 195's (in A048), track pack suspension, and a few other things for not much more money (if looking at MSRP) Anyone know if the Track Pak will go as low as the LSS + Lathe option? Just curios.

I really do prefer the Storm, but those 175's on 6" rims....:shrug: How wide do ppl go on 6" rims ?

Mark

 

[sleepe]

From 05-07 the base Elises all came with 5.5 width front wheels and a 175 width tire...I think for 08+ the Elise SC increased to 6.0 width wheel

Only na Sport Elises and na Elises with sport pack came with the 6.5 with wheel and 195 width tire on

 

[birdseye]

Lotus made the change to the narrower front rim to give the car more understeer and make it less tail happy at the extreme, less lift off oversteer. Was just too easy to spin on wet roads with the wider front rims and wider tyres - or at least thats how I understand it.

If the narrow widths worries you watch the chassis engineer teach Clarkson how to handle the narrow tyred car on

YouTube - Top Gear - Lotus Elise 111S

 

[...m...]

...i'd go with your color preference; aftermarket wheels are an easy and comparably inexpensive change if you later decide you'd prefer more oversteer...also bear in mind that AD07s will last considerably longer than A048s, and be much more forgiving of wet street conditions...

...admittedly, the elise SC won't offer the same extremes of grip on the track in its stock setup, but tires, wheels, and suspension can all be readily changed, and likely will be regardless of which car you buy, if you choose to pursue the expensive hobby of track performance...either car's going to outhandle nearly everything else on the street in its stock setup, with limits of performance well beyond safe speeds on public roads...

...besides which, storm titanium's the faster color anyway...

 

[msink]

I dont plan to track it, so I'm thinking with the 6.5" wheels, and fully adjustable suspension on the 60th, I wont have to bother with upgrading those. Wish I could see a 60th in person.

 

[...m...]

...if you're not going to track it, you won't need to bother with upgrading them regardless - honestly, the 'milder' stock suspension and wheels far exceed any capabilities you'll need on the street, and are tuned for safer driving and greater longevity under those conditions as well...