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wide wheels for elise front 17x7,5 rear 17x9

17K views 20 replies 18 participants last post by  lwein 
#1 ·
For last couple weeks I have been trying to find wide wheels that would fit 2005 Elise and no succes so far. My goal is to put 225/40/17 front and 275/40/17 in rear which would require front rim to be 17x7,5 or 8 and 17x9 or 9,5 in rear .
Found few treads discussing about what tires are too wide and how wheels wider than 9" dondt fit in rear
But where you find them :wallbang:
Couldn't find much on the net called several local wheel shops in Atlanta ordered one set of wheels All of the numbers looked right 4x100 bolt patern 17x8 and 17x9 . ofset 35. Finally got the rims ............ rear ones fit fine , front ones were rubbing against front brake caliper .Guysfrom shop suggested putting a 15 mm spacer and longer bolts Sorry but I dont want any spacers and artermarket long bolts when I'm doing 100 on track ......... Not to mention bloody things were about 20+lbs in front and rear ones another 4-5 lbs heavier .
The only place where i found rims this size is Vivid racing products ,but they only sell two piece rims for this bolt patern which means they are heavy .
After eating cost of wheel shipping ,decided to seak advice from experts
So if anybody knows any websites o companies that make rims that size about up to 20lbs for Elise PLEASE let me know .:bow:
 
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#3 ·
Might those sizes over stress the suspension?

I dunno. Just wondering.

I've 205's in the front, 245's in the rear. Any wider and I'd be rubbing. Although I don't have spacers.

Do you want to go wider just for wider's sake?
 
#4 ·
You can never have too much traction .
The car had sustained some fiberglass damage on both sides . So before buying new clams i decided to do some fiberglass work . it started as experiment and turning out real good . I made front fenders much lower and wider to fit wider tires , but now I cant find what I originally have planed ......
As far as suspention I personlly do not think you can do damage to it .This car was built for track and racing . Considering the weight of wehicle that suspention is not fragile . Plus I have removed about 300lbs out of it .
This was my last resort finding wheels , if no luck here I'll settle for 16x7 and 17x8 with 215/45/16 and 245/40/17
 
#5 ·
I was looking for a while for similar combo and didnt find anything. Only thing out there is TeamDynamics and they are heavy. So i bought RACs and saved about 8 lbs altogether in the process. Got 245s out back and it's a tight fit. I don't think 255 in AO48s will fit. Well there's room on the inside, middle and rear of the tire, but the front is really really close to the wheel liner. And I have yet to camber, so it might get slightly closer still. I have 195 on front, but I would like 215 as well. Anyway, there's plenty of grip out back. I used to spin the wheels out of turns with stock 225 rears, but I have yet to do that now.
 
#6 ·
245/40 rears

I went from a 225/45 on 7.5" wheels to a 245/40 on a 8" wheels and I am getting alot of body roll, they are Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3. I don't know if it is the quality of the tire or something else, I took the camber shims out but no change. I've driven it with different tire pressure but no change.
Any suggestions.
 
#10 ·
I had to get my 17x7 and 18x10 custom made. Good luck, I don't think anyone carries them in our offset, custom made wheels will be your best bet.
 
#11 ·
I'll humbly suggest the idea that going that much wider won't offer any significant improvement in lateral acceleration. I'll also humbly suggest that going that much wider may in fact DECREASE traction, due to the fact that are cars are light enough to barely get a decent R compound tire up to the prefered temperature range anyway. I'll humbly suggest that adding that much rotating and unsprung weight will quite noticably hinder the handling precision that comes with our cars.

If all you want is the bling, then knock yourself out. If you want to turn the best lap times, don't do it.

xtn
 
#12 ·
Echo XTN's comments. The reason that the Loti perform so close to a full on race care is their exquisite balance. Any change that you make to one component of the suspension will affect that balance. Look up some of the threads on tire pressure alone. Large tires are needed on cars that have huge amounts of torque and also on cars that need them because of weight, or poor weight distribution. Take the Porsche 911, for example. Unlike the Lotus, which has most of its weight within the wheelbase, the 911 hangs all of the engine and clutch weight behind the rear axles, and this "swing" weight will do nasty things without a lot of rubber on the ground.

Jerry
 
#18 ·
Well done XTNrotfl. Those guys need a course in Contact patches 101. But I suppose they've all been certified by a race school that teaches these things, and I'm sure they know all about unsprung weight, and I'm sure they know all about how to achieve proper operating temps in a race tire, and I'm sure they can dispute any and all of Colin Chapman's develops over the lifetime of Lotus,etc
:bow:BTW I'm sure they never get passed, yea right!!
 
#20 ·
I agree with XTN, contact patch doesn't change -- wider tires is about heat -- if the current tires aren't overheating (when the car is setup right and driven correctly), then you've just got a lot of extra weight.

I've tested a lot of different tire sizes and rim sizes (but not on the Lotus) and went with some massive 18 x 11 rear and 18 x 10 fronts on a 400 HP 3000 lb race car -- you guessed it, slower lap times over 17 x 9, 17 x 10 -- using the same tire type.

Another reason why, I'm avoiding the Denag wheels.

So is everyone just ordering the Sector 111 wheels or something?? I'm having a hard time finding alternatives beyond custom -- TireRack have the TR F1 wheels at a good price, but was hoping to go .5" wider but staying with the same tire size -- this should help with a more firm sidewall.
 
#21 ·
Aftermarket Wheels

Kodiak Wheels in US, Image Wheels in UK--have no experience with Kodiak,but like some other wheel mfgs,they will make a wheel to your specs--I think somebody was carrying them(BWR or Sector 111) a while ago. I ordered Image wheels for my 1970 Elan,which were fine,but I only saved 1/2 lb over old cast wheels I had on.
XTN is correct---and tires must heat up to work and the Lotus is an extremely light car-
-But Bling is Bling-"you pays your money and takes your chances" then you gotta go out and buy dampers,cause your dampers were not built for a heavy wheel and tire combo--oh yeah,brakes too--because it takes MUCH more brake to stop a car with oversize wheel/tire combo,and on and on and on.
 
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