The Lotus Grand Tourers

Well i changed my mind with regards to Image wheels and have just placed an order with Mike Taylor for a set of Compomotives MO5 in gold, cant beat him on price and i would rather spend money in the "Lotus Circle" than out.

I'll post some pics when i get them fitted..............It will be nice to have some round wheels..........

I am still searching for a new set of wheels and my research has moved on.
I think that I am going to order ROTA RB wheels, they have the correct offset and pcd.
16 X 8 black center with silver lip.
I think the size and the design respect the age and the carracter of the car .

What will you do re the rolling radius and tyre type if you go for 16's, i thought about going with 16's for the asthetics but in the end have gone with Compomotive MOs in 15 from Mike Taylor..........in gold

Went to my wheel supplier this morning
They checked wheel arch + suspension clearances
We will go for 8 x 16 et 12, this means 17mm less clearance at the inside and outer position will extend by 9mm

Wheels will not break the bank at +- 185€ each corner
tyres 225-40-16 = -1.61%

-looks good
-Belgian MOT allows -2.00% +1.5%
-since radius is 1cm smaller tires will not touch arches on full lock
-my speedo is reading lower then gps speed, so will be more accurate with new setup
-several brands have them in their range Dunlop, Uniroyal, Fulda, Falken...

My supplier is informing now on exact price and delay, I will keep you all informed on progress

Make sure you are very aware of the curbs, in the UK with 40s on you would have no protection against them.

I know, I will loose 5mm ground clearance, reverse parking only!

Would it be possible to drill a new pattern on the wheel hub eg. 4 x 100 mm "in situ"?

I would make a drill plate/master with existing 4 x DC114,3 for fixing and 4 x DC100 mm 8,2 mm holes for pre-drilling.

1 step: 8 mm pre drilling
2 step: 10,8 mm drilling
3 step M12 x 1,5 mm

How do I avoid metal grains in the bearings - I do not know, if the bearings are sealed?

Is the material thick/strong enough between the existing holes?

It is not possible to drill new holes in a different part of the hub - if you look at the casting you will see that the only part thick enough is where the existing holes are. IIRC Mike at Lotus bits was talking about getting some aluminium hubs made - you may be able to specify what stud pattern/pcd you want. I found that the cost of new wheels to your own spec was not that great.

Pete

There was an article in practical perf car last month about putting new centres in alloy wheels. Basically the old hole is machined straight with a top hat section, an aluminium slug is then machined to be tight fit in the hole, very high strength locktite is applied, the faces trued up and then redrilled. The centre of the wheel is done in a similar fashion if the original hole is too big. But, it only works on alloys with no steel inserts. Unless its a rare set of wheels its alot of work, and expense at a machine shop, for a silimalr price to new wheels.

Bash

There's a white Excel for sale on Pistonheads website with 17" wheels fitted. How they manage to avoid fouling the arches I've no idea.