Tyre advice wanted

[bcmc33]

I didn't want to go too low on profile thats why I thought 175/65x14 would be a good compramise to retain the rolling circumference.

Jono,

What sort of side wall stiffness do you get at 18psi? I would have thought tyre pressure that low would have a detrimental affect on roadholding.

John,

I see you?ve changed location. In a previous lifetime I used to go passed Dachau on the ?smart? route from the airport a regular basis to visit suppliers in Denklingen, Schongau and F?ssen.

Terry,

Panasport seem expensive to me, Looking at the pictures Gary sent, I?m sure the peg drive and spline drive wheels are made from the same casting, but machined specifically for the application.

[collins_dan]

I've sent an email to the US superlite distributor to confirm that their spline drive wheels will work with the Lotus knock-on/peg drive wheels. If I recall correctly, they have different adapters that allow them to fit their spline driven wheels to different manufacturers' designs, including lotus'. I'll update everyone on what I learn. Dan

[jono]

bcmc,

Remember that a Seven weighs in at about 550Kg. On 6" rims with 185 tyres the set up with 18 psi worked brilliantly with loads of feel and progression.

Clearly a heavier car wouldn't get away with that sort of typre pressure.

[bcmc33]

On second thoughts and looking at the Superlite website, I wonder if the splined wheels have a steel insert for the splines. I wouldn?t like to think how long an aluminium spline would last.

The MGB Minilite type wheels I?ve seen are the very ugly ones supplied by Moss. http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewP ... dexID=9103

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi Brian,

It's a small World isn't it. I don't suppose you'll be driving my way again?
I haven't changes location,
I've lived here for a very long time.
My stays in GB (2000-2004 & 2007-2008) were just a brief but very pleasant intermissions.
I just decided to add a bit more detail to my profile in order to give some weight to my comment on what I thought should be done with that foul mouthed English TV cook mentioned in a previous posting.
It either fell on stony ground or was considered by the majority to be a bit too un-PC

Anyway, have you put your Christmas sprouts on yet?

Your conclusion to go for 175/65x14 tyres is interesting.
Is there a greater tyre choice than for 175/60x14?
In my earlier posting I mentioned the limited choice of rubber that I was confronted with.

Cheers
John

[twincamman]

I have used spitfire wheels on all my Lotus cars -----but I only use 4 bolt pattern and had to find longer wheel studs ---I don't know if spitfire cars had knock off wheels -----ed

[mikealdren]

Hi John,
As you probably know, I'm slowly building a +2 Zetec and I'm considering 185/65/14 rather than Spyder's 185/60/14 because the RR is closer to the original tyre and will fill the wheelarch better and look more like the original 165/13s. The higher profile will also give a better ride and I'm sure handling will be fine with either - it's not going to be a track car.

A quick check on the Elan show that the 175/65/14 is closer to the RR of the original tyres (155/13?) than the 175/60/14 so I'd agree with Brian.

Mike

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi Mike,

yes I remember your project but have to admit that I've lost track on it a bit; how's it going?
I think you've slightly misunderstood my posting.
I initially suggested the use of 175/60x14 tyres because that is what I used, having found that the wheel arches on my S4 would not accomodate 185/60x14 Yoko's on full bump.
They would have damaged the bodywork after a while.
At the time there was not a great choice of tyres in that size (175/60x14).
The Continentals have been on my car since 2002 & still seem to have the same dry weather performance as when new.
However, the mention of 175/65x14 tyres made me think that they would also be an alternative for my car & I would like to know what types are readily available, as it seems that that research has already been done.
With ref. to Speedo readings:-
There are a number of different g/box take off drive ratios that can correct the Speedo reading to within legal limits.
TTR kindly found the correct bit for me when they put a longer back axle ratio & the O.M. tyres on to my car.

Cheers
John

[mikealdren]

Hi John,
My project's going slowly and it's too cold in the garage to do much at the moment.

For the Speedo drives, I wouldn't bother changing anything unless you're making a significant change to the tyre size.

Changing from 50 to 65 profile is about 3% diff in RR and the Speedo isn't that accurate. They always read low so increasing the RR will make them more accurate!

Mike

[bcmc33]

It?s true to say that my choice of 175/65x14 tyres was simply that it was the nearest RR to my current 155/80x13 tyres. From my notes I see that the 65 profile gives 70.6MPH and the 60 profile gives 68.5MPH @ a ?true? 70MPH. I know there isn?t much difference, and I don?t really believe my speedo anyway, but thought the 65?s would give a better ride over the 60?s.

I have to confess that I didn?t give much thought to tyre availability when choosing to go 14?, but did think it would be better that 13?. My prime motivation was to eliminate the need to fettle the rear wishbones, and the fact that a friend has them on his Sprint and they look better than the 13? Minilites. (IMO).

I?m impressed with the look of Juno?s Toyo R888?s, but they appear a bit OTT for me. I?m toying with the recommendation of Goodyear F1 ? but the reviews on the web are very mixed from outstanding to crap.
Someone mentioned Vredestein Hi-Trac ? does anyone have experience of Vredestein?

All contributions welcome.

[msd1107]

The web site for super-lite wheels is www.superlite-wheels.com

They are an English company. On their web site, the only mention of center lock wheels is in the section on magnesium wheels and refers to "racing centre lock". I forgot that most of us have knock-offs. That complicates the problem.

Superlite is a specialist manufacturer, and is probably not suitable for the budget conscious unless you are satisfied with their "Classic" range.

The prototype center lock wheel ilustrated by Gary is for a Jag/Triumph/MG style splined hub.

Keep in mind that the stock Elan wheels are around 12.5 lbs (5.7kg). The Superlite Classic wheels in 13X5.5 are roughly the same. The Spyder Minilites in 14X6 are some 5 lbs heavier.

Superlite wheels are available in five ranges, with different weights and prices. For 14X6, the weights are 6.28kg, 5.00kg, and 4.00kg (no mag weight available now). For 15X6 the weights are 8.58, 6.75, and 5.9 kg.

If I replaced the standard steel wheels with Minilite style 14X6 at 18+ lbs, I probably would be forced to go to different springs, dampers, and ARB to compensate, so that is somethng to keep in mind.

Just not a simple topic.

With respect to speedometer calibration, think of odometer calibration, since a speedometer shop can calibrate the speedometer readings even if the odometer readings are off.

Elan speedometers came in 1000 turns per mile (S1-S3) and 980 tpm (S4 and later) There are a variety of gearbox speedometer drive gears available covering most tire/diff ratio combinations except for the early speedometer with 165X13 tires and 3.55 differential which is best with a 22 tooth gear.

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16106

has a dowloadable spreadsheet that shows what drive gear is closest for any wheel/tire/differential/speedometer.

If you really want to be anal about it, some speedo repair facilities can change the internal drive gears in the speedometer to give the proper odometer calibration. In this case, they are giving you a different TPM figure. Smith's speedometers came with TPM figures from ~700-~1500, with about 2% gaps (actually closer by using the right pair of gears), so any wheel/tire/differential can be properly accommodated. Keep in mind, though, that natural tire wear causes the odometer/speedometer reading to change by 2% or more during the life of the tire.

David
1968 36/7988

[collins_dan]

Here's the answer from the Superlite US rep:

Dan,
i believe that the lotus uses the type 42 hub which is the same as all
other British cars apart from the Jaguar which uses a larger type 52.
We do not have a pin drive option>

Terry

Sounds like no Superlites on Lotus knock-on/peg-drive/pin drive wheels. (Assuming those are interchangeable expressions of the same thing...I've lost track.) Dan

[CBUEB1771]

I am trying to delete my post which I messed up, can't figure out how to delete the whole thing!

[CBUEB1771]

Here's the answer from the Superlite US rep:

Dan,
i believe that the lotus uses the type 42 hub which is the same as all
other British cars apart from the Jaguar which uses a larger type 52.
We do not have a pin drive option>

Terry

OK, let's try this again. Early Lotus cars such as the VI, VIII, IX, XI, Series I Seven, Elite and others with Dunlop wire wheels do have the Type 42 splined hub. However the splined hub was not used on the Elan. Lotus introduced a proprietary peg drive hub with the Elan. These are not interchangeable.

[msd1107]

Russ,

Right you are.

It appears Superlite may start with roughly the same centre section, whether it is bolt on or spline. Thus it may be feasible to make a pin drive version.

Superlight will make up one set of wheels, if it conforms to one of their patterns, making it to the width and offset the user wants.

Maybe they could be encouraged to bring out a pin drive version!

On the other hand, I located a set of bolt-on rear hubs (bolt-on front hubs are not a problem) That way I don't have to face the pin drive problem. It is difficult enough to get what I want in wheels and tyres as it is.

Just depends on how wedded to knock-off wheels you are.

David
1968 36/7988