Minilites or Panasports

[holywood3645]

I love the OEM knockons. Mine are 1969 and a little worse for the years.
I also love the minilites from that era. But more the deep dish star-spec design from the Mk1 escorts and the like. They look good on an ?lan, but don't have the deep dish look
James

Panasport look equally as good, but they are almost identical to minilite

[stugilmour]

Stu, thanks for posting. My minilites are 5 x 13's. It looks like they modified the design. They do not offer magnesium any longer. Are yours magnesium?
I checked the 26R style knockon spinners I'm cob smacked by the prices
.
James

Interesting. Mine are regular Ali, i think they are called the MINILITE EV2000. Bought them about 2 or 3 years ago through John Targett in Ohio. They seem to have the same steel hub insert as yours. Wonder if the cast hub size is a bit different between the 5" and 5 1/2" width; otherwise look the same as yours.

[CBUEB1771]

Pray tell me what is wrong with these..............?

Absolutely nothing. The reason I bought Minilites is to make sure my original steel wheels will always be available and in good shape.

[mark030358]

I bought. Set of 5x13 minilites. Much better than my steels but not without issues.
First run out, was go smacked to seerun out on the balancer, this down to painted hub flange. Second peg holes too small... Fixed with a dremmel to remove paint. Third excessive balance weights required over 100 grams on one wheel. However with these the car drives much better than before. Also I had the black/silver wheels. I only used auto glym car wax and took off a tiny bit of the silver finish, so be careful when waxing I have videos of all the above.

Cheers

Ps uhave also bought a set on bolt one for my S4. No issues with them

[holywood3645]

The total price for an new set of Minilites delivered to me in the US was $1050.

I spoke to Minilite and they said they would honor that price for lotuselan.net members until the new-year. Some remote areas may be additional $50 shipping. Various widths, diameters and bolt on configurations are available.

I asked about the knock-on insert and they said they will look at a re-design. Also they said they are looking at having affordable 26R style spinners made with extra clearance to the spokes, and will also work on Panasports. Hopefully help avoid damage to the spokes and look really cool.

Please PM me with request, and I shall pass along to my contact for this special pricing, they in turn they will deal directly with you.

Stu' apparently that partial open design peg drive hole was corrected a few years back.

I?m looking forward to seeing the affordable 26R style spinners. Presently they are between 400 to 450 UKP (from suppliers)

James

[stugilmour]

Stu' apparently that partial open design peg drive hole was corrected a few years back.


James

Interesting James, thanks for clearing up. I checked my invoice date, and my 5.5 x 13's were purchased first half of 2008, so that must be the difference.

Please keep us informed of any developments regarding a Minilite modified insert. Were you anticipating something shortly before you order? I would love to retrofit something that better matches the profile of my Nader Nuts, which I assume have the same angle as the spinners. Would obviously pay for them; after having one wheel nearly come off one can't be too safe.

Thanks for checking things out & posting.

[CBUEB1771]

I asked about the knock-on insert and they said they will look at a re-design.

What did you ask about and what was the response? Are they considering a conical seat for the knock-on nut that more closely resembles the seat in the pressed steel wheel? Regrading Stu's response, my three-ear nuts have a 90 degree cone angle, I'll check my old Nader nuts. I assume they will be the same as the pressed steel wheel did not change when the knock-on nuts changed for the US market.

[elancoupe]

Keep in mind that 26R and standard spinners are not the same thread. I had TTR specially thread a set of 26R spinners to fit standard hubs.

[gordont]

my 26R spinners came from Dave (BigValvehead) and fit my standard knock on hubs perfectly

[elancoupe]

my 26R spinners came from Dave (BigValvehead) and fit my standard knock on hubs perfectly

I believe that Dave had those made up speciallly, I remember his Ebay ad..

[vstibbard]

The 26r hub read is courser than the std knock on hub, i suspect due to use of alloy spinner v's the std spinner in bronze like material.

Cheers v

[abstamaria]

Gary your speadsheet does not have these listed.
I weighted both the Minilite and the Pansport 13x 5's knockoffs
It was no shock the Minlite was about 1 lb more than the Panasport.
11.08 Panasport
12.1 Minilite (Miniheavy)
James

I weighed a spare 26R wheel from TTR using a not-too-accurate scale for weighing suitcases ? about 4.3 kilos or about 9.5 pounds.That's for a 6" wheel with the steel pegs in place. The pegs for a 26R wheel are bolted on the wheel itself and are quite hefty.

About 15 years ago I posted a comparison I made between the standard wheel and the 26R wheel with tires on. The difference is quite large.

Original steel (KO) wheel with Dunlop SP Sports: 30 lbs.
Magnesium 6" 26R (KO) wheel with Dunlop CR65s: 21 lbs.

Andy

[holywood3645]

I was told magnesium is about a 33% weight savings over alum'
Minilite are not making those any more (in spite of what their website says). The cost apparenly is much too high. I'm not sure if any other companies are making magnesium for the non 26r cars?
James

[abstamaria]

Yes, they still make magnesium wheels, Frank. New wheels for the Dino and Lancia Stratos are still magnesium. Closer to home, I installed aftermarket magnesium wheels on my Lotis Elise some ten years ago.

The replacement Wobblies for the Lotus 23 are mostly magnesium, too.

Andy

[holywood3645]

Would it be possible to post some pictures of the 26R spinners posted here? If we could compare both types (the custom TT items for the standard elan) and the Proper 26R type. I think it might help. There may be interest by a few or us here to get the the '26R style' spinners that would work on normal hubs using Minilite or Panasport wheels.

Thanks
James