Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Anyone with a desire to look into having 14" steel wheels

Seems I would prefer them!

Anyone else?

thanks

james

Hi James,

I'm not interested because I have 6" x 14" alloy wheels fitted to my S4 & have the original 13" steel wheels safely tucked away.

However I have some experience of 14" wheels regarding relatively poor tyre choice / availability.

You have not mentioned what rim width you may be contemplating & to which models of Elans it would apply to.

My guess is, it is the ever reducing choice of tyre availability that is driving your quest, so do you have a list of available tyres to fit the rim size you're contemplating.

Sorry, I don't wish to sound negative but from my experience the choice of suitably "narrow" 14" (even 15") tyres is also pretty limited.

Cheers
John

16 would make sense, who's the tester with ko's (then again, why would this matter?)

14 is better, 15 would be better still

I need new tyres for my +2 and this begins the debate for me. 1k into tyres or 2k for better traction/grip

if there were 16's. what size is Leno running


thanks

based on 175/80r13...you could ge a 185/55r16 which calculates to be the same rolling length.....
not sure how a low profile tyre would look tho'

I'm also guessing youre changing the hub.....Ive not seen a 16" knock on... (yet)

h20hamelan wrote:16 would make sense, who's the tester with ko's (then again, why would this matter?)

14 is better, 15 would be better still

I need new tyres for my +2 and this begins the debate for me. 1k into tyres or 2k for better traction/grip

if there were 16's. what size is Leno running


thanks

I'm afraid I can't follow the sense in this, your latest post.
I thought you wanted to have some 14" steel wheels made & now you're talking all sort of diameters.

Have you thought about the massive cost of making press dies for steel wheels & the number of wheel sales needed to make the whole thing viable?
Maybe I've got hold of the wrong end of the stick & you are able to finance this project yourself; if so, my apologies.

Hello, It seems the common complaint is Tyre availability, Good Quality that is, for 13 or 14 and yes I guess 15 too.
"my experience the choice of suitably "narrow" 14" (even 15") tyres is also pretty limited"

So I uttered 16" in hopes that, if there were interest in Steel wheels. That would be an option.

I suppose if Panasport builds alloy for a certain number of potential customers, "making press dies for steel wheels & the number of wheel sales needed"...

If people wanted Steels made, would it make sense to build them in 13" when you can't get good Tyres. So what about 14" that option does not seem too much better. 15 would be a step up. Guess if it was my money, I would prefer the best quality tyre for the price. Hence 16.

I am in for 16's steel.
or alloy? anyone!

Super-low profile tyres, irrespective of the grip levels would have a significant effect on the feel of the car due to their stiffer sidewalls. The suspension was designed for the flexibility and other characteristics of the tyres available at the time and when one factor undergoes a significant change it might change the whole feel of the car. I'm not saying it would be better or worse but I suspect it would be different. Just food for thought.

Moved the topic to the Wheels and Tires forum.

I would be interested in reproductions of the original steel wheel in 14". While the selection of 14" tires isn't great, it is better then 13". If you go to 15", I think the profile would get too low and the weight would be too high.

I currently have 13" plus 2 or 5.5" width wheels on the my S4, so 5.5" width would be fine. It is possible that you could go to 6" as clearance of the bolt head on the wishbone should be less of an issue with the extra 1/2" of clearance. Thanks, Dan

Have I missed something? Last time I looked there was loads of choice for 13" tyres

You'll need very deep pockets for 16" tyres if you can even get them.

Have you done the calcs to see what would even fit?

Depends on where you live. In the US the choice is dismal. There are more choices in 20" than there are in 13".
... and don't those look ridiculous on most anything?

If this is all about grip, then its all down to wider tyres which give a greater contact patch. You're not going to get a set of 225's on an Elan or +2 though!

Going with lower profile tyres will upset the ride and handling characteristics and as is always the case, without changing dampers and springs, will reduce grip thorugh a harsher ride.

If its about looks, then stick a set of Porsche rims on a Golf GTi...

Well spoken!