Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I have a problem with my wheels. I think the border rim is too big. Is it normal? My tyres are 165 80 R13.

that doesn't look right at all......
I know that modern rubber is very tight over the +2 alloy but it should still meet the edge.....
was the rim greased?......that sort of pink slip stuff they use?
have you tried using some form of lubricant and over inflating the tyre.......with the wheel off of course......
it needs that good 'pop' sound which let you know the bead is in the groove..........

just a thought........not sure Ibe happy driving with the tyres on like that......

Looks pretty much like mine although mine are consistently painted black so not so obvious. Here's a picture. And they are 165 13 Vredestein Gordon Sauer

It's completely normal! They are original alloys and have a wide rim lip. The reproduction ones have a slimmer rim and therefore the wheels sit further into the tyre like a modern alloy

Hmm, never noticed that. Paint them black and then see how they look. Are there any problems with balance or ???

Here is mine with ~1990 michelin mx4 165r13. (Yes they will be replaced...)

They run great. Came nicely painted black but mounters tend to tear them up and have trouble mounting tires. Gordon Sauer

mbell wrote:Here is mine with ~1990 michelin mx4 165r13. (Yes they will be replaced...)

mine look exactly the same.....tight to the edge of the rim.....
on both the inner and outer edges......(altho' I have 175s on)

What do you think is the best option: restore the original wheels or buy a new set?

With a new set the problem is solved.

One of mine was the same they kept tearing tyres up on it the others were no problem, I stuck it in the lathe and turned around 4mm off outer surface, never been a problem since.

Dieschelan wrote:What do you think is the best option: restore the original wheels or buy a new set?

With a new set the problem is solved.

there is no option now Im afraid.....
you will need to restore the original wheels.....
there are no 'new' alloy wheels left and the only company that did make them no longer has the tooling (it has broken....beyond repair....and would cost in excess of ?20,000 to remanufacture(so Ive been told)..........and that's a lot of wheels to sell at say ?100 to get your money back)

theelanman wrote:there is no option now Im afraid.....
you will need to restore the original wheels.....
there are no 'new' alloy wheels left and the only company that did make them no longer has the tooling (it has broken....beyond repair....and would cost in excess of ?20,000 to remanufacture(so Ive been told)..........and that's a lot of wheels to sell at say ?100 to get your money back)

Interesting Gareth, are you talking about the ones that were available via Paul Matty?

theelanman wrote:mine look exactly the same.....tight to the edge of the rim.....
on both the inner and outer edges......(altho' I have 175s on)

There is quite a decent lip (~4mm) on my wheel that might not show well in the photo as it is black and the side walls are quite curved which further hide it. To me they look similar to Gordon's but not as bad at the OP.

It could be that the tyre don't fit properly. There are tyres that fit better than others.

Robbie693 wrote:

theelanman wrote:there is no option now Im afraid.....
you will need to restore the original wheels.....
there are no 'new' alloy wheels left and the only company that did make them no longer has the tooling (it has broken....beyond repair....and would cost in excess of ?20,000 to remanufacture(so Ive been told)..........and that's a lot of wheels to sell at say ?100 to get your money back)

Interesting Gareth, are you talking about the ones that were available via Paul Matty?

Yes.....Paul Matty et al........no-one has new anymore........it took me 18 months to find a decent set for mine