13 or 14 inch alloys for +2?

[david.g.chapman]

I am in the process of looking for alloy wheels on my +2, with standard rear springs.

I would like to go for 5.5J x 13 inch knock on 5 peg minilites (or a clone such as superlites) to preserve the ride and handling. Or go for the popular 6J x 14 inch size and pay a bit more as a second choice.

Are there any issues with fouling problems on these sizes? I am wary about the rears fouling on the wishbones and spring seat.

If the inner rim to hub mounting face distance is less than 118mm (measured on the old steel wheels) am I OK?

Dave Chapman

[bcmc33]

13" wheels need to have the rear wishbones ground away to make space.

Minilite recently offered me a set of 6x14 wheels with graphite centre & bright rim for the same price as the standard 13?, but they are too wide for my car. I shall have to go with the 5.5x14 wheels as I do not want to grind away the rear wishbones.

I?ll talk to them at the NEC Classic Motor Show next week before placing an order.

[CBUEB1771]

13" wheels need to have the rear wishbones ground away to make space.

That depends on the wheel width and offset. Years ago I bought a set of 13X6 Minilites that most definitely fouled the outboard ends of the rear wishbones. I later bought a set of 13X5 with 95 mm backspace when Minilite made that version available. The latter set clear the standard lower wishbone amply because the wheel rim is moved outboard in comparison to the standard +2 wheel. I'll have to double check the wheels to make sure I've got the backspace correct, I am working from memory right now. The 13X5.5 wheels have only recently been offered by Minilite.

[paddy]

I have a baby elan with some (awful) 1970s wolfrace slot alloys, 13 x 5.5 and a ~94mm backspace. The outboard ends of the wishbones just encroach inside the rims by a few mm and were ground down slightly by the PO (and the rim ground down as well) to prevent them fouling.

When I spoke to Minilite about replacements they said:

a) normally a 5.5 Minilite on that car has a larger backspace, to fit inside standard arches (mine has 26R arches) and thus the car needs the narrow spring conversion;

b) the rims do not foul on the wishbones, so I have to assume that the Minilites have a very slightly different rim profile to give a little extra clearance than on my wheels.

Paddy

[bcmc33]

I?m simply going on what people have advised when going to 13? Minilites + what sellers like TTR say.

IMHO 14? wheels look better that 13?.

There has been some discussion in past forum comments that bigger wheels with lower profile tyres spoil the roadholding characteristics of Elans.

A friend with 6x14? wheels on his Sprint says that the steering response is much improved compared to the steel 13? wheels with the ride and roadholding unaffected. He modified his Sprint to accommodate the 6x14? wheels that conveniently came his way ? I am not prepared to do such modifications, hence the 5.5x14? size I intend to use.
The only question remaining is what offset to use? Minilite want me to specify the dimension.

[paddy]

Hi,

For 2-seater Elan, with standard springs, 13x5.5" rims, 165/70 tyres, 94mm backspacing, I have about 5mm clearance between the tyre and the spring seat.

So, if you have standard springs, I think 95-100mm is the largest backspacing you can tolerate. With this, I believe you can't fit into a standard arch.

The TTR 5.5" wheels (eg his 26R replica wheels) have a much deeper backspacing in order to fit into the standard arch, and require the narrower spring conversion. I can't recall the exact backspacing, but I think it was around 115mm - Tony Thompson will be able to tell you exactly what you would have to do to get a 5.5" wheel into a standard arch.

Paddy

[Elanintheforest]

I have a set of 14 x 6 inch Revolutions for my BDA Plus 2. they fit straight on without modifications, but they have a trick. Each hub has a screw-on extension, which brings the wheel out by half an inch or so.

They're not obtainable now, but do turn up from time to time on eBay...I got mine there for ?170 the set. I haven't fitted them yet, but the previous owner had them on his Plus 2 in the 70s for several years without fuss. I was a little concerned about the 'extension' pieces...any thoughts?

Here's a couple of grotty pics of the wheels & extension bits. I'l take some better ones if anybody is interested.

Mark

[david.g.chapman]

Thanks for that valuable input, chaps.

Minilite have just offered me 5.5J x 13 wheels with a backspace of 105mm, for ?102.50 each plus vat (17.5%) inc. delivery.

I have taken a few measurements, and can confirm that a backspace of 98mm is about the most allowable before the thicker alloy rims contact the wishbones - so it's probably no go for the 13 inch wheels.

Superlite wheels of the same size cost ?62 + vat , but that are out of stock of the 5 peg knock-ons. They will be available again until around March 09.

I will now be trying 5.5J or 6J x 14's, or asking Minilite if thay can reduce the backspace, or define the inner rim profile with respect to the steel wheel.

Dave Chapman.

[collins_dan]

Keep us informed as to how it goes. I'll be facing the 14" or 13" very shortly. I have an S4 with the narrower spring conversion. Currently running 185/70/13's on standard steel wheels. Dan

[bcmc33]

As a metter of interest, don?t forget the front wheel space between the tyre and anti-roll bar.
I have an 18mm gap between the rear spring abutment and standard 13? tyre and 15mm between the front tyre and roll bar.
I am in process of refurbishing a steering gear and plan to add shim spacers to make the front gap 20mm.

I?ve been advised by Minilite that the range of backspace for 5.5x14? wheels is 90.5 to 115.5mm. This is why I have to be sure of my calculations before I advise Minilite what size I need.
I plan to recheck all my figures this week, and probably again next week, before seeing Minilite at the NEC.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi maybe I've missread but there is one point missing regarding the wider 6" x 14" wheels mentioned in the initial posting.
Generally speaking 14" should not cause a wishbone fouling problem.
13" Dia. Alloy wheels generally have a smaller inside diameter i.e. greater wall thickness as opposed to pressed steel wheels. Differing offsets will not necessarily reduce this problem.
What has not been mentioned is fouling the suspension springs.
Generally speaking with 6" wheels a change from standard to 2.25" Dia. springs will be necessary in order to clear the inner rim.
With 13"Dia. Alloys I would suggest "Try before you buy"

Cheers
John

[CBUEB1771]

I checked my 13X5.0 Minilites last night. Memory had failed me as the back spacing is 100.0 mm. These do clear the rear wishbone and standard rear spring pans. I'll snap some photos over the weekend and post them so you can see the clearances. I believe that Spyder now has a rear wisbone with spherical rod ends at the outboard end for both the Elan and +2. This modification should significantly increase the clearance to a 13 inch alloy wheel. Spyder has not posted them to their web site yet.

[paddy]

Is this on the +2S? The maximum permissible backspacing is different on the +2 in comparison with the 2 seater.

Paddy

[CBUEB1771]

Is this on the +2S? The maximum permissible backspacing is different on the +2 in comparison with the 2 seater.

Paddy

Sorry, I should have clarified that I was talking about my +2S although that is the subject of this thread. The +2 hubs set the wheel considerably further outboard compared to the Elan hubs, needed because much of the width increase on the +2 wheels is to the inboard.

[CBUEB1771]

I finally spent a bit of time crawling around under the +2 with my camera last night. The first image shows the 13X5 Minilite with 100 mm backspace. I can easily run my little finger between the wheel and outboard end of the wishbone at both the front and rear of the hub carrier. That is a good and comfortable 3/8" of clearance. The second image is the 13X6 Minilite with 112 mm backspace. While the larger wheel doesn't actually touch the wishbone, the clearance is in thousandths of an inch. This means that under normal running and cornering loads the larger wheel would almost certainly foul the wishbone frequently. Both of these wheels have less backspace than the standard steel wheel and provide clearance to the standard spring pan. I checked the front and on a +2 the ends of the antiroll bar don't come anywhere near the wheel rim.