14 inch minilite wheels

[greg40green]

Anyone running their 2 seater Elan on 14 inch BOLT ON minilites?
If so can you can you give me some advice on where you obtained the wheels from , what if any difference there is between 13 and 14 inch ie ride , what tyres you are running , any issues with the tyres touching the arches etc.
Much appreciated .
Greg.

[2sheds+1]

I'm running my ?lan on 14" minilite style wheels supplied by Spyder Engineering I have 2 sets I'm using 185 x 60 x 14 michelin pilot exalto on one set, soft side walls comfortable on road and 185 x 60 x 14 yokahama A048 on the other set bit stiffer good grip. I'm using + 2 offset of 23mm which gives me a slightly wider track and have adjusted my arches to suit I understand that the standard 9mm offset should fit and still just clear the wheel arches that might be dependent on ride height I would talk to Spyder

Tony

[elansprint71]

I really would be surprised if anyone on this forum is running on 14"/185 bolt-on rims with standard wheel arches.
185 seems to be an impossible fit.

[2sheds+1]

Does Alan Thomas run 185 x 14 with standard arches on his supersprint?

[msd1107]

185X60-14 has the same rolling diameter as 185X70-13 and I have run that for many years on my '68 S4. Clearances are tight, and I had to grind away offending fiberglass on the rear wheel arches. These tires have the same rolling diameter as 165-13 which is +2 standard and a common upgrade for standard Elans.

However, S1-S3 series cars have a tighter fit. And different cars have different clearance problems.

David
1968 36-7988

[gearbox]

I was given a new set of 14" x 6" Two Gates KO Minilites that Spyder used to distribute, but don't recommend them. Brand new these had porosity issues and had to use tubes to hold air. But for free, what did I expect? But did a lot of research on tire size and fit for my Elan and it seems that the 180 x 60 x 14 was the max size that would fit under the stock wheel wells, but was hit or miss. Some cars would work and others required fender lip surgery from mild to major. Also learned that some of our bodies are not quite centered and one side would be tighter than the other. I opted for a set of 175 x 65 x 14 that matched the rolling circumfrence of the original 155 x 80 x 13 tire so the speedo would read correctly and everyone who used this size had no clearance issues. But with this said, not many options on tires. I ended up with a set of Kumo Solus tires from Tire Rack. I had a 13" x 80 x 155 on my other Elan and it was pretty good on the street. When cold, the tires would give you a very controllable slide on fast turns and when they heated up, the car hooked up well enough for sprited drives which for me was good enough for a street car. Plus at $50 bucks a pop, they were cheap and lasted a real long time. I haven't put the body on the car yet, but it looks like it shouldn't foul the fender arches.

[greg40green]

Thanks for all your input.
No decision made yet but I'm considering 175 / 70 / 13 with 120 LBS TTR 2.5 springs instead of what I have presently 175 / 60 / 13 Yokohama with 100 LBS 2.5 TTR springs which sag somewhat with 2 in the car , when you get out it then sits high.
I have found that 175 / 80 / 13 profile tyres have a surprisingly high profile which appear far to tall for my S4 arches. I considered going 80 profile and stiffer 120 LBS springs the 80 profile tyres giving some compensation for the stiffer springs.
One concern I have had when going higher profile is the side wall strength of tyres , I am informed by my tyre suppliers that 'all' premium brands ie Toyo , Bridgestone , Firestone , Michelin , Avon etc a have X4 ply wall thickness ?
I may soon have X4 Yokohama 175 / 60 / / 13 tyres for sale with minimal running in miles on them after the total restoration on my car, if anyone's interested drop me a PM.
Thanks again.

[Spyder fan]

Does Alan Thomas run 185 x 14 with standard arches on his supersprint?

He most certainly does and my arches are standard.

[collins_dan]

Do you have adjustable ride height? I think that would be critical to fitting 185s. I have 175-70-R13 on 5.5" plus 2 steel wheels on my S4 and the height under the sills is a consistent 6" front to back. I have not trimmed anything from the wheel arch, but can barely fit my fingers between the arch and the tire. Dan

[Spyder fan]

Hi Dan,
Yes, adjustable spring perches all round. It's set up quite low with very little gap but I haven't experienced any problems.

As others have mentioned, sometimes a little surgery is required to the inside of the rear arches to allow clearance.

[Bushwacker]

For those of you running 14 inchers, what rim width are you using? 5, 5.5, or 6 inch?
From what I've read in researching the wheel/tire package, you can put 185 section tires on any of the three rims, just depends on what you want the curve of the sidewall to be. While we're at it, if you know the offset or backspace needed for bolt on wheels that would be great.

A year or so ago I contacted Minilite directly via email to discuss wheel options and they said they can build them any way you want. It's your own happy little world. They didn't seem too terribly expensive either, even with shipping stateside.

Does anyone feel a weight penalty running the 14 inch 185 tire combo over a 13 inch with say 175/70-13s ? I can't imagine it would be too noticeable in a fun use road car that won't see the track.

Thoughts?

[msd1107]

The early 13" Minilite wheels were quite light. The current ones are probably heavier to accommodate heavier cars and for increased durability.

Some years ago when I inquired about the weight of 14" Minilite wheels, I was quite dismayed at how much they weighed. It was enough to put me off.

Since the tyres on our Elans are on the lighter side, the increased wheel weight is probably going to be noticeable to some of Elan owners.

If you are running knock-on wheels, your choices are quite limited. But bolt-on wheels have other choices, including SuperLite which has 13", 14", and 15" aluminum wheels in three weight ranges as well as a magnesium 26R look alike, all with your choice of wheel width and offset..

For tyres, you could use the relatively standard 155-13 or 165-13, 175/70-13 or 185/70-13, 175/60-14 or 185/60-14, or 185/55-15. These all have rolling diameters close to our stock wheels, so that your speedometer calibration remains roughly as accurate as before.

As usual, the weight of your pocket book probably has a lot to say about just how lightweight a tyre/wheel combination you wind up with.

David
1968 36/7988

[Stratosboy]

my car has 14" Minilite's supplied by Spyder, with Yokohama 185/55/R14 - S. drive tyres.
Mark B, who set the rolling chassis up did quite a lot of research and needed to shave a bit of fibreglass off the rear inner wheel well at the top rear, to give enough clearance.

No other modifications to arches needed.
My car is still sitting very high and needs to be lowered when I get geometry done.
it's still not finished!!