New Estoril production run?

New Estoril production run?

Author
Discussion

SonicHedgeHog

Original Poster:

2,534 posts

181 months

Saturday 1st May 2010
quotequote all
Has anyone ever looked into getting a new batch of Estoril wheels made? The reason I ask is that they are still a popular design, but the 15" fronts are proving increasingly difficult to get tyres for. If enough people were interested I would imagine it would be possible to get a set of four 16"ers made for sensible money. Thoughts?

MPoxon

5,329 posts

172 months

Sunday 2nd May 2010
quotequote all
I would be up for a set of 16s as well.

SonicHedgeHog

Original Poster:

2,534 posts

181 months

Sunday 2nd May 2010
quotequote all
Due to the overwhelming response to my original post (cheers Matt) I'm going to run with this for a little while. Does anyone know who made the Estoril wheel for TVR?

Ribol

11,199 posts

257 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
Don't know who made them but they were made in Italy.

SonicHedgeHog

Original Poster:

2,534 posts

181 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
Ribol said:
Don't know who made them but they were made in Italy.
Nice one. That's a start. Can we now narrow our search radius to something smaller than Italy?

Zumbruk

7,848 posts

259 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
Might be worth speaking to this chap..?

http://www.mb-racingwheels.com/index.htm

(Not that I want someone to start making Estorils again, when I have a set salted away in my garage.)

MPoxon

5,329 posts

172 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
SonicHedgeHog said:
Ribol said:
Don't know who made them but they were made in Italy.
Nice one. That's a start. Can we now narrow our search radius to something smaller than Italy?
laugh

MPoxon

5,329 posts

172 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
I am actually quite suprised that there is not a company making these wheels already. Whether you like the orginal Estorils or not there are a large number of Griff / Chim owners who do not want to change from thier original Estorils but are getting fed up with limited availabily of 15" tyres and the fact that they are not Z rated.

I am seriously considering ugrading to 16" Estorils on the front due to the tyre issues and of course the possibilities of larger brakes.

The issue is that Estorils are very rare, and as for finding a pair of 16s on there own for sale, well they are as rare as rocking horse st!!! Given the option to buy new Estorils I would most certainly purhcase 4 x 16s and fit these to the car. I would then sell the 15s and get the 2 orignal 16s refurbed and keep as spares.

I will be following this thread with great interest. The fate of my new 16 Estorils now lies with you Sonic, don't let me down wink

Edited for speeeling

Edited by MPoxon on Monday 3rd May 16:05

MPoxon

5,329 posts

172 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
I was toying with the idea of getting a 105 series Alfa Romeo a while back and there is a company called AlfaHolics who make a wide range of new and upgraded parts for these cars.

Interestinly enough they supply alloy wheels for classic Alfa Romeos:

http://www.alfaholics.com/racing_and_competition/p...

In the description it states:

The wheel is manufactured in a state of the art UK wheel factory which already supplies OE wheels to Aston Martin, Lotus & Bentley. Quality is like no other previously seen in the classic car aftermarket wheel world!

I do not think said wheel manufacturer would be interested in producing a set based on a group buy thread on PH but I would assume the best way to see new Estorils available would be to get an existing TVR parts supplier (such as ACT, Clever Trevor etc) to contact this manufacturer and start selling these items via their shop.

Surley there must be more demand for Estorils than Alfa GTA alloys?!


griff50tvr

320 posts

244 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
For the same reason (lack of availability of matching set of tyres for the 15"/16" combo) I would be interested in 16" Estorils but ..... it all depends on price. IIRC breakers are looking for £250 each due to supply/demand ratio but the price would have to undercut that by a large margin TBH.


markreilly

795 posts

171 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all


Another option is the above,original TVR wheels (16inch) available in 5 studd from Neil at Dulfords.would it be cheaper to change your hubbs to 5 stud and fit these whilst doing a brake upgrade ?

Mr Plow

1,193 posts

227 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
Put me down for a set, Price dependant of course.

Sorry I can't help with the sourcing of a supplier.


SonicHedgeHog

Original Poster:

2,534 posts

181 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
Good to see some interest. I'll blast off a few emails and see what I can come up with. Will keep you posted.

Mr Haribo

318 posts

188 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
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I was told the Estoril's were made by Oz Racing

Ribol

11,199 posts

257 months

Monday 3rd May 2010
quotequote all
SonicHedgeHog said:
Ribol said:
Don't know who made them but they were made in Italy.
Nice one. That's a start. Can we now narrow our search radius to something smaller than Italy?
hehe

Have you looked at the markings cast into the wheels themselves?

LordGrover

33,531 posts

211 months

Tuesday 4th May 2010
quotequote all
If you're going to the trouble of getting 16" made, maybe 17" would be a better choice? Use the existing 16" on the fronts and the new 17" on the rears - retaining the preferred nose-down look.

NB - not interested myself but if anyone knows of a set of Camille Gotti Axia let me know. thumbup

V8 GRF

7,294 posts

209 months

Tuesday 4th May 2010
quotequote all
LordGrover said:
If you're going to the trouble of getting 16" made, maybe 17" would be a better choice? Use the existing 16" on the fronts and the new 17" on the rears - retaining the preferred nose-down look.

NB - not interested myself but if anyone knows of a set of Camille Gotti Axia let me know. thumbup
Problem with that is that while the 16" moulds probably still exist and getting a run from them might be a possibility to get them made as 17" would need a new mould and all the associated (high) costs with that.


SonicHedgeHog

Original Poster:

2,534 posts

181 months

Tuesday 4th May 2010
quotequote all
What I'm going to try and do is find out if a new run is financially viable. Once that has been established I'll start another thread to get opinions on the best sizes and if necessary try and track down the original moulds. Someone must have them somewhere.

2Munkys

1,228 posts

236 months

Tuesday 4th May 2010
quotequote all
Have someone pour me a set in magnesium please.

crackedfinger

1,551 posts

228 months

Tuesday 4th May 2010
quotequote all
Great idea sonic. One thing that springs to my mind is that an alloy of this design must be one of the cheapest to produce, it's very simple compared to other alloys. To produce the original design a license will be needed by the design right holder, unless they have gone bust. If that 's a problem, then a 'slight' change is all that is needed to avoid the design right issue.