S2 wheel upgrade options

[Saied]

My Elise R is currently running on the standard OEM wheels which i'd like to change for something lighter.

Swifts Performance have for sale a set of the lightweight forged Lotus wheels shod with a new set of Yokohamas. I believe these rims come as standard when specifying the 'Sport' pack on a new Elise / Exige. What are peoples' opinions on these wheels?

If I were to put these wheels on, would the extra mechanical grip on the front end with the wider tyre require any modifications to be done, such as upgrading toelinks?

Changing to these wheels would see a total unsprung weight saving of 7.8kg by my calculations. According to the SELOC wiki, the forged rims weigh 5.5 kg front and 7 kg rear. Although I am keen on keeping with an OEM approved product, are there any other wheels lighter than the forged Lotus rim?

Also, any opinions very welcome on what colour wheel would look best on my S2 in storm titanium.


cheers


Justin

[Esprit]

I believe over at Elisetalk a lot of the 111R boys have been using the TRMotorsports 8-spoke forged rims... might be worth looking at.

[crackthatoff]

theres some s2 exige wheels in black with new a048's on ebay ( or was it the classifieds on here, I can't remember) it was only the other day, have a mooch round.

[Ikemi]

Whilst at the Weston-Super-Mare Lotus meet there was a 111R fitted with 240R alloys, which really looked the part They are much lighter than the standard alloys, but do cost a fair bit ... Although I have no idea how much - You would have to get in contact with Lotus Sport.

Edited by Ikemi on Monday 13th August 00:26

[Saied]

Ikemi said:

Whilst at the Weston-Super-Mare Lotus meet there was a 111R fitted with 240R alloys, which really looked the part They are much lighter than the standard alloys, but do cost a fair bit ... Although I have no idea how much - You would have to get in contact with Lotus Sport.

Edited by Ikemi on Monday 13th August 00:26

Just looked at an Elise Sport Racer in the PH classifieds fitted with those Lotus forged rims - I reckon they look the absolute dogs danglies Decided I prefer the look of silver wheels on my Storm Elise now

If the SELOC wiki is accurate, the 240R alloys are slightly heavier than the 'sport pack' forged jobbies, probably 'cos the latter are smaller.

Anyone have any views on the feasability of magnesium wheels? The BTCC brigade run these, wonder how much lighter they are?

[shangani]

Magnesium wheels are not considered a great idea on a road car - too brittle for use on bumpy roads and need regular checks and maintenance. A search on seloc may be handy in this regard.

The Lotus forged wheels seem to be very good (the ones you mentioned), though better to get them in the exige front widths rather than elise sports racer widths, that way you could run them on track with 195 fronts - eg yoko 048's. THey are strong and very light.

The TMR wheels are the lightest available - none of the drawbacks of the magnesium alloys. They are expensive however.

[Grinzzz]

What shangers said...either the 240R or the forged alloys are great, if you go for the latter get the fronts in exige sizes, only costs a few quid more and adds an extra kilo or so.