After market wheels for V8

[SimonN]

Hi All,

I am looking at buying a V8 Esprit and unless I am unable to find a 2002+ model I will be looking to swap the alloy wheels as soon as possible. In my opinion the alloy wheels of Esprit's do not do the cars appearance justice.

The question I have is what sizes and offsets etc do the V8 wheels come in.

Will finding after market wheels be difficult to source due to the offsets etc. Are there any hubcentric adaptors available if this is the case.

Thanks

[Simon350S]

check out the Esprit Fact File or LEW for the info mate

[Iconic Ride]

Hi, Simon. Just want to chip in my 2 cents (pence?) on the Esprit wheels.

Like you, when I first saw what was to become my next car I, too, felt a bit underwhelmed by the wheels. In today's market, with it's heavy emphasis on "bling," the stock Esprit wheels (mine happen to be the OZ "Saturns") can seem, at first, to be a bit subdued. I confess, one of the first thoughts to cross my mind while in the process of procuring the car was "what aftermarket wheels do I want to replace these with?"

As I drove the car into my driveway, my older (21) son happened to be nearby. The first words out of his mouth were "I really like those wheels!" I thought he was referring to the car in the generic slang venacular way. A few moments of discussion later, I realized that he meant the actual wheels themselves! Now, just because a close relative expresses a favorable opinion on an item of interest is no reason, on its own, to change one's mind. But it did give me pause.

My "rush" to replace the wheels subsided substantially, and after a time I came to see the inherent beauty, simplicity, and functionality of the OZ design. They are not called "OZ Racing" for nothing! More to the point, they compliment (in my opinion, of course) the vehicle in a manner that does not detract from the classic timelessness of the car. One's overall visual impression is not needlessly "focused" on the wheels alone, as on so many other example on the road today.

Don't get me wrong. I can walk into a "wheel shop" and start frothing at the mouth with the best of them. It's just that with the Esprit, it's already so close to perfection in its visual appeal that it becomes almost "criminal" to alter its historical styling too much.

Incidentally, your desire to acquire a 2002+ or later indicates to me that you favor the "Novas." And that I completely understand. They are beautiful wheels, and I have never faulted anyone for updating an older Esprit with them. But they represent the acceptable "end of the spectrum in bling" for the Esprit, again in my opinion.

Regards,

John

[mwmackenzie]

I have Azev M on mine in 18-19"..

Mark

[Bibs]

You're looking more and more like a girl each day!

[Kimbers]

I agree. Mark will you go out with me?

[superdavelotus]

Hi Simon,

You can get alloy wheels though the options are very much as most wheel companies are only interested in sets of 4. With the Esprit it's two sets of two which will mean the price really jumps up. If you look on LEW, they have a few companies which sells wheels for Esprit.

Compomotives are a UK manufacturer that makes wheels to suit the Esprit. You need to buy 10" rears and 8" fronts. Same width tyres do fit on front even though the rim should be 8.5". Not many manufacturers make half size widths.

My friend has just ordered some aftermarket wheels for his V8 from a local wheel shop. He has AWI Monoblocks on at the moment. I'll be asking anyone if they are interested in buying them soon. They have recently been refurbed and come with tyres (non branded ones).

Hope this is of some use.

Dave

[mangel]

Yep, very Girlie!!

Nice wheels though!!

In answer to the wheels question, Compomotive do some nice ones.

When I've got a few sapre minutes I'm going to investogate the posibility of wheel spacers/adapters to change the stud pattern to something Jap (Supra etc) which would give a much better selection of wheels. Just never have time to investigate!!

[karluk29]

my set are the only ones to fit an esprit BUT BUT BUT, denis is ya man at dvr wheels in belgium,

he owns the last esprit (i think) and owns the company. the wheels on his v8 are stunning, and if you

want to ship from the states they do some AMAZING rims, the max size your looking at are 20"s on the

rear and 19"s on the front. i run 19"s and 18"s.

look up member DVR on member search.

[Bibs]

I believe Denis sold DVR some time ago matey.

[mwmackenzie]

Thank you gents ... I'm particularly enjoying the big boobies and blonde hair... A nice change from my short dark hair and sculpted pecs hahahahaha..

Kimbers, tempted as I am I'm going to have to pass as I believe your only after one thing...

Karl if yours are the only ones to fit the Esprit do mine not fit?? look to fit fine in my pic? hehehe

Mark

Edited October 14, 2008 by mwmackenzie

[karluk29]

MARK YOU MUPPET LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mine are masitaly wheels iirc denis had them made for his showcar and the factory went up in

a puff of smaoke and they never made anymore sets that were esprit specific.

all that skirt wearing north of the border is getting to your brain mr mackenzie LMAO

(p.s. that wing looks shite, oh yeah double psychology)

Edited October 14, 2008 by karluk29

[SimonN]

Thanks for the replies.

I still am unable to find the offsets needed for the Esprit at LEW.

OK so I know that if I go 19 inches at the rear they should be around 10 inches wide and for the fronts 18x8 inches. Anyone know the ET no. i.e the offset required?

Whilst my fave Esprit wheels are the sport 350 wheels, I would settle for the OZ novas as fitted on the 2002+ cars.

However, ideally I would like to have some thin multispokes as fitted on the Gallardo Superleggera or those as fitted on the 430 Scuderia. I would also want the wheels in a grey/anthracite colour and not silver nor too dark.

What are the chances of sourcing such wheels or similar wheels?

Edited October 14, 2008 by SimonN

[matk]

Why don't you just buy Sport 350 wheels? They're still available I think from the factory?

[shadeone]

SimonN

The correct v8 dimensions you are looking for are:

17 x 8.5 fronts with +19.0 offset (maximum diameter would be 19 for the front but expect the possiblity of rubbing)

18 x 10 rears with +17.0 offset (maximum 20s)

there is a nice visual offset calculator here that lets you play with wheel and tire sizes and offsets and compare the original to a new set of wheels that you find to make sure that the dimensions will end up being the same:

http://www.bigcustomwheels.com/rt_specs.jsp

There are a ton of companies out there that make three piece forged wheels that can match the Esprit's 5 X 108 bolt pattern so you dont have to use adapters... Iforged, Boze/ZE Forged, Eforged, Forgeline, HRE, Jline, etc...

I know as a fact that Iforged and Boze / ZE Forged have done wheels for our cars before and know what they are doing with offsets and correct widths and such. Their three piece wheels are done with an inner shell, the wheel face and then the outer shell, or else they also offer the majority of their styles in a 2 piece welded design that has the entire wheel shell and then the face welded inside... this is a little cheaper if you are looking to go that route. you wont have the little "rivets" that go all around the outsid of the wheel but you can have fake ones added for the correct look... keep in mind though, if you do go with the two piece design, they do not do the half inch increments and you will have to go with 18x8 on the front instead of 18x8.5... they adjust the offset so that the rims still retain the same depth visually however...

Let me know if you need any more help... Ive spent the past year or two looking at wheels and pulling my hair out with the millions of choices out there!

in terms of the multi thin spoke, iforged has a few that would be perfect for you:

as do boze / ze forged:

keep in mind you can do custom painted/powdercoated centers or whole wheels with these as well and iforged has a NICE anthracite color!

shade

Edited October 14, 2008 by shadeone

[SimonN]

Thanks for the info.

I actually do not want the split rim style but want the spokes to be attached to the outer rim like the Superleggera or Scuderia wheels. I also do not want the rivets but prefer a simple look.

I didnt know the factory still sells Sport 350 wheels. Is this definitely the case. It might be the easiest option.

However I wouldnt mind trying to source wheels that are identical to the superleggera or scuderia ones.

Even the basic OZ ultralegerra wheels would do except they do not come in 10inch widths for the rears. I also doubt their offsets work for the Esprit either.

Anyone know where I can buy non split rim multi spokes that would fit the Esprit?

[shadeone]

well here ya go man:

http://oempl.us/index.php?main_page=produc...products_id=752

with some adapters you could make it work, but I dont know about $4,995 per wheel!!!! and they might look kinda skinny on the esprit hehe

how about the Enkei FN-18 in gunmetal?

They come in 18x9.5 (close to the ideal 10 inch wide) for the rears... with either +25 or +42 offset

and 18x8.5 for the fronts (perfect) with either +24, +35 or +42 offset...

they run about $180-200 per wheel which is GREAT! they might be on the heavy side however, and I couldnt find any sites that listed its weight. thats the main reason three piece is so great is because of the weight savings. all of these one piece rims, unless they are some super-company like Oz, are going to be pretty heavy...

The guy at http://www.wheeladapter.com/ can make the adapters to go from the 5x108 bolt pattern to fit any other bolt pattern you want but the thinnest he can go is 25mm (about an inch) so take tha into consideration when getting your sizes down if you plan on going the adapter route...

this is the same route that this guy went with:

His are Voxx Misanos in 17x8 on the front and 18x9 on the rear.... the offsets for both were +40mm so the spacers/adapters pushed them right out to where they needed to be... that car could definitely use a tiny bit of lowering though if you ask me...

shade

Edited October 14, 2008 by shadeone

[jfitz981]

Ah. the topic of aftermarket wheels! The old saying you get what you pay for really holds true in aftermarket wheels. Make sure you do a search on here as well as there are several posts on here regarding this. Look at the companies that shade listed and see if they make the style wheel you desire. It is actually awesome to have a nice set of updated wheels and be able to keep and preserve the factory originals. The originals are not that easy to find and will only get more difficult over time. This was one of my reasons for getting new wheels.

Good luck.

Jason

Edited October 14, 2008 by jfitz981

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Hi, Simon. Just want to chip in my 2 cents (pence?) on the Esprit wheels.

Like you, when I first saw what was to become my next car I, too, felt a bit underwhelmed by the wheels.... My "rush" to replace the wheels subsided substantially, and after a time I came to see the inherent beauty, simplicity, and functionality of the OZ design..... they compliment (in my opinion, of course) the vehicle in a manner that does not detract from the classic timelessness of the car.... Don't get me wrong. I can walk into a "wheel shop" and start frothing at the mouth with the best of them. It's just that with the Esprit, it's already so close to perfection in its visual appeal that it becomes almost "criminal" to alter its historical styling too much.

Incidentally, your desire to acquire a 2002+ or later indicates to me that you favor the "Novas." And that I completely understand. They are beautiful wheels, and I have never faulted anyone for updating an older Esprit with them. But they represent the acceptable "end of the spectrum in bling" for the Esprit, again in my opinion.

I absolutely second, agree, concurr and wholeheartedly echo John's remarks on this! B) Sorry to be completely unhelpful and a total killjoy here...

I know several people on this forum have put non-Esprit wheels on their cars but I personally have always thought they looked best with the wheel they had assigned to the originally... But if you're going to do it, go with S350 wheels, or the magnesios or the 02 V8 ones... Then again, you're completely within your rights to do whatever you want as well.. It is your car of course! And none of our blooming business and all the rest of it:

But tell me, honestly - is this not the greatest scene you've ever seen!

Edited October 14, 2008 by EspritMiltonKeynes

[Esprit V8]

My opinion is:

the AWI wheels are the best looking at the Esprit.

[Vulcan Grey]

I second the AWI's!

My car

Photoshop to grey

[Günter]

Travis, your gray rim version looks like an stealth military prototype (or an UFO on the ground). That's cool man ! I would love to have those photo-shop skills..

Can you 'shop' this in smoked rear lights, [side]-indicators and of course -my AWI's in satin/matt black !?

Edited October 14, 2008 by G

[superdavelotus]

They are the same type of wheels my friend is selling when gets his new wheels. Make me an offer and they have recently been refurbished and come with tyres.

I do like the look of the AWI's!

Dave

ps, they dark grey looks great on a contrasting coloured car. The silver looks better on your grey car Travis!

[Bibs]

Will your friend be placing an advert in the 'For Sale' section of LEF?

[shadeone]

travis, you see the type of response you get EVERY time you post that awesome photoshop pic...

what the HELL is stopping you from doing this to them?!?!?!? hahaha!

shade