Brand new wheels

[lotusforza]

Hi everyone I am going to change my S4S wheels to 19" in front and 20" in rear to give my esprit a fresh look.Looking at HRE,forgeline,OZ.Searching the web i cannot find anyone who has done this before except for one guy in New Jersey on a 2000 lotus esprit.Can anyone one out there give me any suggestions.

Thanks

[Iconic Ride]

Hi, Chris. Welcome to the forum.

I'm far from being the wheel change guru here--no experience at it whatsoever. However, I have read some of the comments by others who have done so. I would simply state the obvious, that being to be really certain about wheel arch clearance--especially at the front during full lock turns (as in parking situations, etc.) Some have stated that it was not a problem. But others have had to modify (i.e., actually remove and refinish an area of) the arch to eliminate tire rubbing issues.

The biggest obstacle is finding the "just right" tire aspect ratio ("profile") that does the trick. Esprit tire sizes (even the stock ones) are sometimes difficult to find. In a perfect world you would have the opportunity to experiment with several brands/sizes. In practice that may prove challenging. Nonetheless, this type of mod has been done successfully before by some of our members, so spend the time to surf around the forum (using the "search" function for starters) and you ought to be able to come up with a suitable solution. Good luck!

Cheers,

John

[shadeone]

....*waits for jfitz to see this*...

Jason has 20 inch rears and 19 inch fronts on his S4 and they look absolutely awesome. the company is boze forged and they do awesome wheels and know the proper offsets and bolt pattern and all that...

his car:

bozeforged.com is the site and they got lots to choose from...

ill be going with 19s in the back and 18s in the front on mine pretty soon..

shade

allright, heres some pictures ive been collecting showing custom wheels... details where available.

HRE 18 inch:

simmons wheels, 18 inch front, 17 inch front:

18s:

18x9.5 rear, 18x7.5 front

Work Meister:

18x11 rears, 17x8.5 fronts

19 rear, 18 front:

avarus wheels, 19 inch rear, 18 inch front:

iforged, 18 inch rear, 17 inch front:

maya wheels, 18s:

19s front and rear: confirmed rubbing on this one...

19s front and rear, simmons wheels:

19s front and rear:

19s:

19s rear, 18s front:

tsw sakata, 19x9.5 rear, 18x8 front

19x10 rear, 18x8 front:

19x10 rear, 18x8 front, HRE:

19x11 rear, 18x9 front, sevas forged:

19x11 rear, 19x9.5 front

20s all around:

20x11 rear, 19x9 front (confirmed no rubbing):

shade

Edited May 24, 2009 by shadeone

[Vulcan Grey]

20's too big... IMO, those last two look too exaggerated...

I like my 18's

O know you don't like them Jamie, but the AWI's give a lot of clearance for larger brakes. many of the wheels you show above have reduced clearance due to the dish being more inset.

Edited May 24, 2009 by Vulcan Grey

[lotusforza]

Thanks John and Jamie thank you for all the pictures.these pictures should be sent to all the dummies who told me ''Oh its for a Lotus Esprit ,We have never done that before".

ps GREAT Forum

[shadeone]

O know you don't like them Jamie, but the AWI's give a lot of clearance for larger brakes. many of the wheels you show above have reduced clearance due to the dish being more inset.

never said i hated them! your car looks absolutely stunning! Im just a dish person myself

anyways, iforged offers a "precision series" that is "big brake kit compatible"... meaning the spokes dont curve back into the lip until the end where they are almost at their outer edge, giving the clearance for bigger brakes.... this is specifically why i am going with the Astras....

shade

[jfitz981]

Hey Chris,

Not too many people on the Lotus forums dig the 20"s in the rear, but I do have to say that I have changed a few opinions once people have seen my car in person. I've had this setup for about 2 years now and no issues. I did have to modify the drivers side wheel arch so I could have turning clearance. Good luck in your search...I looked around for almost 6 months before I found a style of wheel that I really liked that complimented the car well.

I see your from Canada...I wanted to be there for the F1 race this year as I went for the first time last year and it was one of the best cities I had ever been to! I am hoping the race will be back next year!

Jason