Fighting the itch to upgrade my wheels (again)!

[mywedge]

I am wrestling with the idea of upgrading my wheels to something different (mainly larger ) and was wondering if anyone had some good ideas about which manufacturers I should approach and styles that I should consider. My Esprit is a 1979 S2 with the 4 x 100 bolt pattern . A 1985 Turbo upgrade body kit was added and so too were 3 pc. Compomotive wheels (staggered 255 16" in the rear and 205 15" up front). Below are some pictures of what I am dealing with...

Thanks for the help!

Edited August 30, 2009 by mywedge

[cbclotus]

Thats looks Fantastic .i think there is a lot of interest in early split rims,Great looking car Cheers Mike

[mywedge]

Thanks Mike,

I'm not sure if that is a vote to keep the Compomotive wheels but it is good to know that I might have some luck selling the wheels to someone who will appreciate them more than I do...

Edited August 30, 2009 by mywedge

[Paul C]

I think the compo's were THE best wheels fitted to the g-car esprits.

I'd vote to keep them. And i think your car looks ace BTW.

[lotusvette]

hi ,looks just bang on to me, aftermarket bling can look a bit nasty, dont sell lotus wheels,i think you will be pushed to find another good set,wheels are a very personal taste, but those thats on , most people will love, keep em on, steve

[arbell9]

Keep it as is, it looks ace.

[rocket63]

Thats a great looking car Alex.

[Loose Cannon]

Split rim Compomotives are the best wheel for the G Turbo, keep them at all costs! Personally I would paint the wheel centres gold, and the front tyres look too tall, but otherwise it looks perfect to me!

[mywedge]

Thanks for the compliments gents ,

Mark, you are correct about the front tires, they just scrape the wheel wells at full turn. Fortunately, the front tires are in need of replacement so I can correct the issue (the worn tires is partly why I am thinking of making a wheel change).

After doing some more homework, I found a good custom wheel maker that can make me a set to my specs (18" in back and 17" up front). I am considering the wheel pictured below but executed with black gloss centers and a brushed aluminum lip. The first pic below is of the wheel and the second pic conveys the finishes I would choose.

Not sure if the wheels will be too much but I have seen Paul Wendling's 85' with 17 inch wheels all around and it looks good and functions well (can be viewed on the LEW website under owners).

The last issue is originality. Since my Esprit was substantially modified (exterior, interior, suspension, and engine) prior and since my ownership, originality is not a concern. I have accepted that this car will always be categorized as custom.

What do you think?

Wheels link if pics are poor-

http://www.trueforge...ls/chicane.html

[ian4455]

Great looking car, wouldn't change the wheels.

[Simon350S]

I'd go for the bigger rims, yes it looks good as it is, but the G esprit was always sketched and drawn by the deisgners as having bigger wheels with low profile tyres and it looked stunning.

One day I may do the same and give it the look it always should have had!

[wayneb911]

Definately bigger wheels. Wheels always make the car no matter what the car is it will always look better with a decent set of rims.

[mywedge]

Simon, Wayne,

Thanks for input bravely differing from most of the other helpful posts. I suppose wheel choice is really a personal thing governed by taste, age, influences, and who knows what else. I just don't want to take a step backwards.

I did a poor rendering of what the new wheels would look like on my vehicle and think they look great (sort of like a newer Hotwheel instead of the old redline models). The rendering has the wheels in chrome, which I think is too much but now think that I will not go for black high gloss centers with chrome lips.

Instead, based on how the rendering looks, I am thinking of going with sealed brushed aluminum centers with chrome lips because the wheels look pretty good on the car so I don't want to hide them by having the centers painted black.

Below are the before and after pics (the after image has the front wheel size pretty close to a 17" but the back wheel looks more like a 19" as opposed to the 18" I would choose...

What do you think?

Edited August 31, 2009 by mywedge

[wayneb911]

Hell ye new wheels all the way!!!!!!!!!!! And silver...

[Mark Blanchard]

Keep as is. Looks great.

[Simon350S]

Its kinda what it would look like with the OZ Novas.

I like it, how it was originally designed to look!

[pyropolymer]

I am wrestling with the idea of upgrading my wheels to something different (mainly larger ) and was wondering if anyone had some good ideas about which manufacturers I should approach and styles that I should consider. My Esprit is a 1979 S2 with the 4 x 100 bolt pattern . A 1985 Turbo upgrade body kit was added and so too were 3 pc. Compomotive wheels (staggered 255 16" in the rear and 205 15" up front). Below are some pictures of what I am dealing with...

Thanks for the help!

andy

do you still have the original S2 wheels? im been looking for a set if your willing to part with them.

cheers

PP

[mywedge]

PP,

No, I only have the Compomotive 3 pc. wheels you see in the pictures. They will likely be up for sale if anyone is interested.

[asp]

Alex, I would be interested in purchasing your Compomotive wheels. Please PM me with amount.

thanks, Stewart

[pyropolymer]

ok

thanks for the prompt reply.....

[superdavelotus]

The new wheels you're thinking about look too modern for the style of car. Stick with what you have as they look great! If you want bigger rims then stay with the same or similar style that suits an early 80's iconic car.

If you put the new wheels on then IMO you'll ruin it.

Your car looks great BTW!

Dave Walters

[mangel]

Current ones look perfect (and I am a modder so this is odd for me to be saying)

If you want to go bigger why not look into the same style as current but bigger. Say 17 rear 16 front!!

As has been said above that looks like such a clean classic you need a classic not modern rim on it.

[GoldenGT3]

Current ones look perfect (and I am a modder so this is odd for me to be saying)

If you want to go bigger why not look into the same style as current but bigger. Say 17 rear 16 front!!

As has been said above that looks like such a clean classic you need a classic not modern rim on it.

I completely agree with the above, your car looks great as it is.

if you do change the wheels please don't go all bling.

[shadeone]

id say get the bigger wheels, but do they have the option for a black center? that would be keeping more with the old style while adding the new flair.... and like simon350s said, the old sketches with the bigger wheels always looked amazing to me.

shade

[mywedge]

Jamie and gents,

Yes, great eye, at the beginning of the thread I first mentioned going with black centers and agree really with most of the feedback I am receiving. I agree that the mock up picture I made make the car look way too "bling". However, I only had chrome wheels to use for the rendering. The wheel renderings are also too large (more like 18", 19"- I would go with 17", 18").

If I make the change, I would choose either black centers with a polished lip or sealed brushed aluminum/grey centers with a polished lip. I would keep the lip depth of the rear wheels on the conservative side to avoid another common "too bling" mistake (by sinking the center contact to the lugs (hub).

I did try to find a more busy mesh center but because we are limited to custom wheels (in sizes greater than 16"), it was a near impossible task and I don't want to pay an outrageous sum (like HRE and some other charge). I have received a few private messages letting me know just how rare the set I have on now are and perhaps I will keep them just in case hell freezes over and I have to sell the car.

Can anyone help with viable alternatives for larger wheels for an S2, 4x100 bolt pattern Esprit? Keep in mind that because of the offsets and size, they will have to come from a custom manufacturer....

Thanks again for all the input!