Hard to find or non existent

[silverfrost]

Hi,

After some advice on tyres, bit of a strange one but hopefully some people may have some suggestions...... The early esprit S3 turbo that im currently restoring is fitted with the early compomotive alloy wheels AKA the essex wheels, Now due to the nature of my project i need to increase the diameter of the rear wheels due to the extra traction needed and because its been clam shelled for looks reasons aswell as when its open it would be nice to see a decent set of wide rubber

Spoke to compomotive and they can supply me with new outer rims for the wheels to make the rears wider, which is great as the style of the early rim is no longer availble, So i could make the rims to 9, 10 etc up to 12" wide, However tyres seem to be the problem from a look on the internet no body seems to make large diameter 15" tyres.

The only other option is to order a new set of 17" split rims as the tyres are easy to get hold of,

Any suggestions or links to tyre suppliers would be great.

Regards danny

[Günter]

http://cgi.ebay.de/2-Stuck-Avon-Slicks-15-Zoll-Rennreifen-Bergrennen-/180508865254?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Teile_ohne_Strassenzulassung&hash=item2a072ab2e6

http://www.pro-tyre.de/detail/22158_68061/Turbosteel_RR_11B-Avon-235-70-R-15-Zoll.html

http://www.world-of-motorsport.at/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_12_37&sort=20a&page=2

think for 15"tire it is just not common to have a 10" or 12" wide rim ?... wouldn't that look like Formula tires ??

[keirv6]

Got these on my turbo2 285/45/15 yokos not cheap

[Günter]

what I have on my Cobra KitCar is 295 on the rear -on a 15" diameter rim ...but those tires & rims meant to go on a old #Chevy-Van normally. So it looks more like a 'balloon' from the profile hight ?!

Don't think you meant that sort of tire -did you ?

Edited May 30, 2010 by Günter

[silverfrost]

Cheers for the links guys, Keir thats the sort of thing im after didnt expect them to be cheap as they are not mainstream tyres. Will try a search for them on the net and see what price they come in at, Depending on price it may just be cost effective to purchase a new set of 17" split rims as over time will probably save money.

Thanks once again for the posts regards danny

[andydclements]

The 17s will probably be the only option in a few years time.

[Bazza 907]

You could sell the 15" Compomotives and I'm sure get a very good price.

[silverfrost]

Andy, Barrie,

Cheers for the suggestions guys, Have spoken to compomotive today to find out about the 17" wheels, the style i wanted was the CXN they are the same sort of style as the lotus ones, However the chap said they could only make them up to 9" wide and could not offer decent offsets of what i need but on the website they offer up to 12" inches wide, the only other stlye they could offer was was the TN model but that looks a bit to mucsle type of wheel for my liking!

The hunt goes on....... Regards danny

[silverfrost]

May of found a option ............

More surfing of the web and still no phonecall back from compomotive All i wanted was to increse the tyre tread area for traction, This would involve buying new bits for the three piece rims to make them wider or buying new rims. However may of found a compramise that may just work out, 255 60 15 KUHMO EXSTA STX they are really for SUV or trucks but they have a normal road tread, and are V rated so good for 149 mph! Have checked the web and found they will be safe on the 8" split rim and well within tolerance!

So all in all not to bad, get to keep my wheels original and get the traction,

So what do you guys think............... regards danny

[Günter]

as it is one of the older cars -why not go with those *Van* tires... there are just to much discussions out there about people who fit slim-profile supersports tires on those old S3 cars anyway

[silverfrost]

Cheers Gunter,

Going to order a set tommorow and at the same time refurb the wheels! Will just have to see what they look like, from the pics they look pretty good, fingers crossed

Regards danny

[Bazza 907]

Danny

Let me know how you get on refurbishing the wheels - Many places seem to want to charge a high price given that they are split rims.

[silverfrost]

Danny

Let me know how you get on refurbishing the wheels - Many places seem to want to charge a high price given that they are split rims.

Hi Barrie,

The wheels are fine i.e the rims are unmarked, but i will replace all the nuts and bolts just to be on the safe side, also with the bolts removed they are easier to polish, The wheels are not laqured so with polish up easy and then just a good protection polish finish or quick rub with WD40, i did a little test area the other day and it came up gleaming, ,cant wait to do a whole wheel

Regards danny