I am keen on changing the wheels on my Elise but don’t like any of the wheels available. Using a Wheel Adaptor seems like the way to go, does anybody have any experience in using these?
Steve
100m Barge Pole… Wouldn’t touch with
…unless of course you don’t value the handling of your car
Personally I wouldn’t do it unless it just a road car, wouldn’t want an extra bit to break on the track.
Just my 2p,
Mark
Mark
Maggsy will very shortly be on the road/track in his Audi powered Elise MK2 - power won’t be a problem
So I think you’re 100% correct
Mark/Pesky thanks for this.
Steve
Steve
On the road yet?
Rob
The car was running this afternoon - I heard it over the phone - just needs a few bits, e.g. driveshafts and guages…
Expect to have it on the rolling road mid week !!
Mike - aka Steve’s alter-ego
Its nearly there but not quite, I hope to be pick it up next Saturday now. Might be a good idea to stay off the roads that day!
With regards to the wheels adaptors question I had an opportunity to ask Gavin Kershaw on Sunday what his opinion was on the subject and his response was as follows:
Obviously, it will the affect the spring rates, therefore will need to beef them up a little bit. I obviously agreed with him pretending I new what he was talking about.
Handling wise, the backs are no problem but if I go for more than a couple of mm’s on the front it will begin to upset things a little but I may get away with it. He suggested that I trial the spacers on the existing wheels to see whether I could feel the difference. He also recommended that I didn’t go above 5mm, I can’t remember why but I don’t think I will be trying it!
Hmmm, obviously he was talking abou the effect of offsetting the wheels, like in just adding spacers to the existing ones, because that will change the spring characteristics and caster efficiency as well.
I you kept the total offset the same (ie the tyre contact patch in the same position) there is no adverse effect in theory.
The only real world bad effect will be
-the added mass of the extra studs and bolts (affecting damping)
-the added mass of the adapter itself if made from anything other than aluminum
-the very likely effect of eccentricity due to manufacturing toleranaces (this would be the worst)
In short, if I was running a race effort on a budget (which I intend to next year) I would do it.
Geary from eliseparts offers some of those, and the rally Exige (don’t remember who it was) had some as well.
Gavan was suggesting that the caster might be affected, and therefore the steering effort could get a lot harder, and he also mentioned that with caster changes, the self-centring could be affected…
He said that 5mm was a figure that other people had been able to live with, but that any more and the car might become unstable and ‘darty’ on the straight ahead position…
I agree, if you think of the same rims, meaning that if the total offset was changed by 5mm.
Any adaptor plate, like in adapting to a diffeent type of wheel will be thicker than 5mm, and if well made, will leave offsets as intended, meaning no handling change.