Alloy Wheels

[rjbaren]

Hi all, I am restoring 3525R.  I have the chassis stripped down and have applied 2 coats of Eastwood chassis black by brush.  Sine everything is apart I am think about my wheels.  I have a set of 5 factory alloys that need to be refinished.  The cost I am getting is around $600.00 for four.  With the strength of the dollar I have been looking at Revolution wheels, JB Wheels and VTO.  JB Wheels are the least expensive, about $440.00 even with shipping from the UK.  I think they even include lug nuts and wheel centers too.  Revolutions are about $500.0 plus shipping and centers and lugs.  VTO wheel are the most expensive at around $800.00 shipped with lugs and centers.

I am looking at 13x5.5 and most offsets are 19 - 25mm.  I believe The bolt circle is 99.25mm. 3.75 inches.
Does all this seem correct?  Can I get the same wheels as the Spitfire/GT6?
Can I use my OEM factory wheel nuts on any of these aftermarket wheels?  Is the thread 3/8 24?
What is the consensus regarding OEM vs aftermarket?   I am not really crazy for the OEM alloys and the plastic wheel center replacements don't look very nice in my opinion.
Are the JB Wheels good quality?

Thank you.

[BDA]

If you like the original Lotus Brand wheels, Lotus Supplies (http://www.banks-europa.co.uk/index.php) sells them. Dave Bean advertised them many years ago so they presumably still sell them.

[Pfreen]

I don’t know about aftermarket wheels.  I had my Lotus alloys refurbished and they look brand new.  I think it cost about $125 a wheel.  I agree the plastic wheel centers look cheesy so I machined mine out of aluminum. I gave the design to RD Enterprises and he sells them now.

I personally like the look of the Lotus Alloys now that they are practically new.
 

[tedtaylor]

something very familiar about those wheels!   

[literarymadness]

The OEM Lotus Brand look amazing when refurbed. I bought a set of used rims from tedtaylor. He had two sets of "very" used rims and really didn't want to sell any of them.  But I pleaded and told him, I would take would take the worst condition 4 of the 8 rims he had.  Original Lotus Brand sets very rarely come up for sale, so I didn't care about the condition because I was going to refurb them anyway.  They came out looking like new. Here is my car with both aftermarket wheels and the Lotus Brand. While I like the look of the aftermarket rims, I prefer the OEM.

[Grumblebuns]

TCS wheel specs:
overall width - 6.5"/165mm (outside of bead flange to outside of bead flange)
diameter/width - 13x5.5
backspace - 4.0"/101.6mm
centerline - 3.25"/82.5mm
offset - 0.75"/19mm

Had the above specs in my notes after I did the actual measuring.

Hi all, I am restoring 3525R.  I have the chassis stripped down and have applied 2 coats of Eastwood chassis black by brush.  Sine everything is apart I am think about my wheels.  I have a set of 5 factory alloys that need to be refinished.  The cost I am getting is around $600.00 for four.  With the strength of the dollar I have been looking at Revolution wheels, JB Wheels and VTO.  JB Wheels are the least expensive, about $440.00 even with shipping from the UK.  I think they even include lug nuts and wheel centers too.  Revolutions are about $500.0 plus shipping and centers and lugs.  VTO wheel are the most expensive at around $800.00 shipped with lugs and centers.

I am looking at 13x5.5 and most offsets are 19 - 25mm.  I believe The bolt circle is 99.25mm. 3.75 inches.
TCS alloy wheel size is 13x5.5 with 3-3/4" bolt pattern with +19mm offset.


Does all this seem correct?  Can I get the same wheels as the Spitfire/GT6?
To see if the Spitfire wheels will fit on the Europas, check 
http://www.triumphspitfire.com/wheels.html
The bolt pattern for the Spitfire is the same at 3-3/4 but the offset/backspace will probably be different between the two. Also, It's possible that the TR7 &8s also have the same bolt pattern. A lot of the info on the above website is incomplete. If you have a local British car in you area, see if you can borrow a spare wheel to make measurements.
 
Can I use my OEM factory wheel nuts on any of these aftermarket wheels?  Is the thread 3/8 24?
Probably not. I have Lotus alloy, Revolution, Rota, and Cosmic wheels and all have different lug nuts. It's possible that the Cosmic and Revolution nuts are interchangeable because both are conical types. Stud thread is 3/8-24.

What is the consensus regarding OEM vs aftermarket?   I am not really crazy for the OEM alloys and the plastic wheel center replacements don't look very nice in my opinion.
Wheel selection is a personal thing. I personally like the stock TCS alloy wheels and have no plans to change them out. On the other hand, my S2 which came with steel wheels and I had no issues swapping them out for Revolution wheels. Personally, I like the simplicity of the Revolution and Retro style wheels.
https://www.vtowheels.com/Retro-4-13-x-55-4-x-1016mm-19mm_p_105.html 

Are the JB Wheels good quality?
Sorry, no presonal experience with JB wheels.


Thank you.

Another wheel that looks good on a Lotus (better I think on the Elan than a Europa) is the Panasport.

[Arizona]

I have a set of 5 factory alloys that need to be refinished.  The cost I am getting is around $600.00 for four.

Maybe $10 worth of stripper and polish, and lots of elbow grease.

[rjbaren]

Wow!  The stock wheels are beautiful without the paint.  Did you polish any parts of them? 
I bought an aerosol can of Aircraft Paint Remover but it didn't do much.  What did you use?  I am inspired and I want to follow in your footsteps and strip mine, I think they would look great.  Thank you for sharing.

[Arizona]

I used a stripper to remove the paint and clear coat, then I used Mothers polish after wet sanding with very fine cloth. There were some spots that were lightly tarnished or pitted. The center sections are actually painted with an aluminum paint. I've been thinking I might change that to gold but haven't gotten to it yet. It took some time but really wasn't that difficult and I was very happy with the result. By the way, I did not clear coat the polished sections and they have stayed shiny with very little maintenance.

[jlmullen2]

I was also in the same situation as you, a full set of original alloys but in pretty sad shape. Estimates for refinishing were about what you got, $125 - $150 per wheel. I decided since I had time I would try to refinish them myself. After removing the tires I gave them a good wash with strong detergent then chipped away at the bigger flaking areas of paint. Next I applied lots of Aircraft Remover (from the can not the aerosol type), letting it sit for about an hour. Then started the messy part, scraping the paint residue and reapplying the stripper where needed. After two or three rounds of this I washed the wheels again to check progress. Still lots of little specks of paint, especially in the corners, which I tackled with a Dremmel and a few dental picks.


After they were clear of all paint, I sanded/polished the raised ribs and outer rim. I also used progressively finer polish until I got the satin shine I wanted. Now comes the really tedious part, masking the polished surfaces before painting. I fooled around with different methods finally settling on applying painters blue tape and trimming the edges with new very sharp X-Acto blades. I wanted the edges to be as sharp and clear as possible.


I sprayed a coat of self-etching primer on the front and back of the wheel, let it dry for a day or two, followed by two coats of Dupli-Color Graphite wheel paint on the front. This color is a very close match to the original dark grey metallic. I also let this dry for a few days then applied a single coat of Dupli-Color matte clearcoat. After letting the wheels dry for about a week, I carefully removed the masking tape.  I was pretty happy with the results even though it took quite a bit of time.


Larry

[Pfreen]

I did the same as you jlmullen2.  They looked great, but after a number of years, the clear coat turned yellow.  I had used Eastwood’s Diamond clear coat, which it said would not yellow. 

I have been using a two part rattle can 2k clear coat by Spray Max.  It has proven to be very good if what you used doesn't work out.  After all that work, it is a bummer if it turns yellow like mine did.

[BobW]

You can't use the OE wheel nuts with JB wheels. To centre the wheel JB uses custom (chrome) nuts that should be supplied at the same time. The primary application would be Spitfire/GT6.

[rjbaren]

Regarding the clearcoat, a guy on the BMW forum recommended "Sharkhyde".  I bought it and wiped it on a set of wheels where I sanded and polished out the curb rash.  They say just wipe it on and renew it when you need it one or two years down the road.  No sanding no stripping.  My wheels have not been on the road yet, but they still look great in my basement 8 months later.

[GavinT]

rjbaren,

Here's what Tim Engel wrote some time ago and it may be helpful.
He's a knowledgable guy and I trust he won't mind me copy/pasting his words.

Offset is important, and not every wheel with a matching bolt pattern has the correct offset. Be selective. The stock Spitfire wheel bolts on, but has the wrong offset. Having said that, note that there is a large difference in offset between the Europa's stock steel wheel (purist currect) and the TC's optional alloy wheel (widens track by 0.866" and increases scrub radius by 0.433").

Stock Europa Steel Wheel:
13 x 4 1/2" Rim, 4 x 3 3/4" Bolt Pattern, 27mm (1.0625") Offset

Stock Europa TC Alloy Wheel:
13 x 5 1/2" Rim, 4 x 3 3/4" Bolt Pattern, 16mm (0.6367") Offset

Panasport Alloys (Minilite Clone)
13 x 6" Rim, 4 x 3 3/4" Bolt Pattern, 16mm (0.6367") Offset
I've used these plus 185/60 tires on a '72 TC with no fit problems.
Same offset as TC Alloy, but half inch wider.

Triumph Spitfire Mk IV Steel Wheels
13 x 4 1/2" Rim, 4 x 3 3/4" Bolt Pattern, 20.6mm (0.8125") Offset
Offset is midway between Lotus Steel & Alloy wheels.
Europa hub caps & beauty rings fit.

Above Center Bores are 2.26" (57.4mm)

*~*~*~*~*

Other wheels with 3x3.75" bolt pattern & 2.26" ctr bore.
Austin - Marina
Triumph - Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Vitesse
Lotus - Seven, Elan, Elan +2, Europa, Elise S1 (Elise Center Bore??)

The following have 56.6mm center bores, and will require centering rings.
MG/ Rover - MGF
Rover - 100, 114, 214, 220, 416, 420, Maestro, Montego
Triumph - TR6, TR7

Regards,
Tim Engel