Lotus Elite: Lots of Trouble....EXCELlent news P33

[whyso]

If you get the neat little "hubcaps" of the center of the S1es with the lotus badge on and stick them inside, thats does a lot aswell!
Man you are fast with your fotoshop, and you get what I am talkin about. I thought of making some sort of kink into the rips of the turbines, not only lowering them. By the way the originals do not have a aggressive 90 degree edge on each rip, they are 45 and 45 degrees to each side. Only a small middle part is actually flat. Have a close look at the edge of the rips and you get what I mean. This also reduces the agressiveness of each rip of the turbines. But it will be a hell of a work, for just making them look a bit smoother and it messes up the set of wheels again, but without the dangers of shooting them competely. Were as drilling a kink with a machine has bigtime failure potential.

Stay with the paint, should change quite a bit.

[zircon]

I think your problem is that the car appears to be very wide due to its wedge shape and looks best lowered - and with this you need some serious dish.

They look bang on from the side I agree!

Would some spacing and negative camber assist?

^100% agree about the profile depth being wrong too.....

[whyso]

Don't overdo it with the black or they start to remind me of the Knight rider rims.
Got another extreme alternative.

teamwackeldackel.blogspot.de/2010_06_01_archive.html

[Mystery Machine]

Sorry guys, the more I think about the wheels, the more I just think I'm spending time trying to make something look a little better but it still not achieving the impact I was hoping for. I simply know deep down that these are not the wheels for the car no matter what I do with them.

It's only become apparent since putting the tyre & wheel on the car but the more I look at them, the more I know changing the tyres won't address the issue of the flat face around the edges. I know you're all trying to help and I really appreciate it, but with the vision of having seen them in the flesh still very fresh in my mind, I am certain that these wheels simply won't work regardless of what I do with them. Therefore spending any further time and money on them is time lost elsewhere.

I am grateful for all the input and suggestions, but unless I can change the whole way the wheel is designed, to put it simply, these wheels are not the ones for me. Or the car. It's a real shame but it's also a fact.....I now know they aren't right for the car and trying to make them right is not the answer because they never will be.

As I said from the start, choosing these wheels was always going to be a gamble and it was one I am glad I took. It's also one where I know when to stop. I'm not being defeatest, I am simply ackowledging that I'll never be happy with these wheels and how they sit with the rest of the car. With that in mind, I'm going to be selling them and looking at some other options that I have been considering all along.

At least I know when I 'get there' I'll be appreciative of the wheels. I'll have worked to make it right and you all know how I like things to be 'just right'.

Thanks again everyone. ;D

[mk2cossie]

i think the wheels look spot on from most angles ;D

but, i agree with the looking down them angles looking wrong. i think its the pirelli sidewall shape and profile not helping. but also, the dish at those angles just looks completely flat which doesnt help the look

bit of a curse word for you with the hassle of getting the wheels in the fisrt place, but at least you were prepared for them to not be 100% right from the start

[Robinxr4i]

The wheels are amazing and personally I think they would work with the right ride height and tyre combo. HOWEVER you need to do what's right for you, it's "your ride, your way" after all.

Keep looking I'm sure the right wheels will turn up to complete your vision for the car

[tickman]

From the angles they almost look flat, I guess this is most of the problem.

If you were also to make the center of the wheel (where the bolts are) black as well as the fins they that would draw your eye in and show the depth.

Personally with the picture above I would still have the face of the fins polished but the sides of the fins black as you have done.

Sorry, don't do photoshop!

John

[edwell]

How about the "new" Compomotive TH1580? The only pic I can Find is the render on their website.



Much the same as the ones you have but with "rim dish" as well. And you could order them in the correct fitment ;D.

I fancy the 1370's for my 205

[craig1010cc]

Its a brave man that gambles and sells a set of rims that work for some that might just be perfect, but a braver man to say I got it wrong and they don't work.

But I would hold on putting them up for sale for a week or 2 (I'm sure you'll make a profit on them, the VW boys will love them) and make sure it is the right decision to shift them on.

[bstardchild]

Whats the PCD and ET?

[stealthstylz]

Might be worth looking into the price of those Compo TH1580s they could be perfect. You know my feelings on the Pontiac wheels lol.

[craig1010cc]

Jun 20, 2012 17:40:38 GMT bstardchild said:

Whats the PCD and ET?

according to Bruces sale ad, 5x120.7 and ET0 (15x8's)

[ettorebugatti]

Yeah, I see your point Bruce.
It is allright, but not amazing (and I assume that's what you're aiming at;))

The black vanes does improve it a little bit, but I suspect that the difference in surface finish between the wheels and window pillars isn't helping either.

However, the cone shape inside the wheel looks amazing!

[whyso]

Bruce I think you are a bit to fast. I completely get your points, but let me explain why you should wait to sell them.
They will be the most extreme you can get of any turbine wheels everything else looks like >I have seen this before somewhere<. Were as those need some time to get used to, if you have a week or two. Lay them aside, don't look at them and get them back on the car after you have not thought about the wheel problem for a while.
That is part of a creative process, do something - be unsatified with it, because it is not even close to your expectations - wait a bit and take time to decide weather it really is curse word or just not what you wanted. Because there is a difference between not good and not what you wanted. A lot of times in the way I lead my creative processes, the moments were expectations are not met is, when they turn out to become even better. Those wheel came to you for a reason, give them at least a chance.

(So far for my tonights philosophical experiences in creativity)

Whatever you do it's gonna be a brilliant zombie.
Of the others I like the Schmidt best. Closest to original.

[whyso]

By the way, what has to be done to get them on my car and how much do you want for them including shipping to Germany?)

[whippet]

Is it me , or does it look like the centre dish is reflecting the light back so that looks flat as well, may be a bit of colour on the dish would help, maybe polish the fin and stick some tape on the dish for a quick fix,

they do look so right for the car, worth a bit of time on them.

[sonus]

Wouldn't it be better to let the vanes be silver and then paint the dish black as the body?

You could also leave a little of the dish polished/silver?

A little less side wall and a little strecth wouldn't hurt either.

[Mystery Machine]

Thank you again for all the suggestions, but please, please, please can I just reiterate (again): these wheels are NOT going to be going on the car.

All the suggestions to paint this bit, polish that bit, change the tyres etc...does not get around the fact that they don't work for me on my car. I can't live with half measures or even 'they're nearly right' feelings....these wheels aren't the right ones and they are for sale.

Whyso, thanks for the suggestion of giving it some time. Unfortunately that doesn't work for me. I am a designer too and when something isn't right for me, it just isn't right no matter what anyone does or says to convince me otherwise. No matter how extreme or rare they are, they just don't do it for me like I was hoping. Waiting and giving them time won't change that because it won't change the fundamental thing that doesn't work...the style of the wheel on the car.

I guess the only way I can get my point across (although I thought I had already, but it seems not judging by the continued suggestions) is to think of the wheels like a gorgeous girl you met on some internet dating site. She looked awesome in all the photos, absolutely stunning. She seemed to tick every box and things just seemed perfect...you meet up on the first date and she's actually better looking than in the photos! WOW....

Then she smiles and her teeth are all buckled and distorted - she has the most awful smile ever! Your expectations were high, you saw her in pics and she looked beautiful, but there is a fundamental flaw that you simply can't ignore. From all angles she looks great except when she smiles. Asking her to put some lipstick on won't change it. She'll still have that smile. Maybe different makeup, a different hair-do might or might not improve her looks even more, but they'll never change the underlying issue of that smile and that is something you can't seem to get out of your head.

Having a break from her for a week in the hope you can grow to like her a bit more....is that really going to work? Even if you bought her some really expensive make-up and some nice flowers?

Substitute the smile for the most annoying laugh in the world, anything.....if there is something that just bugs the hell out of you, stepping away from it for a week won't change that. It's just delaying the obvious.

I'm going to leave it there. I've explained as best I can that the wheels really don't work for me. I'm gutted, I really am, but trying to paint bits here & there or change the tyres simply won't alter the key element that makes them 'not work' for me. I didn't see it coming (I wouldn't have bought them if I had) but it's there and sadly, it can't be changed. I am selling the wheels and that's a given.

I know some of you think they look great and that I'm stupid to think of selling them, but I can only follow what I like and don't like and these totally awesome wheels and this amazing car just don't have the chemistry I was hoping for. I love a pint of beer, I equally love my cups of tea. Pouring both amazing drinks into a glass together won't make an even more awesome drink.....

As I said, I am very grateful for all the suggestions but anyone who knows me well will know that when I set my mind on something, it really is a futile excercise in trying to change it. No one wants the wheels to work more than me (I can put money on it) but I can't keep trying to justify why they simply do not work, I've tried to do that yet the suggestions still keep coming.

They are for sale, they will be sold and I will be fitting something else to the car. Trust me, I'm not going to sell this car short, I don't do that. I can't do that.....these Trans Am wheels are unfortunately short of perfect and that's just not good enough.

I do have some awesome wheels in mind ;D

[whippet]

Nothing wrong with being a wheel perfectionist,

slightly of subject but do you know about the lotus aftersales list,
there's a load of bits for the elite on there at reduced price, i'll try and post a link to there site

[Mystery Machine]

Jun 20, 2012 20:36:03 GMT whyso said:

By the way, what has to be done to get them on my car and how much do you want for them including shipping to Germany?)

Sorry Johannes, I completely missed this post amongst all the others! Apologies.

If you are definitely interested in buying the wheels I am more than happy to find out the courier costs to Germany for you? Here is a link to the advert with them for sale. I can find out the shipping costs tomorrow.

Regarding how to make them fit, if you did want them, I could send you all the details needed. On your car it shouldn't take a lot to make them fit...and probably very little money! I've got it all planned out and can write up a full instruction thing with photos (I'd want to know if you're serious though before spending all that time writing it up?)

It was going to be a LOT of work to make them fit on my car because I have some plans which I haven't revealed yet which will make fitting these wheels much trickier. I was happy to do it for the right wheel, but not for a set of wheels I'm not 100% on.

Let me know and I'll start getting all the details together.

Jun 20, 2012 22:17:21 GMT whippet said:

Nothing wrong with being a wheel perfectionist,

slightly of subject but do you know about the lotus aftersales list,
there's a load of bits for the elite on there at reduced price, i'll try and post a link to there site

Thanks Dude, I like to think of it more as self imposed OCD rather than a perfectionist!

I'm not sure about the aftersales list? I know a company called LotusBits bought most of the ex-Lotus stock as a massively discounted price but not heard of anything else. I guess I've just been too busy buying and playing with compeltely broken Lotus' to notice. ;D

If you do have a link, I'd love to have a nosey. Many thanks.