would 18's fit on the elise?

[maxdout]

just was wondering??? had a spare set of 17s and 18 4*100 off my brother's civic he sold... was wondering if it would work on the elise? i just put my order in and wanted to know... any info would be appriciated. Thanks guys.

[mikester]

Max, the Elise has been very carefully designed and tuned by Lotus engineers, which are without question some of the best in the business (many other manufacturers use Lotus Engineering as consultants to get their cars "sorted', and Lotus still has the most F1 constructors' points, even though they haven't raced F1 in something over 10 years now).

I tell you this so that you'll understand, that basically there is very little room for improvement of this car in terms of performance or driving enhancement. With a few exceptions and unless very carefully done, you'll just screw it up.

Will it take 18's ? I don't know, but I doubt it. But without a doubt, it won't improve the car.

[maxdout]

yea i thought taht was going to be the answer... i already knew it but needed a 2nd opinion. thanks man... really appriciate it. imma sell them rims on ebay

[choi0706]

i thought they came with 17s and 18s in the rear?

Stock Sizes: Front 175 / 55 /16 and Rear 225 / 45 / 17

[storm-elise]

Im pretty sure its 16 front 17 rear, What i heard lotus tuned the suspension for the sizes and best not to change, but i might have to get a set of chrome 18's myself

[NevB]

yep, in stock form, the Elise has 16 front and 17 rear.

I'm sure you could get 17 front and 18 rear to fit for show purposes, but it will require non LTS rubber, the lower profile will have a harsher ride, and as the tyres wont be tuned to the suspension, will result in less mechanical grip, affecting the balance and handling characteristics of the car under load.

For low speed cruizin', it would be hot

For driving of any other sort, it might be downright dangerous.

Cheers,

Nev

[Savington]

If anything, I'd look for a set of rims that was the stock size (mabye half an inch wider), but a few pounds less. The Miata guys are all about lightweight rims, simply because of rotating mass and its real-world effect on the acceleration of the car (i.e removing 2lbs from each corner = 8lbs from the weight, but because of rotating mass it's actually more like 16lbs of weight, in effect.) Does anyone know how much the stock Elise wheels weigh?

[Goldorak]

http://www.puresportscar.com/FAQ/wheelfaq.php