Wheels Questions

Hi, I've decided to switch to 16/17 combo at some point, and I have some questions regarding the choices: 1. Is the money vs performance ratio of the Speednline and the Team Dynamics wheels that Thorney sells worth it (considering that the Speedlines will need new brake disks all around - Thorney, are those available and what is the price?) 2. Is the VXR ABS module mandatory (if one values his hide ), and were there conclusive results of using the supposedly cheaper S2 module instead? 3. Are there any reasons, besides aesthetical, for immediately lowering the suspension (i.e. switch to Nitrons) after going to 16" fronts? Thanx in advance. P.S. This is for an NA car

Lotus S2 abs unit is about £650.00 so more or less the same as Vxr part. How much better the vxr abs unit is a mystery to me but others could confirm. I don't think you have to change the abs unit. Nitrons always a good idea Rs Jas

1. I've got Speedline Turinis (Elise hubs and discs) on mine. If the Team Dynamics wheels were available when I bought mine, I'd have gone for them. Better wheel size and offset (6.5J/7.5J rather than 7J/7J on the Turnins) and you can still use the OE wheels/tyres as wet weather alternatives. 2. I've had no problems on the road with the standard ABS on mine since fitting 16" fronts. If anything you get a bit more tyre slip on the front before the ABS kicks in, which gives you more control over stopping. Only issue has been on track since fitting Nitron suspension, where I get the hard brake pedal syndrome braking from very high speed (125-130mph). The car still stops, but you need to give the pedal a second hard push for maximum braking force. I don't know whether the VXR ABS module would solve this? Most people disable the ABS for track days to get round this problem. 3. If you run road tyres (Toyo T1-R or similar) then it is mainly for aesthetic reasons. If you fit sticky track tyres (Yoko A048R or Toyo R888) then the extra grip will overwhelm the standard suspension on track.

Edited by garyk220, 17 November 2006 - 11:34 AM.

Thanx guys, just what I needed to know

To be honest I'd only go the Lotus hubs if you're racing (weight loss), other than that the TD wheels are the best (and only really) way to go.

and just to confirm cos' I had been wondering about this, if you use the team dynamics wheels, you don't need to change the hubs? And if you use the old 5 spoke speedlines (if any are available) then you can use the old hubs. However if you change to speedline turini's you need the lotus hubs? One last question. When the team dynamics wheels were offered there was a version available with a 5 spoke almost vxt design. Is this available from Thorney Motorsport?

To be honest I'd only go the Lotus hubs if you're racing (weight loss), other than that the TD wheels are the best (and only really) way to go.

Slightly OT: Thorney, do you guys work on the weekends? I will be consulting in UK end of the month for two weeks - will be spending the days in London and the evenings in Marlow (which is about 100km from you) and would love the opportunity to come visit your shop.

VXR speedlines and Team Dynamics wheels bolt stright on, no need to change hubs. (VXR speedlines weigh 10kg's each tho so its a looks thing rather than a perfoemance thing for them. We sometimes open at week ends for car pick up or drop off but its on an appointment basis only, so let me know and we should be able to sort something for you

1. I've got Speedline Turinis (Elise hubs and discs) on mine. If the Team Dynamics wheels were available when I bought mine, I'd have gone for them. Better wheel size and offset (6.5J/7.5J rather than 7J/7J on the Turnins) and you can still use the OE wheels/tyres as wet weather alternatives.

2. I've had no problems on the road with the standard ABS on mine since fitting 16" fronts. If anything you get a bit more tyre slip on the front before the ABS kicks in, which gives you more control over stopping. Only issue has been on track since fitting Nitron suspension, where I get the hard brake pedal syndrome braking from very high speed (125-130mph). The car still stops, but you need to give the pedal a second hard push for maximum braking force. I don't know whether the VXR ABS module would solve this? Most people disable the ABS for track days to get round this problem.

Hi. I sent you a PM about this, but I can also ask here. Aren't you running something other than the usual 195/50-16s up front? I am looking for ways to get wider front tires through the Swiss MOT, and the sticking point is the rolling circumference, which is 96% standard for the 195/50s but close to 100% with 195/55s or perhaps other combinations, which results in a slightly taller sidewall. The Swiss insist on no more than 2% deviation, so I'm wondering how the turn-in etc. is on a slightly taller tire.

VXR speedlines and Team Dynamics wheels bolt stright on, no need to change hubs. (VXR speedlines weigh 10kg's each tho so its a looks thing rather than a perfoemance thing for them.

We sometimes open at week ends for car pick up or drop off but its on an appointment basis only, so let me know and we should be able to sort something for you

Thanx Thorney, I've sent you a PM with some other OT questions

If 16 inch 6.5 j front, and 17 inch 7.5 j rear is the best combination, what range of offsets is viable for a car with normal brakes? Martin s

Hi. I sent you a PM about this, but I can also ask here. Aren't you running something other than the usual 195/50-16s up front? I am looking for ways to get wider front tires through the Swiss MOT, and the sticking point is the rolling circumference, which is 96% standard for the 195/50s but close to 100% with 195/55s or perhaps other combinations, which results in a slightly taller sidewall. The Swiss insist on no more than 2% deviation, so I'm wondering how the turn-in etc. is on a slightly taller tire.

Sorry I missed this! I had 205/50x16 tyres on my car for a year, before fitting A048 Yokohamas. I thought about buying 195/55x16 to preserve the standard rolling radius (as near as dammit) but the only tyres available at the time were Toyo T1-R which I had not heard good reports about on track.

For road use the 195/55 option would certainly be worth considering. The slightly lower rolling radius on the 205/50 tyres worked very well. Felt much the same as the A048 tyres now, without the dry weather grip.

The only issue with the 205 fronts was wet weather braking, where they were too wide for the weight of the car imo. I had a few interesting wet track days, where I felt like I was driving slicks, but that would be the same for most wider tyres.

Well worth a try if you can get it past the bureaucrats.

Thanks for the detailed response. I have my doubts about 205s matched to standard 225s at the back, especially as I (probably) need this to be an all-around solution and certainly don't want to give away too much wet performance. I imagine 205s up front also make the car a lot more "pointy" (snap oversteer). I'll probably debate back and forth on the usual A048s or something less dry-biased, then try to convince the Swiss MOT of the final choice...

How much are you guys lowering the car to reduce the gap between the 16'' wheels/tyres and the top of the wheel arch at the front and 17'' the rear. The spec. for the 'VXR' says it's 10mm lower, is this about right or is that just the smaller dia. wheel/ tyre making it lower.

Currently running at 120mm on the front and 130mm on the rear, maybe a couple of mm higher. I'm not sure the rolling radius of the 16 inch wheel is that much smaller than the 17 as the tyre sidewalls are much larger, certainly on the R888 tyres anyway.

Thanks for that. I've measured ours at the front, it's 145mm and 130mm at the rear (standard car) what we need now, to make your measurements relevant, are the outside diamiter of the tyres front and rear. This would then tell us how much shorter the spring/dampers are. Cheers, John. PS. I've now found the 'VXR' brochure and it says it's 20mm lower in that.

I'm a bit intoxicated so apologies if I sound like a prat. I'm a million miles away from the Max Power crew, yet I found myself in Halfords today to replace my *freezing* fcuking cold aluminium gearknob with the serendipitously appropriate Momo aftermarket knob (which, as pointed out by a helpful forum-member, is an exact match for the standard Vauxhall wheel). Until I feel loaded, when I'll get that gorgeous carbon Reverie wheel and knob, at least I won't be freezing my hand to the gearchange in the winter - and I intend to drive my VXT all winter, as it's the rush I need to beat the winter blues (SAD for those who know)... Now, completely unrelated, in the Halfords store I visited (Sevenoaks) there was a large 'Ripspeed' area selling all sorts of tat for tarting up boy-racer hatches (the locals here favour Novas and Corsas, liberally sprinkled with these Halfords accessories). Now I'll try not to be too much of a snob since I count myself lucky to have been able to afford *real* performance machinery over my past 10 years, but I did notice one thing. Sevenoaks Halfords sell Team Dynamics wheels. In black. Identical in look to the wheels Thorney sell. Now I will be purchasing, from Thorney no doubt, the TD wheels in order to get 888 tyres and 16 fronts for track use. However the only TD wheels I see on Thorney's site are the multi-spoke wheels. At Halfords, they also offer a similar black wheel with 5 spokes with triangles at the end of each spoke. They actually look rather good and I'd prefer these wheels if I'm going to have a monster brake upgrade up front (cooling)... So Thorney - are the only VX fitment TD wheels available the multi-spokes? I think the 5-spokers would look better on the VX IMO, though there's no accounting for taste and I may have particularly poor taste in VX circles Now, as usual, I've paid no attention to cost here and I have no idea whether Halfords are cheaper than Thorney for these wheels, but I'd be very interested if the 5-spoke TD wheels are available in the correct diameter and offset for VXT use with sticky tyres (A048R or 888, I don't care, even though I've used A048R successfully on a 205 Mi16 track weapon before). Sorry for rambling post, but I don't have to go to work tomorrow and am enjoying a few beverages

<snip>
..... they also offer a similar black wheel with 5 spokes with triangles at the end of each spoke ......
<snip>

Are they "Option 2" in the first post of this thread?

Clicky



(Edited because I'm a grammar pedant).

Edited by Gouldy, 10 December 2006 - 08:49 PM.

<snip>
..... they also offer a similar black wheel with 5 spokes with triangles at the end of each spoke ......
<snip>

Are they "Option 2" in the first post of this thread?

Clicky



(Edited because I'm a grammar pedant).

Yes those are the exact wheels. Nice one - should have spotted this myself, eh?