Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: LeftAngle on Wednesday,March 27, 2013, 07:31:08 AM
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My experience of converting 3.75 pcd studs to 4.25 was something I wouldn't want to do again, but the outcome was exactly what I was hoping for. Rather than spend the money on a good set of wheels, I opted to use less expensive steel wheels in case my experiment went south. I can take my time looking for the perfect aluminum set without being rushed. Other than weighing in at an incredible weight, my final combination of components looks great and will be perfect for this summer's car shows.
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Finding a set in 3.75 is quite difficult. making my search worse was 13" diameter. switching the bolt patter would certainly open up many other wheel styles.
Why was it so hard? i spent some time looking at the piece of metal the bolts are part of. looks to me like cutting them off and re-welding new bolts to the desired spacing wouldn't be so bad.
id also wondered if other makes would have that same piece that could be mounted to the hub?
further. that same piece, could it be machined so a larger width wheel would fit under the fender- 205/60/13 perhaps?
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It's very difficult for me to understand what it is you're describing. If I have it correctly, you would cut the studs off and re-weld them in the place you want them? The welds would snap off same soon as you put stress on them which would be extremely dangerous. Don't do that. Also, tire sizes are very critical for spacing and need to be calculated both for diameter, width and wheel offset. Unless you plan on modifying the bodywork around the arch and relocate the radiator, it would be much more work than what you're describing. My 185/55/14's are the absolute largest that fit my setup. Even then, the driver's side rear lower corner needs to be ground down a bit to enable the wheel to hit the left turn lock. The body of the Europa is definitely not perfectly symmetrical.