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

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.....

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

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

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

Whats the PCD and ET?

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

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.

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.

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