Lotus Elise Mods

[J-PaP]

I've got two different mods in mind. After some opinions on both.

To start with I've got a Yellow Lotus Elise 111r. Only have a few crappy pictures of it as I want to get a few things done first.

To be honest I don't think I'll ever track the car. I can't afford to ever fix it if somehow something went wrong (as I wouldn't be insured). So any mods I do are pretty much for eye candy and (minor) spirited driving.

Now the first mod I need an opinion on is a set of wheels. I basically am down to two options due to fitment and availability limitations. First is a set of Rota Torques. They will cost me about $1k AUD and are brand new. Basically if I want them at this price I have to get them within a month and put off respraying the skirts/professional detail till later in the year. They'll be $1.5k in the future.

Second is a set of Lotus LSS wheels. Should cost me about 1.5-2.5K but are second hand. Only problem is I need to wait for/if a set become available and ship them over from the US (price includes postage)

Second mod I'm considering is a rear diffuser. First is to just paint/powder coat my standard diffuser black. (look at picture of LSS wheels above to see a standard black diffuser)


Second is to get an extended rear diffuser.

 

[Eric.]

Rotas have no place on a really nice car. Plus Work CR Kais look better in a concave application. So for your choices I'd say the Lotus wheels (and not just because the Rotas are Rotas either, I don't think they're all that fitting to an Elise). I can't see the diffusers well enough to decide.

 

[J-PaP]

Fair enough on the choices. I've heard Rota's are a cheap rim but I know a lot of people are using them on the track and haven't had any issues. It is a bit hard finding a set of wheels since most are either really ugly, heavier than stock or impossible to find. The rotas and the LSS wheels pretty much are only picked as they are the only ones I could probably find and get here that are at least decent looking and lighter than standard. I'd love some volk te37's but they aren't made in an elise size anymore.

As for the diffuser they are fairly identical. The extended one is the same design just since 3" further out than the standard one. I think the fins sit a bit lower too but not sure.

 

[Jim Prower]

I'd go with the cheaper "Paint my stock diffuser" option to start with. Using a can of matte black, spray several thin coats. That should do the trick. Then, if you decide to go bigger when you have more money, you can.

 

[Greycap]

Another vote to both the LSS wheels and a can of matte black. The wheels because they're far more classy than the Rotas can ever be and the paint because as noted, it's a good solution now that won't stop you from upgrading in the future.

 

[homeforsummer]

Third me on the Lotus wheels and painted diffuser options. The saving you make using just a spray can will leave you the extra to get some good wheels. I reckon for anything other than a lot of money you'd struggle to get something that suit the car better than OEM wheels, or something that'll be lighter than OEM ones either.

Also, nice car 👍 I knew you had an Elise but I'd not seen pics of it before.

 

[Ardius]

Yeah, nice car J-pap, I had no idea you had an Elise but that makes sense now I think about it.
Totally the car I plan to get one day, though I'm not decided on what colour I like. Yours looks great though. 👍

 

[niky]

While I'm butt-hurt that so many people hate ROTAs (they're made not far from here!) , I kind of agree.. The LSS wheels look perfect on the Elise, while the Torques are rather common fitment with the tuning crowd. Unless you're going tracking (and ROTAs are nice and durable on track... and if they break, they're cheap to replace), no need to have an extra set of "cheap" rims.

*hey, I had Torques once upon a time...

Then again... are the silver ones stock fitment? They look kind of nice. I used to change rims out ASAP when I got a new car, but if it's an unusual car like that, the stock rims will actually be less common and more unique looking than some aftermarket rims you may want to slap on (the Torques being a case in point).

I personally would get/wait for the LSS rims... rear diffuser... I don't know... do you have a hardtop with the car (don't know if it comes standard)? If you don't, sourcing one would be a nice cosmetic upgrade.

 

[Eric.]

Niky, you pretty much explained my reasoning against the Torques. But I do see them being useful as a track wheel as you explained. I kinda expected some retaliation on the Rota hate.

 

[niky]

Niky, you pretty much explained my reasoning against the Torques. But I do see them being useful as a track wheel as you explained. I kinda expected some retaliation on the Rota hate.

Haha... NP... the reason I went back to stock mags was because I was sick of seeing the same wheels on everything else.

Considering there are only about five hundred to a thousand cars like mine in the world, and only around two hundred and fifty in this country... and that everybody else I know in the club is wearing an aftermarket wheel of some kind, going back to stock fitment kinda makes me... unique.

 

[Eric.]

"WHAT WHEELS ARE THOSE?!?!"

"Stock"

"Holy 🤬 I want them!"

 

[niky]

"WHAT WHEELS ARE THOSE?!?!"

"Stock"

"Holy 🤬 I want them!"

That's exactly what people say.

You'd be surprised at the huge demand for stock Civic Type-R wheels here. (probably the same over there)... as well as lightweight Evolution wheels. Not uncommon to also see modern 17" or 18" rims that come as stock fitment on newer cars filtering down to older cars (sometimes works. sometimes "meh").

Even lower down on the totem pole... there are some "stock" or OEM wheel designs that are so iconic, everyone wants them... 1989 Galant GTi rims... TOMS four-spokes... etcetera...

 

[Paulie]

I'll second niky's sentiment that the stock wheels actually look pretty great, and for the reasons he posted. Otherwise I'd suggest the Lotus rims and I think the extended rear diffuser looks more hardcore, but wouldn't that create more downforce as well? If you're not tracking it, you may as well paint the stock one.

 

[homeforsummer]

Incidentally J-PaP, does yours have a stock exhaust? An aftermarket one might add a few fun points. One of my mates used to have an Elise (S1) and the aftermarket exhaust on that sounded great, and wasn't really much louder than stock either.

 

[Danoff]

I think both proposed mods make the car look worse. I'd suggest saving the money for when something gets broken.

 

[Eric.]

That's exactly what people say.

You'd be surprised at the huge demand for stock Civic Type-R wheels here. (probably the same over there)... as well as lightweight Evolution wheels. Not uncommon to also see modern 17" or 18" rims that come as stock fitment on newer cars filtering down to older cars (sometimes works. sometimes "meh").

Even lower down on the totem pole... there are some "stock" or OEM wheel designs that are so iconic, everyone wants them... 1989 Galant GTi rims... TOMS four-spokes... etcetera...

Civic Type R wheels aren't as sought after with the 8th Gen Civic crowd, but they do love the RSX Type S wheels. And at some point I will probably get some Evo8 Enkeis for track tires. $200-300/set? Yes please.

 

[J-PaP]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I think my concern for not being able to find wheels later on had me leaning towards the rotas but I think I'll just wait out for the LSS wheels and hope by any odd chance some volks pop up in the mean time and I happen to have the cash in hand.

As for the diffuser I'm still undecided. I may try get a cheap one and spray paint it. See how that looks and see if I want something more aggressive.

Either way I'll be starting on some work on the car over the next month.

homeforsummer: I changed the exhaust within a month of getting the car as it simply sounded like crap. I've also removed the rear panels between the body and the diffuser. Effectively it looks like the red elise in the original post but with a silver diffuser.

 

[exigeracer]

The stock look is very common (here, at least). Many people stick with LSS-packaged wheels and diffuser/wheel powdercoating is a very common mod that doesn't make the car stick out that much. Wheel options, while quite limited with the Elise, are out there.

If you need more photos of those Rotas on Lotus, try searching for RAC Monolites RS110, which are a more common aftermarket Elise wheel that looks identical, however cost double the Rota sticker.

My preference are the stock Exige wheels, not powdercoated if you can find a set:

SSR also had a great, light, cheap wheel for the Elise:

PS, you may find some inspiration here.

 

[Eric.]

Work CR Kais are going to be the identical + double the cost option to look like those Rotas, since that's what its a replica of to begin with.

 

[J-PaP]

Ok I have another option. How about these vs the LSS?

Team Dynamics (factory Exige cup 260 wheel)

 

[Paulie]

These new ones look better again.