Interested in Group Buy of Roadster Wheels?

[technovc]

So, I just bought a Roadster. Not in love with the forged wheels. I've been searching for an alternative and there isn't much if anything actually available. One of my first stops was Sector 111, because I thought Elise wheels might fit. I quickly found out a) that Elise wheels are 4 lug not 5 lug like the Tesla and b) that Sector 111 had built 1 set of the StellaCorse wheel back in '08. Pix of this are on various threads here.

So, I just called Shinoo Mapleton, owner of Sector 111 and asked him if these wheels could be made. The answer is "Yes, if you can put together a group buy". So, here's the deal:

$3500 per set to us
Your choice of black or silver finish
Minimum group buy of 10 sets

These are very light (14lb. front, 16 lb. rear), forged, 16" front/17" rear with correct offset. They work with OEM tires.

Complete info is here:

Tesla stellaCORSE

The purpose of this group buy is not to save money with group purchasing power (there aren't really choices to save on, as far as I can tell). The purpose is to create an alternative that doesn't now exist, that meets OEM spec and has a more classic, alternative look.

What I suggest is that you simply indicate interest here by saying "I'm in, if you can put this together". I'll have to circle back to confirm, so ideally you'd send me a PM with your email or some way to contact you.

If you're not interested, that's fine; this thread is for people who are interested.

[technovc]

[technovc]

[technovc]

I know these are shown with 4 bolt holes, but that's because the photos are of the Elise version.

[technovc]

[richkae]

$3500 doesn't sound like a particularly great price.
If you can't get the required 10 - you should look into a set of custom wheels - try Fikse Wheels
You should probably get a competitive bid from someone else in any case.
You might want to do 17" front and back to improve the tire choices.

[technovc]

The Fikse wheels (Profil 10) are $3000+ (depends on finish, that's the base price). They are 17" front and rear, which forces you to use a 195 front tire. That adds another $400 or so to the project, if money is a big deal (actually, if money is a big deal, stick with the stock wheels I guess).

I've heard that 195s aren't ideal for the street due to steering effort. I'd be interested in thoughts on that. And then there's the question, no doubt a matter of personal opinion, about the Fikse style (very '90s IMHO).

The StellaCorse for the Elise is $2800, so we're looking at a premium of $700 for customizing to the Tesla.

I'm open to other custom wheel ideas. In my experience custom forged wheels aren't going to be much cheaper than this, but who knows?

[Dragon]

These should be cheaper than $3000.



What don't you like about the forged wheels? I think they're great. The standard wheels are not bad either.
Maybe you can try to get these wheels i've seen on the scandinavian Roadsters (I don't like them):


Or the Tesla Roadster Brabus wheels:

[technovc]

The Brabus wheels are 18" and 19" which amplifies the concern about steering effort in town. I don't know if this is a big deal. And, personally, I don't think the Brabus wheels are an improvement on the base wheel. The Brabus wheels are $3140 per set, FYI (plus tires at another $600).

As for the forged wheel, it is directional and I generally don't like directional wheels. You may love them, which is fine; I'm not trying to covert the world here.

[richkae]

I don't think that just changing from a 175 to a 195 will be a significant change in steering effort.
The A048 tires on the Sport are much stickier than the AD07s and that is where the difference is.
The car my Roadster replaced was a 1993 Porsche 911 RS America, which was also blessed with the absence of power steering. When it had sticky track tires on it ( like the A048s ) it was a bear to handle at parking lot speeds - however at normal driving speeds the steering effort and feel was fantastic.
If you stick with a regular street tire - not a competition tire - I don't think you will have much of an issue with a slight size change.

One of my motivations for thinking about new wheels is to fit more ( wider ) tire for better performance on the track. So if the new wheels don't offer me something in that regard I'm not interested.

Going with 18s and 19s will make you go ridiculously low profile, and while that may look good to some, I worry that that would make the ride ridiculously harsh and you could easily wreck a wheel on a pothole.

The whole question of style and looks is individual taste.
The Stella Corse look okay to me, but not compelling. I agree that the Brabus ones are unattractive, and the other wheels pictured ( Scandinavian ) are ugly.
I like the look of the Fikse's, but I had a set of those for my 911 ( yes from the late 90s ) so I am biased.