PRODUCT: Forged wheel rims for Elise and Exige

When you are considering new wheels for your Lotus sports car, a key consideration should be weight, especially on a Lotus, and this is what makes a forged wheel a good choice. There are literally thousands of different wheel brands available around the world, and some have stunning designs but they are often made to look good, with little thought to performance and weight.

The two main choices for aluminium wheel manufacture are casting or forging. Forged rims are usually made from solid pieces of aluminium which are heated to allow machines to shape the rims under pressure, whilst cast aluminium wheels are manufactured by pouring melted aluminium into a mould, casting it into its final shape. Casting is the cheaper manufacturing method, but usually results in a heavier wheel. The forging method results in a stronger wheel by eliminating cavities, porosity, and shrinkage. Due to its tighter grain structure, forged wheels are also mechanically stronger, ensuring better wear resistance over time as they are more durable, resistant to corrosion and oxidation. Additionally, the wheel’s structural integrity is not compromised – important for high performance driving applications.

Choosing a forged wheel can provide significant advantages as these can be manufactured to have equal or better strength compared to cast wheels, yet be significantly lighter, reducing the un-sprung weight of your Lotus. Reducing un-sprung weight will allow much more accurate suspension control, and will amplify the car’s feedback to the driver.

The biggest benefits will of course be enjoyed on the race track, targa rally or other high performance driving applications. That is why our Engineering Team was involved in the initial spec briefing when designing these wheels to ensure anything we sold was going to deliver uncompromised performance.