VX220 Turbo Wheels & Tyres

By Thorney Motorsport

Standard OEM wheels severely restrict tyre choice and overall handling upgrade routes. The standard front wheel is only 5.5" wide which means that the maximum safe tyre width is only 175mm. Opel also only specified the 17" front rim for aesthetic purposes - the VX220 (like the Elise) was designed around a 16" front wheel for optimum performance - all of our recommended wheel and tyre upgrades reflect this. The VX simply handles better on 16" front wheels.

Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 Wheel Set

16" Front 17" Rear - £549

---

Developed directly between TMS and Rimstock, these are the only wheels in the world custom designed for the VX220 and Speedster. The front wheel has been designed with a 20mm offset to widen the front track a little and give better front end grip as well as providing ample clearance for the AP brake kits. Weighing in at only 7.3kg's the front wheel saves over 3kg's in weight over standard so turn in is far better. The 16" size lends itself to a wider choice of tyres including track tyres such as the Toyo R888 and the Yokohama AO48.

*

Lotus designed these cars to run on 16" front rims (they were changed on the VX220 and Speedster for cosmetic reasons) so handling is improved massively. They simply bolt straight onto the standard hub with no requirement for spacers, wobbly bolts or adjustment.

The rear wheel weighs just under 8kg's (a 2.8kg saving over standard) and is slightly wider (7.5) so perfectly set up for the car. These wheels are exclusive to TMS and are available in white, black and silver from stock.

Toyo R888 Tyres Front 195/50R16 Rear 225/45R17 Full Set - £582 Toyo R888 Designed by Toyo specifically to compete against the Yokohama AO48, the R888 is a road legal track day tyre with emphasis on outright grip rather than overall road use. We run these all year round on our cars and although their grip in standing water is a bit limited, they represent the ultimate tyre for the car. This comes with a price being that it has a limited life of around 4-5'000 miles per set (rears).

Yokohama AO48 Tyres Front 195/50R16 Rear 225/45R17 Full Set - £756 Yokohama A048 Before the R888 came along, the only choice for the VX220 for track work and fitted as OEM on the VXR220. Compared to the R888, we prefer the Toyo for its slightly better wet performance, longer life and price. As with the R888, grip in standing water is rather limited and life is around 4k miles (rears).

Toyo T1-R Tyres Front 195/50R16 Rear 225/45R17 Full Set - £369 Toyo T1-R The T1-R is an excellent all round road tyre. We also use the T1-R as a wet track day/race tyre. Grip in the wet and dry is excellent and whilst the tyres get a little hot on the track the T1-R is by far the better all round choice for the car if trackdays are of limited appeal, they also offer more reasonable longevity of around 10k miles per set (rears.