Oops: did I rub a bulldog's fur backwards? If I'm not mistaken, Lotus didn't go to wider rear wheels until the Turbo Esprit (post 1981). Even then they aren't worlds wider (1 inch as I recall). Our rears are 1.7" wider through the belly. Lotus also kept the same diameter wheel the whole way 'round. Our rears are of course 1 inch larger diameter. The combined effect is 25% more rubber in the back than the front. Esprit has never had a discrepancy like that (being mid-engined it isn't necessary). Lotus also completely redesigned the frame for the Turbo Esprit. Don't know if trapezoidal changes were made for it as Lotus made for ours. There has to be a reason our spare tire well is too small for the rear wheels. Isn't space limitation -- there's plenty of room for a bigger well. Most likely culrpit I see is an original rear wheel design that would have fit the well. When rear wheel size increased so dramatically (to keep our cars from passing themselves in curves), someone simply forgot to enlarge the spare tire well accordingly. Providing the customer a plastic bag to put a flat rear in the passenger seat hardly constitutes a suitable solution. Regarding the Alpine: I had no idea Renault participated in DeLorean design. Tell me more.... Bill Robertson #5939 >--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Martin Gutkowski <martin@...> wrote: > > How about comparing the DeLorean to the cars it borrows heavily from > before making statements like this. Alpine A310 and Lotus Esprit. These > share offset, stud patterns, 14/15" combination and tyre sizes. NB you > have to look at the equivalents during the DeLorean's development phase. > > Martin > > content22207 wrote: > > > Wheel offset truly sets DeLoreans apart. > > > > Bill Robertson > > #5939 > > > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/