It seems like most of the less expensive wheel companies don't make wheels that will work on the S2000. There are a few Rotas, but even with them there is a very limited set of choices. Is it just a limited market? I guess we need more offset than most cars?

 

Because people who can afford S2000's don't like cheap products (read: low quality). There just isn't a market for them. The S2000 uses special offsets that will not work with many cars and so if companies spent the R and D on rims that fit, they wouldn't get their investment back.

Also forged rims are expensive to manufacture no matter if they have a big name attached to them or not. Many rim manufacturers do not invest in forging technology. Unless you are willing to spend the cash most rims are a downgrade performance wise over stock.

 

Besides what Derr just said, the S2000 rims are very car specific. They have a very unique centerbore configuration. The fronts have a bigger hole than the rears. In most aftermarket rims for this car, you must get the exact hubcentric rings to make the fitment ideal. The stock rims don't need these rings as the bores are precise. When they make rims for this car, they are essentially making 2 entirely different lines.

 

Question for you xviper: are the hubcentric rings really needed? I recall reading in one of the threads(don't remember which one off the top of my head unfortunately) that the lug nuts would actually center and hold the wheel correctly. So are the rings just insurance or are they expressly required?

Some dislike the rings because if you the swap the wheels around a lot it could be easy to not notice a ring stuck on the wheel, then use another one during a reinstall throwing off the wheel balance.

Just curious.

 

The rings are important. The hub should hold the weight of the wheel, not the studs. The studs are there to secure the wheel, but not bear the load. Some one will disagree and argue that they have run with out the rings. I don't doubt them, I've done it with other cars in the past, but it is not the correct way. There is a risk of snapping off studs and losing a wheel.

 

I've used aftermarket rims without the rings for many years and never had a problem. However, those were my winter rims and tires, so I never really pushed the car very hard as my winter tires weren't that stable at speed anyway.
For normal driving, I'd say you don't need them, but for driving at or near the limit in moments of exuberance, it might be a good idea to have them. All you need is to have a slightly damaged lug or a hard to balance rim/tire and those rings might make a difference. The times when a problem could show up would be those times you don't want it to show up.
Those rings may not purely be for "centering". They may also aid in bearing load. I can tell you that a Mustang with aftermarket rims MUST have those rings. The vibration is alarming. For a car like ours, you may not necessarily have to "feel" the vibration for it to be there as we have a car that has a lot of other naturally occuring vibration. Personally, I'd rather not risk it for performance tires and that type of driving.

 

Every little bit helps I suppose. The particular venue I was concerned with was the track, casual track days or something more serious like TT. A lug coming loose would lead to an exciting day...

Now just have to learn to trust those little plastic contraptions