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Alloy wheels.


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Hi.

I have recently acquired a 5, fitted with 6"chrome wire wheels and 195 section tyres.I would like to replace the wheel and tyre combination with 5.5" alloys and narrower section tyres.

What advice is there about the various "Minilite"copies available? Are some better than others?

Any advice would be welcome.

 

Paul

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If you want Minilite wheels, but the real deal. You will pay a little bit more but so worth it

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Buy Minilites or equivalent.

 

Better quality alloy wheels (certainly Minilites) have steel inserts inserted in the stud holes where the wheel nuts make contact. Simply check with a magnet. My old wheels didn't have the inserts and the alloy was quite worn by the constant tightening of the nuts.

 

Also make sure you get the right offset. 8 - 14 mm positive is about right for 5.5J. No larger if any negative camber kit is fitted otherwise you will need spacers.

 

Most cheap alloys (approx £90 each on Ebay) are Chinese made. I bought my Minilites in June this year from Hamilton Classics for £125 each, including new wheel nuts and centres. I think that was a bit of a bargain. Not sure if that price is still available. you can order direct from Minilite but they don't offer the 10% discount that Hamilton's will give a TR Register member.

 

Be warned though. 5.5J Minilites are made using old machinery and have minor surface imperfections. Nevertheless they are works of art, appreciated by car enthusiasts and well worth paying the extra for. Also Minilites quality control is superb and a high percentage of wheels are crack tested. I bet the Chinese ones aren't.

 

Also, Minilite sent the wheels direct to me and the flimsy packing was abysmal. I have discovered this is not uncommon with them .One was damaged in transit and had to be repainted/replaced. The replacement was properly protected so make sure yours are similarly packed.

 

Also you might have to wait a while for Minilite to make a batch. The company is run by one man, Russ, who does everything from answering the phone to machining the wheels and seems constantly under pressure. I waited well over two months. Worth checking with whoever you order with regarding availability. I think Revington's keep them in stock as no doubt other TR suppliers do.

 

Racetorations do an excellent wheel also, imported from America or Japan I think. Worth checking with Darryl who keeps a vast range in stock.

 

John Hanna

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Welcome to the forum Paul. One downside of this board is the ability to find old posts, but here are a couple you might find of interest -

 

http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/56623-tyres-and-wheels/

 

http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/34755-tyre-sizeagain/

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As you have centre lock wires you might look at centre lock minilite lookalikes. That saves you the trouble of fitting new studs to accommodate the new wheels. To my eye they also look better as they fill the flat area around where the wheel nuts go on normal minilite wheels. Panasports fill this area a bit more to my liking if you don't want to go for centre locks.

 

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Edited by peejay4A
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We'll have to differ there Tom. I prefer the longer spokes, like Panasports have, as I don't like the plain centre which looks to me like a dinner plate. Different strokes for different folks.

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Panasport 15X6 wheels have been of superb quality, though you're on your own with the issue of centres. A decorative spinner is available elsewhere and adaptors have to be made as well. There are at least (3) generations of them and the centre holes are not the same on all. There are no interference issues using tyres up to size 195.

 

As for tyre sizes, note that 195s won't touch the pavement across the tread at anything over 25 psi ( and won't at that pressure, either in my experience ). 185s are the smallest size recommended for a 6" wheel which prevents original size tyres being fitted. There is precious little choice in the 185/70 size which duplicates the original diameter. I'm verging on buying the Michelin XWX for my driver with its 3.45:1 diff.

 

Spinner pic, shown with Dunlop SP 185-15s in the original U.S. export size:

 

 

 

post-1059-0-51569400-1479223423_thumb.jpg

 

 

Cheers,

Tom

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Some like the drive and feel of original tyres, others are less enamoured.

It can be expensive to find out so borrowing a set of wheels from a local club member can be a good way of finding which you prefer without splashing out on tyres only to find them less to your liking.

 

I know there are those who will say it was how Triumph intended it to be but rubber and tyre size availability has changed a lot since then.

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I always thought the idea of alloy wheels was to reduce unsprung weight - Adding a splined adaptor spinner and splined hub I would guess add to the unsprung weight over that of plain steel wheels attached with nuts

Any one know ?

 

Peter W

 

PS or is performance taking second place here over the rather yummy looks of the replacement wheels.

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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Until I fitted alloy wheels I always had wheel shimmy, some 17 years ( 1973 - 1990 ). This because I could never find a set of true originals, all having more than the allowed (!) 0.040" TIR. It was never about weight.

 

The TR2/3/4/5 wheels were flimsy; everyone knew it back in the day when TR6s were in production. The 1970+ TR6 wheel is quite good, and the '69 wheel is probably the worst as it retained the 4-point contact disc-to-rim design with an even wider rim, giving more leverage against the disc, where the later wheels were spot welded all round.

 

If trying out the original size I suggest finding some Michelin XAS tyres; nothing else comes close.

 

Cheers,

Tom

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Check you dont need longer studs.

Steel inserts essential in my view as per John Hanna post #3.

( because a cone nut abutting a conical taper in the ally wont take the correct torque without damaging the wheel.)

Beware !

Peter

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Check you dont need longer studs.

Steel inserts essential in my view as per John Hanna post #3.

( because a cone nut abutting a conical taper in the ally wont take the correct torque without damaging the wheel.)

Beware !

Peter

Note here for you Peter.

Triumph Stag/2500S factory fitted alloy wheels had alloy material close fitting flanged tube nuts to hold the wheels on.

Stag and 2500S both use the same rear hub and studs as TR with IRS.

Peter W

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Note here for you Peter.

Triumph Stag/2500S factory fitted alloy wheels had alloy material close fitting flanged tube nuts to hold the wheels on.

Stag and 2500S both use the same rear hub and studs as TR with IRS.

Peter W

Peter, Thanks. I made the mistake of buying coned wheels- had to return them. I can see a flat flange abutment surface between a flat nut and alloy wheel working without steel insert, and taking enough torque to stop the hub/wheel shuffling around. Peter

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Hi Paul

Welcome to the forum.

I had an older set of Minilite Replicas on my Tr6 pictured left. From memory I think they were by KN wheels.

The nut holes were not cone shaped and the nuts were just tubes which passed through the holes onto the studs.

They were very tight and difficult to fit making removing and replacing the wheels a real pain in the preverbial.

Make sure you avoid them whichever wheels you go for.

Tim

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Thanks All

Advice and information much appreciated.

I have gone for a set of genuine type MA Minilites. Tyre wise, XAS Michelins are tempting but they are only tubed type.I was contemplating not carrying a spare only a "sealant can" I know I shouldnt write this, but I havent had a puncture for probably 15+ years and 250k+ miles. Many of the miles in 911s where the punctured tyre would not fit into the spacesaver tyre space and needed to be carried inside of the car, with the passenger!! Or a Lotus Elise with no spare. Most new cars in the showrooms now dont have spares,even spacesavers,as standard.

Isnt part of the pleasure of our hobby, these major decisions??

 

Paul

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Hi Tim,

when I had wheels that used the 'tube' shape nut I found that the nuts were so badly made they had three different diameter centres.

Hence the difficulty in fitting them.

 

The threaded hole had one centre.

The barrel that went through the wheel hole had another centre.

And the Hex head had another centre.

 

I was going to make my own Stainless nuts but in the end I got new wheels.

 

Roger

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No punctures? Luck of the draw I guess Paul - I have had 5 punctures in the last ten years, care of white-van-man who seems to liberally distribute wood-screws around this part fo the world. Two were pluggable, three were scrappers. I've lost count of the screws i've picked up off the road while out walking.

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