Section : Wheels and Tyres

steel wheels 

Posted By : Keith Jones, 01-Nov-2004, 07:52pm

• steel wheels 

  Posted By : James Carruthers, 01-Nov-2004, 08:02pm

  Keith,
  
  
  There are plenty that should fit...
  
  Minilites, Revolutions (http://www.revolutionwheels.com/) Wolfrace (replicas now) etc etc
  
  I have a set of Wolfrace 5.5J and a set of original 5.5J steels (like the standard Herald/Early Spitfire with dishes) that are for sale.
  
  
  
  James
  

  • steel wheels 

    Posted By : Keith Jones, 01-Nov-2004, 09:34pm

    james
    i am more interseted in the steels how much do you want?
    keith

    • steel wheels 

      Posted By : James Carruthers, 01-Nov-2004, 09:45pm

      Keith,
      
      
      Send me a mail so we can talk about it off the board...
      
      http://www.mintylamb.co.uk/mail
      
      
      
      James
      

      • steel wheels 

        Posted By : Chris Taylor, 02-Nov-2004, 07:11pm

        You don't say which wheels you currently have. 3.5" (saloons and convertibles) or 4.5" (Vitesse 2 litre and Herald estates).
        4.5" standard steel wheels make a useful difference to the way standard (eg. 155/13) radial tyres behave as they present them better to the road. They look just the same as 3.5" wheels, indeed you really need them side by side to see the difference, and will take standard hubcaps etc.
        The 5.5" wheels James mentions DO look wider, even with standard hubcaps etc (see pictures of John Thomason's retired ? red Vitesse rally car) but will allow wider tyres to be used, but note the comments by others about the maximum size of tyres and use of low profile tyres with Herald suspension.
        Wheels, like paint jobs etc are a very personal matter of taste, but the standard Mk4 and 1500 spitfire wheels (with hole around the rim) look good, especially on 13/60 heralds, and are easy enough to find. They come in both 4.5" and 5.5" I think.
        I understand Marina (sorry!) steel wheels will fit, but do not think they look very good.
        Any wider than 5.5" will almost certainly require alloys.

        • steel wheels 

          Posted By : James Owen, 06-Nov-2004, 08:10am

          Also you could try early lotus' as they have the same stud pattern but im not sure on the width, if you have a look on the retro rides website it will tell you there

• steel wheels 

  Posted By : David Rumens, 06-Nov-2004, 07:54pm

  All models of the Herald 948, 1200 and Vitesse 1600 were fitted with 3.5" wheels, this included the 1200 estate.
  
  Where as all the Vitesse 2 Litre models and Herald 13/60 Estate were fitted with 4.5" wheels. The 4.5" will take up to 165/13. Much over this size and you could have problems with clearance.
  
  Alloy wheels are available from the Club plus most of the Triumph Part suppliers.
  
  

  • steel wheels 

    Posted By : Keith Jones, 06-Nov-2004, 08:42pm

    david
    thanks for the info i will keep you informed of any alterations i have to make.
    keith

    • steel wheels 

      Posted By : James Carruthers, 06-Nov-2004, 09:00pm

      Keith,
      
      
      I know that Ben F has 175s on his 13/60 and they work perfectly well.
      
      
      
      James
      

      • steel wheels 

        Posted By : James Owen, 08-Nov-2004, 12:56pm

        i agree with james you can go wider than 4.5, just look at mini's some of those have stupidly wide wheels, but you cant put handling down to the width of wheels negative camber is a good way to start and it shouldnt affect your insurnce as much,
        
        

         

        
        
        steel wheels

         

        • steel wheels 

          Posted By : James Carruthers, 08-Nov-2004, 02:38pm

          Handling doesnt have everything to do with wheel/tyre width as is often thought...
          
          Excellent article here:
          
          http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.htm...
          
          
          Having spoken to several people about this - I am beginning to agree... my Spitfire on 145/80 on 4.5J handles brilliantly...
          
          Of course - handling doesnt mean stickability as such... wider tyres in the dry will stick better than narrow ones... my Mk3 handles amazingly well in so much as it tells you as you're getting to the limit - usually with lots of howling from the wheels telling you to slow down - push it a bit further and the back end comes out nicely - without snapping... just take your foot off the throttle to get it to stick again... more neutral than France...
          
          My only reason for wanting some wider wheels at the moment is purely vain - as they only come in 5.5J
          
          
          
          
          James
          

    • steel wheels 

      Posted By : Stephen Cooper, 08-Nov-2004, 05:13pm

      James, Ben's 175 70s are on 5.5 rims not 4.5

      • steel wheels 

        Posted By : James Carruthers, 08-Nov-2004, 05:33pm

        That's what I said...
        

        • steel wheels 

          Posted By : Stephen Cooper, 08-Nov-2004, 05:41pm

          So you did! So many posts its hard to keep up!Saw your one from last night not todays thats all.

        • steel wheels 

          Posted By : Keith Jones, 11-Nov-2004, 09:16pm

          james
          nice to meet you today, the wheels are excactly as you described them.
          i'm sorry we couldn't chat longer.
          hope to meet you again.
          keith

  • steel wheels 

    Posted By : William Davies, 06-Nov-2004, 09:12pm

    The 1200 Estate and Courier were actually fitted with 4.5" wheels as standard from late 1962 onwards, ie, the majority of production for those models.
    Cheers,
    Bill.
    

    • steel wheels 

      Posted By : David Rumens, 07-Nov-2004, 09:19am

      Bill - Many thanks for the info.
      
      James - 175 on a 4.5 could be a problem and may not be considered to be safe.
      
      

      • steel wheels 

        Posted By : James Carruthers, 07-Nov-2004, 11:05am

        I'm pretty much sure they're on 5.5Js - and they work really well.