MG MGB and MGB GT Tech Talk
I'm quite satisfied with the rostyle wheels on my 71 bgt and have no thoughts of going to wires. While shopping for a 71 or 72 roadster, I've noticed that a lot of them have wires. I've heard that wirewheels don't handle as well and, obviously would be a bitch to clean. Are there any good things about wires other than how cool they look?
Wire wheels handle as well as anything else. They may well collapse due to stress before a solid wheel.
I can think of absolutely no advantage to wires other than resale value.
I have 3 WW cars now, no discs.
I had wire wheels on my roaster and took them off after a couple of mo. I replaced them with Mini Lites and man what a difference. I totally disagree with you Chris :) Wire wheels do flex. Matter of fact they are not aloud in SCCA racing for that and other reasons. I also had wires on my GT and converted it to rostyle. Wires look good out of the box but give them 4-5 years and unless the owner has spent as much time taking care of them as he has the rest of the car they will look like crapola. Don't like wire wheels any more than stromberg,can you tell?
Girls love them...enough said!
When I bought new tires for my ww beater it was suggested that I have the spokes adjusted, because the car is 35 years old and it had probably never been done. The theory is that ww don't flex if the spokes are balanced (like bicycle wheels). I haven't been able to find anyone who knows how to do the work, though.
I don't see why wire wheels would be any worse performance-wise. As long as they were maintained and tightened properly, they shouldn't flex. The only advantage to disc is since they're usually wider, you can put on better tires. I think any difference is mainly in the tires. I recently changed my tires on my Audi to a wider, sportier tire. What a difference. I can drive 80 in a decent shower with no noticeable loss of traction, where as before, I could feel the car wandering at 40mph! I think wires just look better, no real advantage. I think if you have em, keep em. Makes it easier for future generations to keep it original. Someday most people won't even know what wire wheels are. Keeping ww's will show them that old technology can function just as well as new things and retain a grace that the modern stuff doesn't have. I think it's sorta why we get ourselves involved with these old british cars in the first place...
As a side note, I'm planning on getting a set of custom wire wheels built for my B. I'm planning on making them 16"x5.5" or 17"x6" so I can put a wide, low-profile tire on there. I'll then put a set of snows on the originals for bad weather. This is more about safety than performance, b/c I've found that wider, sportier tires just grip the road better, even if you're not doing 100.
For tighening and alignment take them to your local wheel-wright. It's between wee little people and witchcraft in the yellow pages.
Or --- another reason NOT to have wire wheels. I go with what Tom said. I had a car with wires -- It's a lot like owning a helicopter. With wires -- five minutes in the rain means five hours cleaning to get them back to looking good. I like the look when they are sparkling and shiny, but is it worth the maintenance. Then there is the problem Vernon mentioned - finding a www (wire wheel wizard).
But you pays your money and you takes your choice. That's why the British shipped MGBs to the US -- Freedom of Choice.
Ed
One minor advantage that wires have is (believe it or not), they're cheaper. Moss sells standard 14x4.5 wires for less than Rostyles and a lot less than Minilites or LE style wheels.
That said, all the other comments about cleaning, adjusting, etc., are probably true.
Check out your local Harley or custom scooter shop. I know that ours laces entirely different rims to stock spindles on Harleys and their wheels are nearly the same size. You'll probably have to supply any needed spokes, but they shouldn't care they don't sell them. No muss, No fuss, No shipping , No cuss.
