Wire Wheels VS. Alloy Wheels

After reading your feedback on my wire wheel conversion question back on 1/22 and the recent trashing of wire wheels I'm very concerned about dumping $1000 buck from Chrome wire wheels for my 80 MGB. Unfortunatley I have already purchased the conversion spline hubs (used) you speak so fondly of in your earlier feedback, but my loss would be minimal at this point vs. me purchasing the chrome wire wheels and finding out they are a total pain in the as.....and pulling them off the car after a year or so.

I have considered the Mini-Lites and Stealth wheels offered by Proper MG. I like the Stealth wheels and the price is right. Also, I know I can get anyone to mount & balance an alloy wheel. Any problems with the 5.5" or 6 wheel width rubbing? I plan to use 185/70 tires with the new wheels.

In summary, It seens the overall preference is with alloy wheels and that wire wheels are nothing but trouble. Awaiting your final comments.

Thanks for your help,

JP

Chrome wire wheels are beautiful when kept clean. Thats the key. If you don't drive on wet roads and use semi metalic brake pads to keep the brake dust down you will hold the matinance to a minimun. If you have them set up for tubless tires you want have any trouble with pinched tubes. There are a lot of MG owners out there that wouldn't think of putting anything else on their cars. This isn't one of them. I don't think you will have any problems with tire rub. I havent had any experiance with the hub conversion kit. Matter of fact I have never worked on a B that had them on it. The 185/70 is a good size tire for a B. I have seen B's with 195/70's on them. I think it's a bit of over kill to go to thr 195's. The 185/70 will give you plenty of foot on the road. As far as using the stealth wheel,dose it come in a knock off. The mini lite wheels in the knock off type are real sharp when used with the three ear knock off that VB offers. Sense you already have the conversion kit. It's the most expensive way to go but how offten do you replace the wheels. When I bought mine I even got one for the trunk. Back then it cost $1500 with the knock offs,but boy did it look and handel GOOOOOOD!!!!!!!

Jon, You'll be fine with 5.5 rims and 185-70 tires. I have 5.5 Minilites and 195-70s on my car and the sidewalls are about 1/4 inch from the top of the rear fender edges. Everything is perfectly aligned and tight on the rear of my car or I could have problems with my setup. With the setup you are thinking about you'll have no problems at all.
Wire wheels always remind me of the man from Racine.

There once was a man from Racine,
who invented a coitus machine.
It was concave and convex
and would fit either sex.
But oh what a bastard to clean.

I have looked at the center hub Mini-Lites, but I think if I decide to go with the alloy wheels I would go with the bolt-ons. If I put wire wheels on what needs to be done to set the wheels up for tubless tires? You still need to run tubes in the tires don't you? I know you have to run the rubber rim bands to protect the tubes. I've also read you can put silicone sealant over the spoke ends inside the hub to prevent the grease from coming out and getting the wire wheels dirty. I had a 69 BGT that had wire wheels and I never had a problem other than the cleaning issue.

My 80 MGB I'm considering putting the new wire wheels on gets alot of TLC and is driven very little except on nice New England days. Is changing over from the bolt on hub to the cnter spline hubs a difficult job? Do you need any special tools?

Thanks for your reply.

JP

I have bolt on Minilites and like them just fine. They have a well ballanced look, but I have one suggestion. Clear coat the lug nuts. They don't rust bad, just enough so you can see it and clear coating them stops that problem before it starts. One other thing. You'll need a very thin walled socket to work the lug nuts.

At Daton Wheels they put a very thick bead of silicone over the spoke nipples. It's about 2" wide and 1/2" thick. You do not use a tube. The thick silicone seals the spokes so the air doesn't get out. I thought you already had the conversion kit that bolts onto the existing hub. If that's what your going to do there's nothing to it. Just take your wheels off and bolt them on.

The conversion spline hubs I have, like those advertized in the Moss, or Proper MG catalogs, do not just bolt on. They require you remove the existing bolt-on wheel hub by removing the brakes, center bolt & cotter pin holding the wheel bearings in place, remove the hub with wheel bearings etc., and replace the complete assembly in reverse with the spline hub. Sound like a big job!

So the Dayton wheels do not need tubes. Do you know if the Dunlop wheels are also set up for tubless tires? Any problem running tubeless tires with tubes, Obviouslt the tires I have purchased are tubless.

JP

I looked at the kit that Proper MG has and I'm wondering where you use the 8 rear flange studs. It's like I said earlier I'm not familar with the conversion kits. There is nothing wrong with tubed tires if you can find someone who knows how to mount and balance them. If you can find Dayton wheels they are the best. You have to ask them to set them up for tubless. It's extra

Are the Dayton wheels you are talking about knock off wires or bolt on wires. I'm going over to a local MG club members house tomorrow to scrounge thru his collection of old knock off wires to see if there are any good ones, and also to see if he has any decent splined hubs. I am faced with either ordering a new set of 60 spoke painted wires on sale now at VB and ending my wheel problems for a few years or continuing on fooling around with old wheels that are maybe better shape than mine now. I also should get outside and check my hubs for any ridges. Someone told me that the splines on the wheels are tougher than the splines on the hubs. Is that true? If my Ex-wife would fork over my money, I'd replace hubs and wheels. I"m foolish, but I still love the looks of the wire wheels.

Tom, I am always trying alternate ways of solving problems. Concerning the protective rubber "bands" that line the wire wheel rim, a few years ago when the rubber bands were not available I wrapped the inside of my rims with Scotch "Mystic" cloth tape as neatly and evenly as possible. Others were using duct tape, but I felt that duct tape was too sticky and could possibly stick to the inner tube. It's been 3 years so far and knock on wood, no problems yet. (I always knock on my wooden shift knob. It pays to have some lucky wood on hand when driving an MG). As cheap as I am, consider this. Instead of buying the regulation rubber bands, why not get some old inner tubes (maybe from 13" wheels) and cut your own rubber bands from them? Wouldn't that work just as well?

SOME tubelss tires can be used with a tube. Unfortunately, the five new tires I put on the BGT are not. They have a ridge inside that wears against the tube and puts holes in it. I also have a pair of new Michellin XZX tires that Coker Tire lists as not being able to use tubes.
According to the outfit that sold me new 185x14 Toyos, they are compatible with tubes.
Peter, the duct tape works fine, old tubes cut into strips would work fine, if you could get the ends to glue together. I haven't been able to, hence the duct tape.

The tape workes fine. All your doing is preventing thr spoke nipples from rubbing the tube. Dayton was the oem brand of wire wheels used on MG's,so I've been told, and they are made better than the wheels that come from Mexico(VB wheels) They are a true knock off.The hub is made of stonger medal than wheel. That's why you see more wheel splines messed up than hubs.

Thanks Tom, I'll stick with the tape method . One other question, is there a way to seal the spoke nipples on the inside of the rim to keep water out and slow up the rusting process. All the old rims I see are badly rusted inside. Could you put a thin film of silicone or Goop, etc. over the spoke nipples, let it cure, then put tape over that to protect the tube? I've alway used silicone on the inside of the center of the wheel to keep grease from spinning out onto the spokes. I just want to keep the wheels in the best shape as possible for a very long time. I hope you're not saying the VB wires are junk, I just ordered a set. Say it ain't so.

Chris, I was thinking that you take a 13" tube, trim around the tube on both sides leaving the center intact as a ring, at the correct width. Now you have a large rubber band that you slip onto the inside of the rim. Not sure if 13" is correct size, it might even take a 12" tube. But tape is a lot easier, so I'll "stick" with the tape. One hell of a game tonight, Huh?

Now that's an interesting idea! As for the game, Fox didn't have it, so I worked on the roadster instead.

You know I can't say that because it's gotten to the point you can't ever tell where they are going to get their stuff next. I use to think a lot of VB parts and service back 15 years ago. I don't think much of them anymore because they are buying parts to reach a price point now and some of their stuff I have sent back because I wouldn't use it. I would rather pay more for OEM parts,and most of my customers would too.

Lets hear some more about wire wheel suppliers. I tried to call VB last week to get some information on the wheels they have on sale, and the girl who took the call told me I had to speak with service and they were too busy to talk to me........lost that sale.

Sounds like the wire wheels are making a comeback. Are the Daytons a better choice than Dunlops? Best pricing I've seen so far is from Proper MG.

Lets hear more..................

JP

Tom;
I believe the lug bolts are used on the rear hubs and fit through the rear brake drums to hold them in place. I checked the splines I have and the ones with the lug bolts are for the rear.

JP

Tom, well I can only hope that my wheels come from Brazil instead of BoraBora. What about the water seal question. Would it cause harm down the line to put a thin film of silicone over the spoke nipples in the main rim? By not letting water get forced into the wheel thru the spoke nipples, the inside of the rim would not develop rust; BUT then water would be trapped in the nipples themselves promoting rust around them. What do you think. To seal or not to seal? I'm not talking about using silicone to protect the inner tube- I'll use tape.

You only get the Fox Network out there? Chris, the Foxes were at the game!!!!!! You just didn't have a passion for either team. That's alright, I'm still ashamed and embarassed over the Dolphins. Everyone around here thinks Marino should go into hiding forever and that the Dolphins should close up shop. We've all switched loyalties to Tampa Bay. It is just a more tedious drive from West Palm Beach to Tampa than to Miami...Lots of Mt. Trashmores in the way, plus no Interstate highway. Florida is a mystery, two interstates and a turnpike running North and South, but try to go across the state, forget it. You dodge alligators to whole way...two lane roads with canals on both sides. Only Orlando rates an NorthEast, SouthWest I-4. Then up at Jacksonville there's I-10 EastWest but Hell that's not really Florida, it's Georgabama. If our two lane roads were interesting ie. hills and curves then it would be fun...people down here wouldn't know what to do with a hill. They'd stop dead in the middle of the road, get out of their car and stare at it in total awe. Oh well, at least we get ABC & Fox.

An MG ain't an MG w/o Wires.The car looks soooo much better with them that for me, there's no choice.So, once in a while you spend an hour with a toothbrush to keep 'em pretty, so what, is'nt that what it's all about, driving something you enjoy totally instead of a modern nonentitymobile. I run dayton 15"x 6"w/ 195 60's and my car looks and handles like a dream.

This is a great discussion. I am in the same mode with my '76B. So, can somebody direct me to where to view mini-lites? what are the stealth wheels you are talkoing about? I'm just getting into this wheel issue. Want to go wires but am getting more concerned. thanks.

Try www.propermg.com
They have a wheel section and have the mini-lites and other wheels.

Ed

I do agree to love the look of chrome wires. Just want to make sure I'm making a smart choice before plunking down the cash. Peter, are you running running your 16 X 6" wire wheels on a B? Any problems with rubbing? Did you convert to wires or did the car come with wires? Dave you can get the info on Mini-Lites and Stealth wheels at WWW.ProperMG@aol.com as Ed indicated, or call 800-711-3368 for a catalog. They are a good outfit, Never had a problem with anything I've ordered from them. I'm waiting for them to put the wire wheels on sale. They had them on sale in the Fall but I wasn't ready.
JP.

15", not16"x6".Car came with wires.Using the 195-60x15 Mich MXV4's....NO problems.Consulted w/ Mich, very helpful re rolling dia and pressures.Like driving on rails, wet or dry, I can't break her free. Very happy.

thanks ED I'll check it out