WHEEL AND TYRE SIZES

[Brouchard]

I AM GETTING DIFFERENT ADVICE WHEN ENQUIRING ABOUT REPLACEMENT WHEELS AND TYRES.

Some suppliers are saying fit 14inch wheels with 185/60/14 tyres,others are saying fit 15inch wheels with 185/55/15 tyres.

I quite like the thought of fitting 14inch wheels ,but what about the tyres.

Should I go for a higher profile???

They are going onto a 1961 Traveller,midly altered, I.E. Debumpered,Frenched number plates,New rear lights built in under existing,frenched aerial,resprayed in an eye catching red,replacement seats,etc etc.

1275 Midget engine,replacement rear diff,Brakes altered with a servo,uprated lighting.etc etc.

I will post some pictures.

ANY THOUGHTS PLEASE.

PRUNEREDE

[charlie_morris_minor]

the tyre size really depends on your rims.

if you are retaining the standard rims then you should not go above 155 / 80, if you have the wider van \ pick up rims i believe the normal choice is 165 / 80.

I have a modified traveller and am fitting 185 / 65 R14 but these are on a completely different rim.

So if i could bounce a question back to you.. what rims are you intending to fit?

by the way capitals are seen as shouting by most people

[Brouchard]

I am fitting aftermarket Minilites,they come in 13/14/15inch sizes.

I thought about 14inch,with 185 tyres,I just need to know the best profile that people use.

As for the capitals ,no offence intended,its just that on my other classic car forum some of the old folk cant see the screen,(pardon whats that you said).

Kind Regards

Prunerede.

[PSL184]

185 60 14's will retain the rolling radius (near enough).....

[charlie_morris_minor]

personal choice but i would go with 14 inch, they look right 13 inch wheels look lost to me.

sorry to keep asking questions but what is the width of the rim eg 4j or 5j as that will govern the width of the tyre..

the width well then govern the side wall height as it is a % of the width ( sorry if you already new that)

[jonathon]

Go 185/60/14 on 14's or 195/55/15 on 15's this will give you the same rolling radius. Plenty of room for both fitments. I prefre the 15's as they fill the arches well and attrect less roll.
Below 185/65/14's

[frame][/frame]
Below 195/55/15
[frame][/frame]
Below 185/60/14
[frame][/frame]


Hope these help

[mike.perry]

As I got hold of a set of 13 in x 5J wheels I fitted 175x80x13 tyres which fill the wheel arches and are only slightly larger rolling radius than 155x14 tyres. However I think that 80 profile tyres are getting scarce so I may have to re think.

[Brouchard]

Hello,
I think the new minilites are 5j, so a 185 width tyre will be perfect.

It was interesting to hear Jonathan say he prefers a 15inch wheel with a lower profile tyre.

Does anyone run their car on these,and do they foul the bodywork,they are going on a traveller?

I quite like the sound of fitting these,might make the vehicle look purposeful.

Most modern vehicles are running 16/17inch wheels.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[bmcecosse]

185 section is too wide for a 5" wheel - I would stick to 165 or may 175, but no more. For me - the tyres would be 165/70 or perhaps 175/65 X14 on 5" wide Minilites. If I was going for 185 width tyres - I would want 6" wide Minilites.

[jonathon]

14" Minilights are 5.5J so wil easily take upto 195's the 15's are 6J so can take upto 205's.

[Brouchard]

That maroon morris traveller looks superb.

Is it yours or a customer? The wheels and colour really set it off

Is it standard or does it have any mods.?

That is just the look we are after.

[jonathon]

The maroon trav was fitted with our coil overs and rear damper kit,Escort axle along with chassis kit and discs. It used to run a tuned 1.8 K series on a V6 Type 9 box, and covered thousands of miles to and around most of the countries race tracks. It was a very well set up car and ideal as track car or fast road. Unfortunately the car was semi gutted in a fire, which wrecked the front end including the motor, so the car was sold to the owner of Omex and we fitted the first 2.0L Zetec into it. This pushes out 170bhp, but is currently being uprated to a supercharged version with about 220bhp.
Its due some cosmetic tidying now as its 13 years since I build it. .

[Kevin]

Its due some cosmetic tidying now as its 13 years since I build it. .

And Lou ripping off the interior handle at Sparkford

[LouiseM]

I didn't rip it right off! Anyway you'd think that the interior door strap would have been uprated to a similar spec as the car due to the extra stresses placed on it.

Best get that sorted Jonathon - High Performance door straps for cars that go very fast, with improved grip for passengers of a nervous disposition

[IslipMinor]

13 inch wheels look lost to me

Oh, I'm not so sure about that?? 13" x 5.5" steel wheels fitted 40 years ago originally with 165/80, now 185/70 Yokohama A021R's.

[bmcecosse]

Yes - if the car is suitably lowered they are (obviously!) fine. And they do lower the CofG another 1/2" !! But on a standard car - they do look a bit 'lost' in the arches. I once ran my Minor up the street on a set of wide Mini 10" wheels - now that DID look very odd!