Morris Minor Owners Club

So would 165's be a bit excessive? Having run 155 on standard rims would 165's on 917's give similar traits?

I suppose the 165 on an LP917 wheel equates to your 155 on a standard wheel. I would imagine that you could push the car on the side and feel it wobble unless you had very high pressures. Ask the professionals what is the maximum size recommended for a 4 1/2 J rim.

I currently have a set of 165's on a 2 door, and I can honestly say that as soon as they run out I will be buying 145's ... I'm only using them because I had them lying about and they were basically brand new.

I really wouldnt go the 165 route unless you REALLY have to, they seriously affect the handling making the steering MUCH heavier and the car doesnt respond so well in turns as it does with 145's on.

Blimey! if those 165 s are on standard Minor rims you have been taking
a chance.

That is what was on it when I got it, so when it came to replacing them I put the same on again (actually this was on a different minor to the current one, hence having them lying about after the previous car's unfortunate demise)

I've driven hundreds, maybe thousands of miles on 165's with no problems (other than an aching back & shoulders)

Fine but that doesn't make them the correct size! You will enjoy life more
when you get around to fitting 145 s

Oh aye, that is what I was trying to say in my first post ... the minor I currently have had 145's on it when I got it and handled MUCH better. I'm only using the 165's because I had them lying about after Daisy's unfortunate demise.

But I think 165 x 70 tyres will be ideal on the wider Van wheels.

Ok so after all that do local tyre fitters stock 145x14's? Thanks, John

Mine seem to need to order them, but it's usually same/next day.
a

southerly95 wrote:Ok so after all that do local tyre fitters stock 145x14's? Thanks, John

Usually they need to order them. Last year Firestone stopped making the F560 and Kumho stopped making their 145R14. However Camac and Bridgestone are now churning them out big time.

The precise difference between a standard wheel and the LP917
wider wheel is 34mm ( 1+9/32").

That would take a standard 135 tyre up to a 165, or thereabouts wouldn't it?

Peetee, the LP917 is a 4 1/2 J wheel, you should be able to find out the maximum recommended tyre for this size. The standard Minor wheels are actually less than 3 1/2 " inner wall to inner wall but are often referred to as being 4" which is probably the outside measurement and is the wrong way to size a wheel. Basically you decide how much wobble you can put up with and how heavy you can manage the steering effort and fit what you like. You have the facts, ask the tyre fitters,
(but not at Kwick Fit)!

Well I have 165`s but on Minor Developments 5J rims and because they have a better offset there is no clearance problem with the upper trunnions like there often is with 165`s on LP917`s, I have seen them with virtually no clearance at all.

Quick question about tyre profile: those of you who put 155s on, what's the profile? 145s are 80 AFAIK, but am I right in thinking that 155s will be a lower profile - 65 seems to be common, but which profile is preferred?

This site should answer all wheel/tyre queries. (plus loads of others)

Pete

http://www.carbibles.com/index.html?men ... bible.html

CXW wrote:Quick question about tyre profile: those of you who put 155s on, what's the profile? 145s are 80 AFAIK, but am I right in thinking that 155s will be a lower profile - 65 seems to be common, but which profile is preferred?

I have 80 profile 155's and I calculated that the gearing is now 3% higher - so not enough to worry about really, I wouldn't want it any lower geared than standard.

A quick thought that occured. I always prefered my minor on the 155s after my earlier experience with the Kumho 145s, which just never seemed to grip in the wet, and just - I dunno - weren't that nice.

'course, the 155s I got were bridgestones, and it might have been really the leap in quality that was the reason for my opinion on better handling than the tyre itself. Certainly the 155s I've got this time aren't nearly as nice and I'll probably try 145s next time

The car bibles site recomends the 165 70 tyre for rims between 4.5 and 6" so should be fine on van rims.

I have 80 profile 155's and I calculated that the gearing is now 3% higher - so not enough to worry about really, I wouldn't want it any lower geared than standard.

However surely the original tyres were cross plies, so around 100% aspect, I'm not sure what the difference between them and 155 80s are but I'm sure its not as much as those nasty Firestone 145 76s which look too skinny and surely cause for lower gearing. I'm sure my minor which has them is over reading on the speedometer.

Pyoor_Kate wrote:A quick thought that occured. I always prefered my minor on the 155s after my earlier experience with the Kumho 145s, which just never seemed to grip in the wet, and just - I dunno - weren't that nice.

'course, the 155s I got were bridgestones, and it might have been really the leap in quality that was the reason for my opinion on better handling than the tyre itself. Certainly the 155s I've got this time aren't nearly as nice and I'll probably try 145s next time

My Bridgestone 145s (the ones that were designed for the VW Lupo) seem to grip just fine. Only odd thing with them is they seem to require fairly high pressure to stop them bulging too much at the bottom (30PSI front, 32 on the back).