Morris Minor Owners Club

That's better - makes sense - but still far too wide for 3.5" wide wheels! Even pushing it on 4.5 " wheels - 165 tyres need 5" or 5.5" wheels. I think there really should be an MOT check on the tyre size/wheel width. I would have thought a responsible garage would have refused to fit these.........I believe they have a duty of care these days to ensure safe installation.
These are 6.5" wide tyres on 3.5" wide wheels...... which is WAY beyond the manufacturers specification.

Mike, I think you may be right, given that Dunlop don't list that size; could have sworn that I copied it down corrently, should have gone to Specsavers! Will check in the morning and provide update. Apologies for the confusion anyone, but they are still a jolly good tyre.

Just checked the tyre again, simple transcription error on my part, sorry about that. Just for the record I wouldn't have fitted the tyres without seeking professional, as against anecdotal advice first. Also foun the following on the Minor Mania website, quite a useful site by the look of it.

"Tyres
As described above, the standard Minor rims are not designed for modern tubeless tyres. You can fit tubeless tyres to Minor rims but you run the risk of the tyre peeling away from the rim under hard cornering, in which case if you have a tubeless tyre you'll have an instant flattie! This is not a Good Thing to have mid-corner!

The standard Minor rim usually takes a 5.20x14 inch cross ply tyre, but these are not only getting difficult and expensive to buy, but are not conducive to great handling! Swapping these for the equivalent-size radial tyre, a 155/70x14, will give your Minor a much better feel on the road; it will sit in corners much better (hiding the effect of worn shock absorbers!) and even provide a smoother ride. But a 155/70x14 tyre is pretty narrow for a Modified Minor!

Standard Minor rims can accept a maximum tyre size of 175x14, but this is an odd size in the non-metric world of tyres, so 165x14 is more common and keeps the rim within it's limits. Late model Van rims are slightly wider and can safely take a 185x14 tyre. Remember to always fit an inner tube to radial tyres - even to tubeless tyres."

Not entirely good information!

Many radial tyres are not suitable for inner tubes because they are not smooth enough inside and can cause the tubes to wear and fail. While it is true that original wheels were not designed for tubeless tyres (note widely used in those days) they have been fitted in their thousands and used for millions of miles with few reports (to my knowledge) of "peeling away" on corners. In fact many replacement crossplys (mine included) are also tubeless.

No harm in fitting tubes (except additional unsprung weight and cost) but make sure the tyres inners are smooth.

Hello Nerys,

I personally wouldn't accept the advice given there, especially the one about the sizes a standard Morris wheel (3" rim) will take.
The 5.20 size quoted is equivelant to about a 130 metric section, to go up to a 175 is about a 25% increase on that. Basically the tyre is an inverted triangle on the rim and the whole carcass will move a lot with hard cornering.
Have a look here http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/equ ... dvice.html for some examples, unfortunately they only start at 5" width, but for that size gives a 165 or 175 as ideal with 185 as maximum.
Also it seems, they too, do not understand the difference between handling and road grip.

Alec

PS, I have just noticed this gem from the quoted Minor Mania advice:- "(hiding the effect of worn shock absorbers!)"

That is utter rubbish, he says that 155 is the equivelant of a 5.20 which it isn't and the extra weight of a larger tyre will adversely affect the 'worn shock absorbers' performance.

Not entirely good information is a bit of an understatement.. A load of bxxxxxxs is nearer.
Tubeless tyres are perfectly safe on Minor rims, I have been running my Series MM on tubeless radials for nearly 35 years without problems and anyone who knows me will know that I am not noted for my gentle cornering. Try finding anecdotal evidence of tubeless tyre failures
Modern equivilent tyres are 145 or 155/80/14 not 70/14. Anything wider than 155 is too wide for a standard Minor rim.

In theory they are right about tubeless tyres as Minors don't have the bead locating ridge on the rims, but in practice i've seen several tubes fail due to abrasion on the inside of a tubeless tyre and never heard of a tubeless tyre deflating due to cornering. i suspect the force required far outweighs the grip of the tyre on the road, ie: the car will slide long before it pulls the tyres off the rims. Even if it gripped I reckon you'd still get it on to two wheels before you pulled a tyre off!
(I used to run tubes, still tend to on older rivetted rims, but theres not much to be gained really.)

As to sizes, thats a bit of dodgy advice. I had a customer who always had 165s on standard rims which looked really odd - a sort of balloon effect. Very bouncy vague handling too, wasn't a happy effect, but you got used to it and I suppose if you never drove another Minor, you'd think its normal. They were very little used cars so I never found out if the tyres wore out on the centre of the tread first - I expect they did!
As for 185s on van rims, I would imagine there would be a clearance issue with the top trunnion. I've seen 175-80-14s onthe back on van rims, fitted to up the gearing for long journeys which seemed to work ok, but personally won't go beyond a 165-70-14 which in my opinion work quite well with the slightly lower profile, obviosly only on a van rim though. Seem to wear evenly too as I've seen off a set of Goodyears on my first van.

It may just be me but my experience of tyre fitters is they will fit anything a customer wants, and they have little knowledge of correct sizes for older cars. You're doing well to find one who knows how to fit tubes these days. (I've heard the opinion that 'if you're not bright enough to be a mechanic you could still be a tyre fitter...' Apols to any knowlegeable tyre fitters out there, but I don't often encounter them.

I've learned to take much of the 'advice' on Minor Mania with a HUGE bucket of salt....... the fact remains - these tyres are FAR TOO WIDE for standard Minor rims. It must be like steering a blancmange.....and in the event of an accident - i wonder what the Insurance Co will say. As others have pointed out - the nearest equiv to the original tyre is a 135 X 14 which i think may have been available at one time - most now use widely available 145, and some (including me) have used the 155 tyre - they were a bit 'wobbly' on the standard rims. I now have them on the 4.5J van rims and they are SO MUCH better. Reputable tyre places will NOT fit over-wide tyres to narrow rims. Their necks are on the block if there an accident later! The ribbing on the inside surface of tubeless tyres comes from the curing bladder (which is filled with high pressure hot water and expands up inside the green tyre carcase - forcing it into the steam heated mould) - and yes - it's not good for the tube to rub against it, and may lead to failure in time. I only have tubes where I haven't been able to keep air pressure in the tyre/wheel when fitted 'tubeless'.

i agree with the points said!
I find tyre fitters have a habit of saying if thats what you want and just write at customers request on the recipt!!
i was also activly encouraged to fit 175/70/14 to std rims when ringing around to replace the 165/80's on my convertable... which was odd as i told them i wanted 145/155's as the 165 size had failures in the front side walls! (not sure weather due to age fitment abuse etc as on the car when i got it). my local suppliers were very helpful but very expensive too. i have gone for the 145/80/14 as this fits the spare gap and looks "right" IMO . oddly the 165's must have been run under inflated at the back as they had sholder wear! The fronts were nice and flat (apart from the bulges )

tubed tyres deflate rapidly compared to tubeless in most cases. Because of this I use that sqidgy fluid to help reduce the rate of inflation ,during my recent puncture ,rear,on my vespa I was able to safely stop from 50 mph,still scary enough
so I've just fitted tubeless rims.
Probably less important with four wheels but nevertheless,as tesco say every little helps

I've just replaced the rather worn Camacs with 4 brand new Bridgestone 145x14s on my 1970 2-door saloon and the ride is now superb. I've set the pressures at 32 front and 34 rear and the handling is now much improved. Previously there was a vibration at around 60mph but this has now disappeared and the car accelerates smoothly to around 70mph with no trouble. Also the ride is much quieter. I'm hoping for a slight improvement on mpg figures...as a norm I usually get 40mpg on a run which I think is very satisfactory.