Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi

Do you think its worth changing from a standard 1000 saloon wheel to something wider?

I currently run 155 80 14 toyos and whilst there okay, they do bounce about a bit...tolerable mind.

I was looking at the new van wheels available from esm but also the minilite/minator alloys. Is there any advantage to making the change? I would be grateful of all views.

If you feel you need something wider, then I doubt the ESM van rims will suit you as you can only go up to 165's on these, ie not a massive gain.

The 155 tyres are MUCH better on 4 1/2" van wheels.. But I wouldn't go to 165 on these rims.

So is it better to have 155 on van wheels or go for the new alloys with 175 or 185 tyres?

Are there benefits to having a wider tyre?

I would say 175 is plenty - and yes - the standard wheels/tyres are very much a limitation for the Minor - even the 155 - although on the van wheels they are much better. But if I could afford - it would be 175 X 70 X 15 on 5.5" J Minilights for me !!

would these not need spacers?

Not if correctly specified.

When changing tyre sizes you need to allow for the change in diameter, there are websites to calculate this. As a rough guide a 175/80/13 is the same diameter as a 155/80/14

On a standard saloon rim I find the 145's give better handling than 155 (155's are technically 'oversize' on a standard Minor rim) and mainly my preference is based on stability during hard cornering.

However, one tyre brand & style can be very different from another - cost can be a factor where more expensive tyres usually outperform cheap tyres, but cost is certainly not the only factor.

I've run 155's and 165's on original 'wide' van rims (LP917 which are 4") and both behaved well, although 165's were a bit too close to the top trunnions.
The aftermarket van rims are usually 4.5" width - I had one set in the past and they gave much better clearance to the top trunnion with 165 tyres. The aftermarket van rims have been made in different forms over the last 20 years, so the new ones available now may be slightly different to the ones I had.

My original van rims are very definitely 4.5J.

The ESM 4 1/2J rims work fine with 155/80/14 tyres.

My original van rims are very definitely 4.5J.

Got a photo with a tape measure against the inside edge of rim??
My photobucket account died, but the very clear 4" pic was in there... the centres were marked as 4.5", but the actual size is 4"

Yes - marked as 4.5J - the size of a wheel isn't measured at the root of the bead seat. I don't think Dunlop (who made these wheels) would be likely to get it wrong. Similarly - a standard wheel will measure 3" at the root - but it's 'real' size is 3.5J.

Just a note on this...

My local garage suggested changing from a 155 80 14 toyo to a 155 70 14 continental, therefore reducing the size of the sidewall, and bounce? Plus better tyre? I'm not sure on this one? I use continental on the modern and they are excellent but how would the 70 profile suffice? Grateful of any thoughts.

It will gear you down - and may look a bit silly in the wing aperature.