Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello one and all,
In order to give more grip and safer cornering and stopping in the wet I''m considering changing my standard wheels for some wider ones over the winter months. I'm looking for advice as to:

a. Is it worth doing?
b. Do the 4.5 van rims make any significant difference?
c. What width of rim, 4.5", 5" or 5.5" J or rim width?
d. banded originals?
e. European 'branded' 14" radial tyre choice & size.

This is on a '67 Traveller with Ford vented discs on the front and servo and running the tyres at just under 30 psi all round. Not wanting to fit 13" rims as this will adversely affect cruising speed & RPM and speedo accuracy. However needing oversteer on traffic islands just keeping up with the eurobox traffic can be a little too exciting for the passenger these days.
Reminds me of my Gp4 RS2000 of fifty years ago !! Happy Days the induction sound of two 45 Webbers never leaves you................

I fitted 5 1/2" re-hooped wheels and fitted them with 165/70/14 tyres which are the same diameter as the original tyres that were fitted. The car felt great and gripped very well with no noticeable extra heaviness to the steering. Unfortunately I had to remove them as I found cracking between the stud holes on one wheel (the wheels were very old) but eventually plan to fit another, newer, set.

The amount of grip that a tyre can exert is affected by many things.two of which are the area in contact with the road and the weight acting on the tyre. If you keep the vehicle weight the same but increase the tyre area then you are reducing the downward pressure in terms of psi - simple mathematics. In some conditions, this could reduce the grip of the tyre. A wider spare might not fit under the floor. Having driven a Minor for 40+ winters, I would stick with good quality standard tyres. The real factor is how well the driver can handle the conditions.

Would not wider wheels/tyres increase petrol consumption?

The steering is certainly much heavier with wider wheels.

Remember that the LCVs were fitted with thicker steering arms, possibly to help cope with this?

I had the 4.5J 8cwt van wheels (fitted with 165/70/14 radials) on my Traveller for a few years. It drove well and certainly looked more purposeful but somebody wanted to buy them from me and offered me a very good price - just as the tyres were needing to be replaced - and I had a set of perfectly good standard wheels and 145/80/14 tyres so agreed to change. Honestly, there was no discernible difference in grip, the steering felt lighter and sharper and the car felt absolutely as good and surefooted on the standard wheels and tyres. I have found the same with Sprites and Mini Coopers over the years that wider wheels and tyres look good but don't do anything for the drive of a road car. What makes the biggest difference is simply the quality of the tyre rather than the width of it. I can't really fault the road behavior of my Minor on its current 145/80/14 Bridgestone tyres. If you have old or inferior tyres on any car the road behavior will be magically improved by a new set regardless of size but it'll be the fact that you have new tyres that make the biggest difference.

I fitted these back in the early 70's, 175 X 14! Called Midland Metalics.
Not sure I would do it now - but I still like them

Alan

Morris Minors can look great on wide wheels I agree The OP was asking whether they will make his car safer.

I am doubtful

I currently have the LP917 van wheels with 165/70 tyres on my Traveller, mostly for aesthetic reasons, additionally with chrome rimembellishers to accentuate the deep dish look.
P1020873 by mtjhunt, on Flickr

I would say the steering is slightly heavier when parking, but no noticeable difference otherwise.

I would agree with ManyMinors & Chipper.
Good tyres (properly inflated) and a good driver are the prerequisites for safe driving.

Once again thank you all very much for your advice, on balance I think I'll find a set (4) of 4.5" van rims and mate them with some 165/70 European or Japanese rubber which should do the trick for me.
Anyone got 4x 4.5" van rims surplus to requirements please??
Regards
Steve