Skye:
Bill has sage advice. My 65 Sebring replica is still on wire
wheels. I was able to secure a set of Stag 14X5.5 72 spoke wheels which are
very strong, but heavy. The wire wheels restricted my ability to late brake
as I was always waiting for the ripping sound of the front splines giving
out. The good news is that my rear axles are less likely to snap than those
of a stock early steel wheel rear end.
If you are serious about racing or auto crossing, go with bolt on
wheels. It's one less thing to worry about. My car is more living history
than racer, but even so I am looking at the mod. Lloyd Faust came up with to
modify the early wire wheel axles to accept bolt on wheels. Bolt on
minilites are a lot cheaper than 5.5 wires to keep spare tires on.
Keep in mind Paddy and Timo had factory backing. Wheels and splines
were replaced on a regular basis.
Kelvin.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Skye Poier [mailto:skye@ffwd.com]
> Sent: Monday, February 08, 1999 10:46 PM
> To: MG Nuts
> Subject: Racing Wires - whats the deal
>
>
> When considering my future (distant future $$$) wheel
> purchase, and after
> taking into consideration the fact that I want to do some autox, it
> seemed a given to convert to bolt-on hubs and get some mags (I like
> the minilite style - not a problem).
>
> But then I noticed something - hey all these pictures of Bs
> "back in the
> day" at Sebring, Le Mans, and what have you in the 60s the
> cars are running
> on knockoffs!! Some minilites, some wires. If its good
> enough for Paddy
> and Timo, its good enough for me.
>
> So whats the deal? Were those standard or uprated splined hubs? Did
> they use some sort of "pin" device I've heard mentioned? How
> would current
> 72-spoke offerings from the usual suspects (Moss - Dunlop?) stand up?
>
> I'm a sucker for wires, what can I say. I love how they go all blurry
> when you go fast and the spinners look like little blender
> blades. But I
> don't want to break the bank on wheels I'm going to thrash about.
>
> Curious, Skye
>
> --
> 1966 MGB The MGB Experience __,__\__ Safety Fast!
> GHN3L-70307 http://www.mgb.bc.ca/ (_o____o_) MGOFR 1.375
>
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