--- "TJ Tryon, Jr." <tjt@insightbb.com> wrote:
> OK, time for some fun. Anyone here race their MG in
> solo II?
Dean, are you still out there? Dean Lake used to be
on this list and he autocrosses his MGB GT. A very
sharp guy with a lot of experience. I imagine he'd be
a valuable resource.
> Can stock wire wheels handle the pressure, or
> are the mini-lites a must?
If the wires are in good shape, they should be fine.
The trick to getting wire wheels to work in
competition is that they have to be trued up a few
times when they are new, because they stretch and move
when they are breaking in. Usually they have to be
trued once when new, again when they have about 1000
miles on them, and again when they have about 10,000
miles on them. After that, they should be fine. So
if they have been taken care of and the splines are
good, they are fundamentally plenty strong.
I have wires on my MGB vintage racer, and I have spent
a ton of time talking to people who really know wires.
John Targett, for example, used to race his MGB on
14x5.5 60-spoke wires, and is very competitive. He
runs very sticky 205/60-14 Hoosier DOT-legal road
racing tires, and switched to minilites recently to
reduce maintenance - not for safety reasons. The guys
at Hendrix Wire Wheel in Greensboro also swear up and
down that wires (if properly taken care of) will be
plenty, plenty strong for road racing.
They ARE, however, a lot higher maintenance items than
alloy or steel road wheels. Which can get real old in
a hurry. But if you're only doing the occasional
event, you should be fine.
I have 14x5.5 wires with 195/60-14 DOT-legal road
racing tires on them. I've only done a couple of
"testing" days so far (the car isn't fully race ready
yet), but they are holding up fine so far.
Have fun with it!
=====
Paul Misencik - 1971 MGB - www.sopwithracing.com
THE CAROLINA TROPHY - 2005
A vintage driving event in the spirit
of the Mille Miglia, Rallye des Alpes,
and Colorado Grand.
See www.carolinatrophy.com for details.
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