Mike, et Listers,
The choice of wheels is, of course, a very personal and important decision
as it affects both appearance and performance in a profound way. With
regard to Halibrands, the July, '94 issue of Tiger Tales carries an article
by Darrell Mountjoy's Halibrand FIA/GT40 replica wheels done by PS
Engineering in Torrance (310-534-4477). They are 15" diameter, 7" width,
with a 4.6" backspacing and weigh 16 lb, 1 oz. The cover of this issues
shows Darrell's car with this wheels. I believe Tom McDaniels has these
same basic wheels in 13" diameter and does very well with them at
competitive events. Most people think the 13" or 14" diameter looks better
balanced than the 15" size. From the viewpoint of available tires, you have
a much better selection of performance tires in 15" than even 14". The best
selection starts with 16", but this is even for me a bit too much on a
Tiger, although a few do use this diameter. I was told by Dale A. that the
wheels he checked had quite a bit of run-out, although within DOT specs.
Can't remember exactly how much, but it sounded pretty bad. This might be a
good question to ask if you consider buying a set.
Regarding rear spacing for the front wheels, I would say that 4.75" is
about perfect, especially if you have 7" wide rims (using 205/50 tires). I
have the earlier style upper control arms with bolt on ball joints that
give just a slight bit more clearance than the later Alpine/Tiger setup,
but I think that with 4.75" rear spacing even the standard control arms
will clear. (My rear spacing is closer to 4.8125".)
Since about 1979 I've been using 15" Centerline wheels on my Tiger. They
are not the right choice for everyone but they are light, strong, and can
be obtained in the diameter, widths, and rear spacing I want. Currently I
have the ConvoPro model with 15"x7.5" in front and 15"x8.0" in back, with
205/50s and 225/50s in front and back, respectively. My rear wheel arches
are flared slightly to accommodate the larger width in back. Back in the
'80s, a lot of people were running Centerlines and I saw some come through
some pretty horrific accidents. In one case, a Chevy powered Porsche driven
by Rod Simpson went off of turn 8 at Willow doing about 130-150 mph doing
extensive damage to the car (and to Rod too!!). I still vividly remember
the twisted, bent Porshe on a trailer, but with its Centerlines still
looking none the worse for the experience. When I ordered my new
Centerlines a few years back I was put off by the jerk they had doing the
tech line. First, he tried to convince my a Tiger needed a 4 on 4.5" bolt
circle. No convincing him that what I really needed was 4 on 4.25". Then, I
wanted to know what the tolerance was on these nominally 5" backspacing
ConvoPro wheels. Well, I guess that was just too technical for him. I think
his answer was something like +/-1/4" The previous wheels had given 4 and
13/16 inches for the rear spacing and, as close as I could check, that's
what they were. Then, finally, I had the temerity to ask if, in the event
they didn't fit, could they be returned. Well, that was totally out of the
question according to the Centerline rep, who strongly suggested I should
look for another supplier for my wheels. This guy must have gotten his
training working for the government!!! (Sorry, I know I'll get in trouble,
but I couldn't resist.) Well, in spite of his bad behavior, and probably
partly just for further pixx him off, I ordered the wheels anyway. Still
glad I did, although if I was running the company, I'd do a few things
differently; like dump the Ricky Racer center caps, include the correct lug
nuts (the ones at M,M, & J) won't work), and of course, fire that tech rep.
Well, I've rambled on quite enough for one posting, so bye for now guys.
Bob
At 11;51!QM!3/13/99!-1511-!MWood24020@`ol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 2/13/99 9:39:53 AM Pacific Standard Time, rande@thecia.net
>writes:
>
>I completely agree with your comments on Rick's operation, he is always
>helpful and professional.
>While Panasports and Minilites are available and look great (kind of period
>correct even in a 14" diameter), I am trying to source something a little
>different. I seems there are really only three choices for Tiger wheels these
>days: 8-spoke (minilite), LAT 70 and stock, steel. I know there are still sets
>of the American Racing Libres out in the swap meets, but they are 13" diameter
>in a Tiger correct bolt pattern and offset, as far as I know, and 13" tires
>are getting to be a real pain in the axx to find.
>Has anyone explored Halibrand's current offerings? I would love to find a 14"
>wheel with that 60's magnesium race wheel look. Any other ideas?
>Mike Wood
>
Robert L. Palmer
Dept. of AMES, Univ. of Calif., San Diego
rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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