Hi Randy:
Good post. I bought my Minilites about the same time you bought your
Panasports, back in '05. I believe both wheels are a good choice for our
Tigers, and they look similar. I have 15x5.5" on the front, and 15x6" on the
rear.
I don't remember the offsets unfortunately, and am not entirely happy with
the offset of my front rims. They protrude a bit outside the front fender
well. I bought them from an outfit in the U.K. & took the recommendation of
the counter person who was reading out of their fitment manual. They have
since gone out of business. (Perhaps because of their fitment manual? heh
heh...)
BTW, My wheel wells are completely stock and unmolested with these wheels
fitted and - no interference. My Wilwood's fit right in there too, no prob.
But Minilite does make many stock offsets, and will make any offset you
like, if you know what you want...
http://www.minilitewheels.us/Wheels.aspx also see:
http://www.minilitewheels.com/technical.htm
The only comment I have about these wheels vs stock is they really stiffen
up the ride. These low profile tires require higher than stock pressures,
and don't provide any small bump compliance at all. They are quite
unpleasant on a rough road. If you aren't into autocross or any other form
of racing, a bit more sidewall would add a lot of comfort.
OTH, they stick like doggy do on a carpet, and provide a lot more stability
when pushing it on the back roads where our cars need to be driven.
Each to his and her own...
Dave
Subject: Re: [Tigers] upgrade to 15" rims tires
> Hi guys-
>
> Here's a post I did back in '05 right after I did a bunch of research
> and upgraded to 15" Panasports.
>
> I just went through the same decisions. I started with the same opinion
> and bias that you expressed. I also wanted Minilites, since owning
> similar cars in the 60's. And I wanted a period look. As I got into
> it, the selection of 13" tires seemed to be too limited, so I decided to
> compromise and go to 14's. The selection of 14's turned out to be no
> better. In the end, I went with Panasports in 15". I have to tell you,
> they really look awesome on the car and they actually ride better than
> the 13's, and certainly handle a lot better. The main reason I went
> with Panasports rather than Minilites is the selection of widths and
> offsets. I wanted to correct the narrow rear track, and could only do
> it with spacers behind the Minilites. Spacers make me nervous. I blew
> one off of my Mini at an autocross once. I also wanted to be able to
> get the widest width that would fit without modification. The Minilites
> only come in one width and one offset. In the end, I got 15 x 6's for
> the front with 195/50/15's and I got 15 x 7's for the rear with
> 205/50/15's. I used Dunlops. The rears have additional offset to the
> outside and the track is now more even. The fronts fit with just some
> gentle bending of the front valance with my hands. The rears did
> require me to do some minor grinding of the inner lip of the fender, but
> this was accomplished in a few minutes without being able to see
> anything from the outside. The Panasports really have the Minilite
> look, but are a more modern wheel. I'm really happy with the setup. If
> you get Panasports, buy them through a knowledgeable Tiger shop. There
> are a variety of offsets and someone with experience can get you the
> right ones without guessing. Besides, everyone's prices are about the
> same. I bought mine from Dale's Restoration and he had them shipped
> straight from Panasport. By the way, Panasports use standard American
> style tapered lugnuts. You can buy them from any parts supplier. They
> are 7/16" x 20 thread. Most of them take a 13/16" wrench which is hard
> to get into a Panasport. Get the ones that will work with a 3/4"
> wrench. "Mr. Lugnut" brand makes an appropriate one. The 50 series
> tires are the same rolling diameter as stock, so the speedo is unchanged.
>
> That's my 2 cents worth.
>
> -Randy
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