On Fri, 17 Oct 1997 16:42:33 -0500 Bill Eastman
<william.eastman@medtronic.com> writes:
>..... Do MGA's have safety rims?.....
Just plain smooth bead rims like most other LBCs.
Having said that, I must also say that I have been running tubeless tires
on my MGA for the last 10 years and 125,000 miles, and you know how I
drive. I have had two tires go flat from road hazards, and lose all air
in a matter of seconds, both in a straight line, one on a paved road and
one on a gravel road. Neither tire came loose from the rim before
stopping.
I also spent two years racing on street tires (radials) on stock steel
wheels, and another year thrashing a set of race tires to death on the
same stock steel wheels. I don't believe I have knowingly ever run tire
pressures less than 25 psi, and I've never had one lose pressure from a
bead separation.
I have also run a few more sets of race tires down to the cords while
mounted on my custom aluminum race wheels. I do sometimes run these
tires with pressures in the 22-25 psi range, take corners faster than any
sane person would ever do on street tires, and I've never had any
problems here either. As reference to how much lateral loading these
tires see, when I ran them on stock steel wheels I was getting stress
cracks in a wheel every few race dates, which was the impetus for forking
out the $$$$$ for the aluminum wheels. And as another point of interest,
the race wheels also do not have safety beads on the rims.
IMHO, the number one safety concern for any wheel/tire combination is to
check the tire pressures regularly. I have absolutely no qualms about
not having "safety rims". And I have just donned an asbestos suit, so
let the flames begin.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
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