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
On 9/23/2010 12:27 PM, barncobob@aol.com wrote:
> i have a stock 65 tiger with 13" minilites and 205/60/13 tires.
> i want to upgrade to 15" something(panasports or look alikes)
> i do not want to do any body modifiations.
> is there a wheel of this type in 15" and tire size etc. that will work.
> i would really like to hear from someone who is currently running this combo'
> do u need 6" on front and 7" on rears?
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--
Randy Smith
INNER QUEST, Inc.
34752 Charles Town Pike
Purcellville, VA 20132
703-478-1078
540-668-6699
540-668-6253 fax
InnerQuestOnline.com <http://www.innerquestonline.com/>
RSSmithIQ@cs.com
Tiger- B382000189
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