TR2/3/3A Alloys on TR3 with 10 inch drums

[mgedit]

I've not been very successful in finding steel wheels for my car that are straight. I'm coming to the conclusion that I will be forced to go for alloys. Two questions. Will Minilite replicas or real Minilites for that matter fit with 10 inch drums (I still have them front and back)? Second, there are a number of Minilite replicas on the market. Are there differences between the various wheels that are offered by different vendors? I really don't want to go larger than 5.5 inch as I'd like to stick with 165 tyres. Comments and suggestions most welcome. Cheers, Mike

 

[TR4nut]

Hi Mike-

I know KN Minators fit with 10" drums based on the 3A I'm building - if they fit in the back, they should in the front as well. Can't say much about the different vendors, other than as a guess if you limit to 5.5" KNs are probably the dominant wheel out there.

And if I can get Hap to read this thread, I can get him to note that I'm not the only one who likes going with a narrower profile tire!

Randy

 

[6969ronin6969]

I'll third the narrower profile...

Also, if you plan to stick with a 15" rim then you should have no trouble fitting over the 10" brake drum.

Eric

 

[NutmegCT]

Mike - as I said earlier, I've been very happy with my 5.5 wheels and 165 tires.

Say, didn't you tell us that your shop had chosen six of your old wheels they felt they could straighten?

What happened with that?

Tom

 

[mgedit]

Good memory Tom ... yes I had 6 of 15 candidates with potential for straightening. Two were workable, but the others had issues in the hub area and were considered to be non-repairable. So now I have 2 good rims for the spare. Spent time searching the web for alloys yesterday, but its hard to get exact information about the "brand" of the Minilite copies. I really wonder if there is any difference between all the copies? Getting them to Canada is also a lot more expensive. Seems it might be cheaper from the UK than the US when shipping cost is included.

What would be really nice to find would be a 4.5 or 5 inch alloy wheel, but doubt we'll see anyone make those any time soon.

Cheers, Mike

 

[TR4nut]

Mike-

The set of rims I sourced for my TR4 recently came from MWS (Midland Wheel Suppply) in the UK - even with shipping they were cheaper than what I found in the US for 5.5" width. The brand I bought was John Brown (JBW) and I like them - the caveat is that they use conical lugs instead of the shouldered lugs on a KN wheel. With this I am at the bare minimum thread engagement and I will likely try to go to a longer stud at some point. However, frequent paranoid checking of my lugs has not shown any issues at this point.

Randy