BN1 Wheel-Tyre Combination

[smuudge]

Hi everyone, I am embarking on some subtle upgrades to my BN1. namely a full handling package upgrade and new wheels and tyres.

I wondered what everyone's thoughts/recommendations are for a wider wheel and tyre combo to fill the arches without causing fitment issues.

I have earmarked some 72 spoke 5" wheels with Avon CRZZ 175/70/15 tyres which i believe should fill the arches a bit more and improve the handling considerably.

Grateful for any advice, or suggestions.

Thanks

 

[Editor_Reid]

Funny you should mention it. I am just now changing the tires on my BN2. Here's the story.

About 13 years ago I bought a set of four of the replica Dunlop wheels from Cape International. At that time all they had was 6-inch wide (I believe they now also have a 5.5-inch version). Yes, they were pricey - and even pricier now - but they look so good, are strong, and they're very, very easy to clean. They are true spline-drive wheels so you put them on the same as wire wheels; no adaptors or anything else needed.

On the recommendation of a well-known Austin-Healey restorer I also bought, at the same time, the very tires you are contemplating. I had them mounted in the UK before the wheels/tires were shipped to me. (I would not do that again, but that's a different story.)

The cost of all this was somewhat staggering (with shipping and customs/duty it came out to about $1,000 ... per wheel), but it was 13 years ago and I've mostly recovered by now. I'll never need another set of wheels for the car, and they really look fabulous.

However, I have found the Avon tires to be "more tire" than the car needs. They are virtually street-legal race tires, and I don't drive the car hard. While I don't exactly regret buying the Avons, I have just replaced them with a more conventional tire with a more conventional (original) appearance, namely, Michelin XAS in size 180/15 (80 aspect ratio). I bought these from Longstone, my go-to tire source for vintage cars.

In fact, I would have bought 5.90/15 cross-ply tires as I like the original look and I like the idea of driving the car the way it looked, felt and handled when new. (I've owned and driven a Healey with 5.90/15 cross-ply tires and an MGA with 6.00/15 cross-ply, and I love it.) However, while my local tire shop said that they could mount 5.90 cross-ply tires on the 6-inch wheels, they also said they'd look funny and I probably would not be happy. If it were not for the 6-inch wheels, I definitely would have bought a taller, narrower tire. The XAS's are a compromise between the 6-inch wheels and my desire for tires with an original profile (tall and narrow).

All of that said, if you're set on better handling and you plan to drive the car pretty hard, the Avons are likely an excellent choice.

 

[BoyRacer]

72 spoke wheels are strong but also very heavy wheels. Heavy wheels are not desirable for good handling. Also, 72 spoke wheels have a lot of spokes that don't look so good on a 100/4 - too busy in my opinion. Of course it's your car, not mine - But - please consider 60 spoke wheels. They are strong enough and have a cleaner look - in my opinion.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

72 spoke wheels are strong but also very heavy wheels. Heavy wheels are not desirable for good handling. Also, 72 spoke wheels have a lot of spokes that don't look so good on a 100/4 - too busy in my opinion. Of course it's your car, not mine - But - please consider 60 spoke wheels. They are strong enough and have a cleaner look - in my opinion.

Agree. However, some (most?) 60-spokers won't fit on a 100 with front drums; I do think at least one brand/vendor has a solution--sufficient offset--but I don't recall who off the top-of-my head. I just put a new set of MWS 48-spokers with Vredestein tires on my BN2; I am quite happy with them. AFAIK, Dayton and Dunlop/MWS are the only remaining manufacturers of original-type wire wheels. I thought MWS was a newish company, but no:

MWS

Renowned worldwide for the manufacture and restoration of veteran, vintage and classic wire wheels since 1927

www.mwsint.com

My BJ8 had what appeared to be the original painted 60-spoke wheels (the car only had 64K miles on it when I bought it). Within a couple months of ownership I had broken several spokes with only 'spirited' driving.

 

[BoyRacer]

I forgot about that. I learned that lesson in 1978 when I bought some new 60 spoke chrome wire wheels from FASPEC here in Portland. I was driving a 100/6 with drum brakes. The drums interfered with the spokes. FASPEC had a disc brake setup from an early 3000 that they gladly sold me . So I converted to disc brakes in order to use my 60 spoke wires.

 

[Guido36]

MWS are certainly not a new company. Colin Smith - the founder of MWS - made me a custom set of triple laced Borrani style 72 spoke wheels for a non Healey project in 1977. Excellent company then and still excellent now.

Like Reid, I run Dunlop alloy style wheels on my BN1 which is what DMH ran on a couple of the Special Test cars before Jaguar ever used them, at Sebring in March 1954 and at the Mille Miglia in May 1954 as well as on various record setting Healeys at Bonneville and they do indeed absolutely correct.

 

[DerekJ]

Fun fact….the wheels on the Sebring car were 16 inch.

 

[smuudge]

Funny you should mention it. I am just now changing the tires on my BN2. Here's the story.

About 13 years ago I bought a set of four of the replica Dunlop wheels from Cape International. At that time all they had was 6-inch wide (I believe they now also have a 5.5-inch version). Yes, they were pricey - and even pricier now - but they look so good, are strong, and they're very, very easy to clean. They are true spline-drive wheels so you put them on the same as wire wheels; no adaptors or anything else needed.

On the recommendation of a well-known Austin-Healey restorer I also bought, at the same time, the very tires you are contemplating. I had them mounted in the UK before the wheels/tires were shipped to me. (I would not do that again, but that's a different story.)

The cost of all this was somewhat staggering (with shipping and customs/duty it came out to about $1,000 ... per wheel), but it was 13 years ago and I've mostly recovered by now. I'll never need another set of wheels for the car, and they really look fabulous.

View attachment 81150

However, I have found the Avon tires to be "more tire" than the car needs. They are virtually street-legal race tires, and I don't drive the car hard. While I don't exactly regret buying the Avons, I have just replaced them with a more conventional tire with a more conventional (original) appearance, namely, Michelin XAS in size 180/15 (80 aspect ratio). I bought these from Longstone, my go-to tire source for vintage cars.

In fact, I would have bought 5.90/15 cross-ply tires as I like the original look and I like the idea of driving the car the way it looked, felt and handled when new. (I've owned and driven a Healey with 5.90/15 cross-ply tires and an MGA with 6.00/15 cross-ply, and I love it.) However, while my local tire shop said that they could mount 5.90 cross-ply tires on the 6-inch wheels, they also said they'd look funny and I probably would not be happy. If it were not for the 6-inch wheels, I definitely would have bought a taller, narrower tire. The XAS's are a compromise between the 6-inch wheels and my desire for tires with an original profile (tall and narrow).

All of that said, if you're set on better handling and you plan to drive the car pretty hard, the Avons are likely an excellent choice.

Hi Reid, thanks for the info on your car. Looks great on those Dunlop reps.

You mentioned 6inch wheels, Are the Dunlops 6"? I thought anything over 5" caused all sorts of issues with rubbing etc?

What size Avons did you fit to it?

I have quotes for both 5 and 5.5" wheels and am not sure what to go for!

My inspiration is the Cape Works specials by JME. Pic below.

Thanks in advance
Ben

 

[Editor_Reid]

Hi Reid, thanks for the info on your car. Looks great on those Dunlop reps.

You mentioned 6inch wheels, Are the Dunlops 6"? I thought anything over 5" caused all sorts of issues with rubbing etc?

Yes, the Dunlop replica wheels on my car are 6 inches wide. Oddly, they aren't marked, and it had been 12 or so years since I bought them and I didn't remember exactly. So I actually removed one and took it to my local tire shop where they measured it with a large calipers. Steve Norton, owner-operator of Cape International, told me in a recent email that they also now have a 5.5-inch version. However, I have had no problems with interference/fouling with the 6-inch version.

What size Avons did you fit to it?

175/70-15.

I have quotes for both 5 and 5.5" wheels and am not sure what to go for!

Depends on the performance you want, and the look you want. As I mentioned, I would even go so far as to get 5.90/15 cross ply tires for the car - the same size and type as originally supplied. I don't drive the car hard, and it's easy to induce a low-speed oversteer with cross-plies and that's fun to control - you're experiencing the car as it was when new. If you want a great-handling car for hard driving, I'd say buy a BMW Z3 or a Miata or something like that.

My inspiration is the Cape Works specials by JME. Pic below.

Thanks in advance
Ben

I have a set of wire wheels that I rattle-canned (spray-painted) black, just to see how they'd look on the car. They give the car a tough look, no doubt about it.

 

[glemon]

I have fit a lot of my old sports cars, including the 100 I had, with 165/80-15 tires. As I recall maybe a little wider and shorter than the original tire, but not by much. In all cases the cars had wider tires before I fit the 165s, 185 or even 195 section width. The fitting of the narrower tire transformed the feeling of the cars, making them feel lighter and more agile. Combination of lighter steering and the car slipping before it is riding on the bump stops I suppose. Used to be you could get a Dunlop radial in that size (commonly fit to the VW Beetle as well), which I thought suited the car well.

Later I think I might have fit some off brand like Nankang or something like that. A bit jarring when you looked at the sidewall, but drove pretty much the same as the tires that preceded it.

If you want to impress at the autocross the wider tires will certainly help (though buying a "little Healey" to go with your big Healey will help still more), but for day to day driving, skinny tires within the parameters the cars were originally designed for are best. I will add that I have owned bias plys as well, and never cared much for the feel, but the ones I tried were all old, hard tires the cars came with, never tried fitting a new set.

 

[Guido36]

@DerekJ - my wheels are also 16” diameter which gives me a much needed 1/2” extra ground clearance….