MGB need tire size recommendations for 77 MGB

[htchevyii]

Hi guys,
I just found the score of a lifetime on wheels for my Dad's 77 Mgb. My dad took his car to a local tire shop to get a flat repaired and the manager mentioned he had a set of chrome wires he wanted to get rid of and would sell for $600.00 We decided to get them for my dad's b-day and when I went to get them, the manager said he'd sell them for $400.00! They are 14x6 Chrome Daytons! Brand new in the boxes! Anyway, we saved enough to buy tires too, so what would you recommend? 185/70r14? How are Sumitomo HTR 200's? We are planning to hit the autocross a few times, just for fun. The car is stock, but may get slightly lowered, eventually. Thanks.

 

[bob67bgt]

Great score on the wheels! I run 185/70's. I have not run Sumitomo tires. The last set of 14" tires i got were from The Tire Rack. Dunlop FE20 and they balanced up great. Bob

 

[rick_ingram]

I also run 185SR70's on my 1978 MGB

 

[swift6]

Before you get all excited about your new wire wheels... How are the hubs? You should probably replace those too. If they are worn out, they will trash your new wheels pretty quickly. Also, if you plan on autocrossing with wire wheels, don't get a real sticky tire or you could start loosening and popping spokes. Wire wheels flex an awful lot for performance driving.

Great price though! :thumbsup:

 

[htchevyii]

Ya, I was thinking he should keep the old wheels/tires for the track so he doesn't trash the new ones. The current tires are ancient Michelins. Any tips on inspecting the hubs? I think the car has had a pretty easy life, he bought it from a lady in her 60's who owned it for many years and rarely drove it. Thanks

 

[swift6]

Are the wheels your replacing wires too? If so, examine the splines on the hubs for the wire wheels. If they come to sharp points or have little curls beginning then it is time for new ones. You usually want to replace wheels and splined hubs/adapters together.

Scrap the ancient Michelin's. They will do no one any good and are unsafe, especially for any competition use. Wire wheels are not the best choice for competition either. Unfortunately it is not easy to switch from wire to steel like it is on Triumphs, so you will probably just have to deal with that part.

If you don't know him yet, you should also get to know Doug Milota, he goes by AngliaGT here on BCF. You both live in the same town I believe.

 

[Hap Waldrop]

I had 14" Daytons on my 67 MGB GT and recently made the conversion to bolt on wheels by switiching the front and rear hubs (I did not switch the rear end housing) and using longer studs and wheel spacers in rear, I've put a couple of thousand miles on the set up and it has performaed fine.

OK back to the spokes, yes follow the advice of the others and closely inspect the condidtion of your splined hubs. I ran 195/65/14s with my Daytons, and no clearence issues whatsoever, but no two MGs are the exact same when it comes to axle housing centering so that depend alot on how wide a tire you can use. 185/70/ is the most recommended tire tire size, but 195/60/14 is another way alot of fols go as well, I never ran the Sumitomos, but I hear lots of good things form folks hat do, and at around $50 a tire at Tire Rack, it's a popular choice, it's probably the tire choice I will go with in the future.