TR4/4A Alloy wheels for 165R15

[TRMark]

I am thinking about going back to the stock size tires, but really do not like the looks of the steel wheels and hubcaps. I am running 6" VTO's I bought from Hap, I like them fine, but the tires are pretty wide. 195's work fine but the dia. is wrong, the 205's have the right look as far as dia. but stick out past the body. I am thinking of getting a shorter tire and using the VTO's for autocross. Have not seen any narrow alloy wheels.

 

[glemon]

Although I have by no means researched it thoroughly, I think six inch or maybe 5.5" is going to be about as skinny as you will find in a modern alloy, maybe there are some vintage wheels that you might be able to find that are skinnier, but you are probably going to have to search pretty hard. I always liked the look of the Dunlop steel wheel knock offs as fitted to MGA twin cams and jaguar D types and other period race cars, I think you can still get these new, but wheel and hub combo would be expensive, and don't know how they would look on a TR4, and I suppose it is not really an alloy. Might try these guys, Hap used to frequent this forum https://www.acmespeedshop.com/wheels.html

 

[Vaark01]

I have a set of 5.5 Panasports on my TR3 and love them. You may want to check them out.

Paul

 

[TR4nut]

Mark- if you use 5.5" alloys you can run with the stock 165 tires, which is what I do on my 3A - I tried to persuade Hap to see if VTO would make 5.5" but apparently the market just isn't there. A few 5.5" options are out there - Panasport, KN Minators, JBW wheels etc.

Also, 195-65 I think is very very close to 165-80s, I've used 195-65s on my TR4 for quite a while.

edit: I bought JBW wheels out of the UK, but I see you can get them here pretty easily:
https://www.gbcarparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=15x55MinilightMGAnthracite

 

[TRMark]

Guess I could use the 6" VTO for autocross and purchase the 5.5 as the 165's would fit. Any chance you could post a picture of the 3A with this set up? I bid on some 4.5" alloy wheels on ebay years ago. IIRC they were some kind of an option back in the 60's. I see that Hap is no longer selling VTO, he is showing Retro Sports on his website. They are available in 5.5. I ran 195-65 on the TR4 for years should have stayed with them, they are shorter than the stock 165R but with an overdrive and 3.7 rear they cruised at highway speeds just fine. The 205's are closer to correct diameter, just to wide, in my opinion. My research has the diameter of a 165R as 25.65, 165-80 as 25.4, 195-65 as 24.5, 205-65 as 25.5

 

[Bremer]

What we need is a 195-70. Too bad nobody makes them.

 

[TR4nut]

Mark-

Not a great pic to look at the tires/wheels exactly but here's a shot with my 5.5 rims and 165-15 Kumhos. I can take a closeup of the tire/wheel fit for you if you want - but I think they fit fine on the rims and don't look too skinny.

Randy

 

[TRMark]

Thanks for pic, Randy. The car looks great. The 5.5 wheel and 165 tires look good, unfortunately the Kumho (which I like) in that size is no longer available. I think the perfect size may be a 185-70, I found those in Pirelli at $202. each, Ouch!

 

[TR4nut]

I need to check the date code on the Powerstars - but Discount Tire here in Texas still sells them which keeps the price way down.

 

[MHW]

Here's my car with 205/70 Yokohama's mounted to 5.5" Panasports. Diameter is close to correct, and the tires do not extend beyond fenders.

 

[TRMark]

The fronts stick out quite a bit on mine. 205/65 on the 6" VTO