TR2/3/3A Latest Tires

[TomMull]

Edit: Oh, I went with the 165/80r15's all around, and the 145/80r15 for the spare. I'll report back later with the spare compartment fit...

John,
I can't remember when ST went from the 4 to the 4.5 width rims, but probably likely your car had the 4. I think the spare compartment was enlarged a couple of time since then. Wire wheels also complicated the fit even further, and I assume you have steel disc wheels. Seems likely too that the 145/80 will fit the earlier tire compartments. I'll be looking for your report and maybe a picture of the tires too.
Tom

 

[Geo Hahn]

So how do you guys get your shipped-to-you tires mounted on your wheels?...

I use the Harbor Freight mounting set-up and balancer. Alternately, some of the on-line sellers will have a network of local shops that they will ship to so you can have the tires mounted there.

Locally I find Discount Tire very cooperative - they realize that I am buying online because I can't get the tires I want through them. Indeed, if they could] get the tires I would buy from them as they readily match the online price.

Only DIY issue I had was inflating & seating a set of tubeless Vreds that had taken on a pinched shape that my air compressor couldn't overcome. Discount Tire did the inflation & seating for me at no charge.

 

[martx-5]

John,
... I think the spare compartment was enlarged a couple of time since then. Wire wheels also complicated the fit even further...

The compartment got expanded at post 60k by about 3/8" upwards. The trick to getting wire wheels in the compartment is to put them in with the outer part of the wheel facing down...in other words, outside down.

155's are about as fat as can go into the early compartments and 165's in the post 60k compartment.

 

[parkerg1]

Try Summit Racing, they ship pre paid over $100.00. I bought Vredestein for $119.00, and am happy with them.
Gary

 

[Sarastro]

I'm following this with some interest, as I need to face the problem of tires as I restore my TR4A. If the wheels are OK, I will probably get the Vredesteins, as they seem to be the best, safest choice in 165-size tires. There is also a Nankang in 165/80R15, but I just don't know enough about them. There are a couple other low-cost tires in that size, but I know even less about those.

I scanned the archives, but most of the 165 tires discussed in the past are no longer available. I guess that says something.

Another option is to get a set of 15x6 aluminum wheels and tires in 195/65R15. That involves another ~$200 each for the wheels I like, so I probably won't do that, unless the steel wheels are no good. But it would open up the tire options considerably. This is what I have on my Porsche, with Nexen tires, and I'm perfectly happy with them. https://www.nonlintec.com/porsche/tires/index.html

BTW I also use the Harbor Fright tire changer to mount my tires, and I balance them with an old Coats wheel balancer. It was good enough in 1967, and it's good enough now!

 

[CJD]

Sorry, I lost track of this thread after I ordered my tires. Thanks again for all the responses!

The tires are due today, so I dug the wires wheels out of the shed. I bought the wires off Ebay about 3 years ago. When they arrived, I opened one wheel and it looked pretty good for a used wheel...so I put them all away, waiting for, well, now! When I opened them all up yesterday, it turns out I had, by sheer chance, opened the best of the 5. Figures! They are usable wheels, but on the back side of their life cycle. I'd call then decent "10 footers", if you are looking at them.

They'll due for now. And, they are the original style 4" wide with 48 spokes. They look pretty flimsy, so no racing with this car! But they are really light weight as rims go. I was amazed.

I do have another question...

Do you guys use a rubber protector band around the spoke nuts where they contact the inner tube? Most wires I have had have such a protector band, but these wheels have the spoke nuts all the way against the outer edge of the rim. It doesn't look like a band would stay in place there.

 

[charleyf]

John,
The place to look at "very used" wire wheels is not the outside looks but rather the inside splines. The splines tend to wear and the wheel gets loose. You don't notice it when turning by hand. But once mounted on the car put the car in forward, stop and then go into reverse. If you hear a "clunk" sound the splines are in poor condition. The louder the"clunk" the faster that you want those off of your car. This process will happen every time that you put on the brakes or accelerate.
I bought a used car for the primary purpose of getting the whole set up for wire wheels. In the end the only part that was safe to use were the knock-offs. But I had to learn the "clunk" thing for myself.
Just buying new wheel spline adapters did not solve the actual wire wheel problem and I would guess that only putting on new wire wheels onto old wheel spline adapters would not solve it either. I understand that some folks in the past have had the rude awakening of not having any brakes as a result of this problem. You actually have brakes but the wheel just spins on the wheel adapters, so you cannot stop the car. I would guess that this process would happen one wheel at a time rather than all four at once.
Charley

 

[CJD]

Thanks, Charley. Yep, I learned that lesson too! If the splines are sharp, then you're on borrowed time. New splines have a "flat" at the peak. As they wear the flat turns into a knife edge.

 

[sp53]

I do not see a rubber strip, but maybe there is something on each spoke. I did need to purchase some valve stem rubber for where the tube goes through the wheel. The only place I could find them were at Henderson Wire Wheels back east
steve

 

[CJD]

I do not see a rubber strip, but maybe there is something on each spoke. I did need to purchase some valve stem rubber for where the tube goes through the wheel. The only place I could find them were at Henderson Wire Wheels back east
steve

I didn't even think about that. Is it like a grommet that goes in the rim stem hole?

 

[CJD]

John,
The place to look at "very used" wire wheels is not the outside looks but rather the inside splines. The splines tend to wear and the wheel gets loose. You don't notice it when turning by hand. But once mounted on the car put the car in forward, stop and then go into reverse. If you hear a "clunk" sound the splines are in poor condition. The louder the"clunk" the faster that you want those off of your car. This process will happen every time that you put on the brakes or accelerate.
I bought a used car for the primary purpose of getting the whole set up for wire wheels. In the end the only part that was safe to use were the knock-offs. But I had to learn the "clunk" thing for myself.
Just buying new wheel spline adapters did not solve the actual wire wheel problem and I would guess that only putting on new wire wheels onto old wheel spline adapters would not solve it either. I understand that some folks in the past have had the rude awakening of not having any brakes as a result of this problem. You actually have brakes but the wheel just spins on the wheel adapters, so you cannot stop the car. I would guess that this process would happen one wheel at a time rather than all four at once.
Charley

Well, I have to thank you Charley. I had forgotten that the original integral hubs I have are also not spring chickens. After thinking about your post longer, I realized that if I put the well worn wires on the medium worn hubs...I'd likely accelerate the wear on the unobtanium hubs. I broke down and ordered new 60 spoke wire wheels from Rimmer. I studied the Judging guide and learned that 4.5" wheels are correct for my number car, and 60 spoke were an option.

The saddest thing is that, with the current exchange rate, the cost of 4 new wires is about what I paid for the used Ebay wheels. I'm a bit bummed, but I have to look at the big picture. The Ebay wheel will make a decent spare, and my total cost is about what a set of 4 wires cost at Moss.

 

[sp53]

Well now you got me thinking about getting set also John, but I do not driving the car that much anymore. My driver has wires that I bought locally used and they did clunk some, but maybe they have rusted in place because they seem better.


The car I am building now is going slow while I learn to paint and I did buy some wires for that on Ebay from a nearby town. I am looking to get some splines and spacers for that, so John I will buy old stuff if you do not want it.

steve

 

[Born_Loser]

Try Summit Racing, they ship pre paid over $100.00. I bought Vredestein for $119.00, and am happy with them.
Gary

Thats where I got my last set. Been running Vredetein's for about 15 years- like them just fine!

 

[CJD]

I realized I took some pics of the EBay wires. Thought I'd share...



They look pretty decent at a distance.



Here is the important area to look for with used wires, though. These wheels were advertised as "restored by sand blasting and re-painting. Excellent condition". If you look deepest into the center hole, you see how the splines are "beefier" looking. This is how they looked completely across the spline when the wheels were brand new. The hub splines only contact the out portion. Every time the care accelerates the splines hit on one side. Slow with the brakes, and they hit on the other. AFter many thousand miles, the splines wear to be what you see in the pic.

When new, the top of each spline has a little flat. As the slope of the spline wears, the flat gets smaller, until there is ultimately a sharp edge at the top. Once the wheel reaches the "sharp edge" portion of it's life cycle, then it starts to wear smaller, since there is no more flat to wear into. By this stage the hub and wheel make a clicking sound every time you go from accelerate to brake, since there is play between them. Eventually the splines just shear off and the wheel turns independent of the hub, which is never good!

So, as you can see, the splines on this wheel has pretty much reached the sharp edge portion of it's life. It will last a while, but not a whole lot longer. And, the rough edges on these splines show that there was a good amount of corrosion on the splines before my EBay vendor blasted them. These are not very good wheels, although they look good with their fresh paint on the outside.





Here was an issue with one of the 5 wheels. This is where one of the spokes enters the hub. It does not sit flat, indicating the spoke is bent. Of interest, the spoke doesn't look bent on the outside, but this mis-align shows it is. I actually tried to replace this spoke...but it won't turn. Or, rather, the entire spoke turns along with the nut. About that time I decided to give up and order new wheels!?!



Finally, here is a bend in the edge of the rim. I will give the Ebay vendor the benefit of the doubt...the chip likely indicates this was done by UPS in shipping. Bends like this can sometimes be hammered out without a problem...but it will mess up the paint doing it.



I found this interesting...these holes were on 3 of the 5 wheels. In each case they were 180 degrees opposite the valve stem hole. I can't say for sure, but I suspect some PO drilled these to lock the wheels onto the rims...which started in drag racing many moons ago. If you run very low air pressure in order to get more rubber contact on the road, then sometimes the wheel can spin on the rim. You counter this by drilling a hole like this and putting a sheet metal screw through into the tire bead, to lock it in place. I don't know if that is the purpose of the odd holes, but it is a possibility.

So now I have my tires and await the new rims from the UK. I did mount the spare 145/80r15 and check it in the spare compartment. It fits with about 5 inches total on the sides and enough to put my hand on top of it when it's in the spare well. I took pics, but haven't uploaded them yet. Will do for next week, though.

 

[CJD]

These are the pics I promised...









This is the little 145 mounted on the 4", 48 spoke wire rim.







It will only fit in the well with the front downward, but leaves a whole lotta space all around.





And this is the 165 tire on the new Rimmer bros 60 spoke, 4.5" wire wheel. These are tubless wheels. I neglected to take pics of the inside, but all the spoke nuts are sealed completely with a black rubber compound, and the valve stem is included. Currently these are $130 ea from rimmer with the exchange rate, + about $20 shipping when you divide it out. Considering I paid $100ea for the worn out 48 spokes...there is no reason not to go new when it comes to wires!

I am pointing to the fact that the 60 spoke use a second tier of spokes, compared to the 48 spoke wheels that only have spokes going to the front tier. The judging manual states that 60 spoke were in the factory option manual from the beginning. I see no reason to consider the 48 spoke wheels, for reasons of safety alone, as they are obviously very weak in comparison.

I have not checked the 165's in the wheel well yet, but I suspect the would fit just fine.

 

[DPatrick]

So how do you guys get your shipped-to-you tires mounted on your wheels? I can't imagine any tire store around me mounting tires they didn't sell me without greatly overcharging.

Thinking further, how does Tire Rack do it? Is rhere a network of independent tire stores around? I guess I'm surrounded by chains and franchises, not that I've investigated too much...

I know this is an old post

I have been investigating this and Sears will mount and balance the tires I bring in for $21.00 a tire. $13.00 a tire cheaper than my local mechanic.

 

[DPatrick]

I use the Harbor Freight mounting set-up and balancer. Alternately, some of the on-line sellers will have a network of local shops that they will ship to so you can have the tires mounted there.

Locally I find Discount Tire very cooperative - they realize that I am buying online because I can't get the tires I want through them. Indeed, if they could] get the tires I would buy from them as they readily match the online price.

Only DIY issue I had was inflating & seating a set of tubeless Vreds that had taken on a pinched shape that my air compressor couldn't overcome. Discount Tire did the inflation & seating for me at no charge.

I am thinking of purchasing the Harbor Freight tire machine and balancer. Did you permanently attach the mounting machine to the floor? Or make it removable?

 

[Geo Hahn]

I have a lift and drilled 4 holes in one of the ramps where I mount the changer when it is needed. You want it well-anchored and it is good to have a lot of room to move around it.

 

[Sarastro]

You can mount the changer on a wood pallet. Then you can stand on the pallet as you use the changer and get all the leverage you need. It can be removed from the pallet for storage.