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TR2/3/3A Need tires for original rims that'll also fit Minilites

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TR3pilot

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Hi again,

Well my '61 is now running and stopping in the driveway only. I'm bustin to take her down the street but the tires are 40 yrs old!! So I need to get some new tires on the stock steel rims now that'll fit a nice set of minilites when budget allows. I'm thinking something like these from Moss https://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=114353 perhaps 6mths down the road.

Any guidance on what modern tire size would work now and then transfer to the new rims is much appreciated
 
My approach has been to have multiple sets of tires using both the stock rims and wider alloys, swapping them on and off as the mood (and driving plans) evolve. I enjoy the special handling characteristics of the original skinny tires (165/15) but sometimes prefer the road manners of the wider ones (195/65/15). Like having two different cars (sort of).

I think it would be hard to use the same tires on stock rims now and wide alloys later -- though I have seen tires as wide as 205s on the stock rims. Looked a bit like this:

donald_duck_car_02.jpg
 
I'm a bit of a purist about the TR3 and like the original look and feel. If I wanted to drive a Miata, I'd have bought one and saved myself a lot of trouble. I have original 48 spoke wires but have considered the knock off hub minilites to possibly eliminate some of the vibration for driving. As a weekend driver, I don't push very hard on handling anyway. That being said, my car came to me with a set of TR6 wheels to make it a roller. If memory serves it had 205/70/15 which actually did give it a little bit of an agressive look...even with all the ugly associated with a barn find. More the the point, I'm with Geo on this one. I'd go with the original 165/15 for starters and maybe invest in an upgrade later. My plan, if I decide to go with an upgrade, is to keep the original wires in the garage for events,shows, etc. A cheaper grade of 165's can still be found. I've got Nankang tires that cost me about 53.00 each. I'm pretty sure Nankang was not original to the car but neither was Verstein at 3 times the price.
 
Thanks for the input but I'm trying to avoid buying 2 sets of tires is possible. However I have that 185/65/15's may be what I'm looking for to do what I need.

Thanks again
 
Yeah, I always thought it would be cool to have a set of wires with original size tires and a set of minilite knock-offs with some performance rubber, if cost were no object that would be the way to go, but never got the point where cost was no object. The 185/65s will be about 3.6% smaller in diameter and circumference than a 165/80, throwing your speedo slightly off, but most of our speedos aren't accurate to that degree anyway, that size should be fine.
 
glemon said:
Yeah, I always thought it would be cool to have a set of wires with original size tires and a set of minilite knock-offs with some performance rubber...
Click to expand...

When I was a kid I had a Schuco car that you could remove the wheels and swap on a set with a different color, also a Cities Services wrecker with changeable wheels. That's what got me started...

Disc_zps64ba68a7.jpg


Wires_zpsbb382d8d.jpg


Alloys_zps350d296a.jpg


That plus top up or down, luggage rack on or off, etc -- a different car for every occasion.
 
Geo Hahn said:
When I was a kid I had a Schuco car that you could remove the wheels and swap on a set with a different color, also a Cities Services wrecker with changeable wheels. That's what got me started...

Disc_zps64ba68a7.jpg


Wires_zpsbb382d8d.jpg


Alloys_zps350d296a.jpg


That plus top up or down, luggage rack on or off, etc -- a different car for every occasion.
Click to expand...

Geo,what are the mags in your last pic.Very cool.
Thanks
tom
 
You can still use a stock tire. I've used 165/80-15 on 5.5 alloys for years now. No issues. So you can run the stock tires on rims as wide as 5.5 - I think that's pretty much the limit however. That's the primary reason I like to push for keeping alloys at slightly narrower width than what everything seems to be going to - 6 inch width and wider definitely means wider tires.

ps. and I agree about Geo's wheels there. I recall when he bought them a few years ago, the seller actually had a little trouble selling them at first. Geo had the foresight to see how cool they looked.
 
Geo Hahn said:
They're 'Magnas' from J. A. Pearce, a Southall firm that made & marketed sports car accessories (esp wheels and steering wheels) in the 60s.

JAP.jpg


After many decades of dormancy, the firm is back and again making the Magna Wheels:

https://japearceengineering.com/products/magna-wheels/
https://japearceengineering.com/general/reinventing-the-wheel/
Click to expand...

Thanks.Checked the links ,no pricing as each wheel is quoted after order,so probably out of my price range.
Thanks again
Toim
 
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