• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

MGA Tires for MGA

Share this page

bobmga62

bobmga62

Jedi Hopeful
Offline
Hi guys....
Okay, my MGA has 165/15's up front and Verdsteins 185/15 in the back..

time to gets some unification...

I would like to put another pair of the classic sprint Verdsteins's up front to match... but, I am wondering, first, are they too wide for the 4.5 inch rims...
I seem to get a little rear end wobble from the car, and I am wondering if its too much sidewall flex.. (although when I raced a MGA in the 70's, i did install a panhard rod for the same reason)..

If that is not the issue, I will get the other pair of Verdsteins..
if not, the pickings get kinda thin, I really do not want to go down to a 165 range, but did find a few choices in the 175.. nothing else in 185...


Also, I just picked up some SAAB 900 Minlite-like wheels off of e bay that should fit the MGA...

they too, are 4.5" wide.. I'm sure anything beyond 185 would be way too wide for the rim (If too wide already)

Your thoughts and reccomendations would be greatly appreciated...

bobmga62
 
185 is a bit wide for 4.5" rims, but not TOO bad. It is definitely the widest I would go. 165 is a great fit and 175 is probably the best compromise between grip and fit.
48-spoke wheels are also a bit flexy when you put wide tires on them. They were designed for 155-width tires. If you plan to drive hard then you may consider a wheel with more spokes, or a set of heavy duty "maintenance-free" 48-spoke wheel set from Dayton.

Also check your bushings and springs to ensure they are in good order and everything is tight. Especially check the rear axle u-bolts. When these get loose, the rear does tend to wander around a bit.
 
What is wrong with Vredestein 165s. These are "Quadtrac 2s" and have a directional tread. I get a lot of comments on the unique side wall design. Here they are on my "B". Only difference is their 14s instead of 15s.

mgtire.jpg
 
It's not the tires folks are talking about it is those gorgus spokes.
 
I'll tell you what Jack, I would never have wire wheels for a daily driver!
sign0138.gif
Their too much of a pain to keep clean. I'd put the stock disk wheels on it appropriate for the year of the car and let it go at that. A lot more user friendly!
happy0034-1.gif
 
Yeah, I second that comment! I'm WAY too lazy to have wire wheels on a daily driver! Or even CHROME wheels for that matter.

The #1 thing I take into consideration when looking at potential wheels for any vehicle is, "How difficult will it be for me to clean that wheel?" If I can picture myself sitting there for hours trying to get into all the nooks and crannies, it's no longer a candidate.

BUT, I must say, those wire wheels do look very sharp! And even though I wouldn't personally put them on my car, I have to say they look great on B's. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of "good looking" wheels out there that look great on a variety of cars, but my laziness keeps me from putting them on anything that I would drive. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
The key to wire wheels is to clean them before they get dirty. It takes me 5 minutes to clean my 15" x 72-spoke chrome wire wheels each time I wash the car. However it takes 45 minutes if I let them get grimy.
 
Come on, you don't really put water on it do you.

Water=rust.
 
My climate is very dry. This car sat outside for years and the wheels still look brand new. They even sat outside unwashed and full of dirt, cobwebs, etc for two of those years and still no rust.
 
heh... Niceville, Ft Walton, Destin, and the rest of that area has the wonderful side effect of having lots of air borne salt from the Gulf and the Bay. I had a set of chrome wheels on a truck I use to have that would start rusting if I didn't stay on top of keeping them clean every week.
 
Even a guy I know who lives just 20 miles from me has the rust problem. He lives a few miles from the beach. I live 12 miles from the beach but I'm separated from it by 1,500-foot hills. The difference is night and day. I can leave a chrome wheel outside unprotected for a year and there will be no rust.
 
Boy, tell me.
 
Hey guys, I got hijacked by wire wheels....

I bought a set of SAAB "Minilite" wheels..thi is the question..

Yah, I agree there is more to choose from in a 165.. its just so [censored] narrow...

(then again, back in the 60's while commuting to school, I ran 155's yucchh.. swipped a set of a renault dauphine in a junk yard....

(ooops dating myself...)

Would like a good 175 alternative.... more suggestions...??

thank you
 
British Wire Wheel sells a very nice Vredstien in 175/70R15. I ordered one for the spare on my MGA. When the car needs tires again, I plan to buy an entire set. They almost look vintage, and suit the car in my opinion. I have no driving experience on them however.
 
Steve_S said:
British Wire Wheel sells a very nice Vredstien in 175/70R15. I ordered one for the spare on my MGA. When the car needs tires again, I plan to buy an entire set. They almost look vintage, and suit the car in my opinion. I have no driving experience on them however.
Click to expand...

Steve, I'm assuming you are talking about the Sprint model. It seems like the sprints are plentiful here but the Quatracs are very hard to get. I don't know how they ride, but if their anything like the Quatracs, you will get a very soft and comfortable ride with plenty of control during normal driving. I love these tires and will put them on my next car with no question. Hopefully the delivery time will get better, as it took me three and a half months to get mine, as no one here in the states had the Quatracs and I had to order them from Holland though a dealer. The container sat in customs for three weeks. Go figure. But, it was worth the wait. PJ
 
In my opinion, the Sprint Classic looks much better than the Sprint + and the Quatrac. Even though the 165R14 size is readily available from ultiple sources for MGB in the Sprint +, the sidewall design is just too busy (and too ugly) for me to put on the car. The 'cute' design' just tries too hard, I think. I just cant stomach it. Again, that's my opinion.

The Sprint Classic on the other hand has a 'classic' plain blackwall, but unfortuantley does not come in a 165R14 size (or any size for a 14" wheel). So on an A with a 15" rim, I guess you'd have to go with 185R15 if you wanted that tire and- I think that would be the outer limit size-wise for a 4.5" rim.
 
thank you..

I agree with the simplicity of the sprint classic...british wire wheel... thanks good contact..

r
 
Matt Mugherini said:
In my opinion, the Sprint Classic looks much better than the Sprint + and the Quatrac. Even though the 165R14 size is readily available from ultiple sources for MGB in the Sprint +, the sidewall design is just too busy (and too ugly) for me to put on the car. The 'cute' design' just tries too hard, I think. I just cant stomach it. Again, that's my opinion.
Click to expand...

Can't stomach it?
sign0175.gif
Pretty strong objection! I don't think we have to be insulting about it!
sign0164.gif
As they say, it takes all kinds.
cool0001.gif
 
Sorry if the comments came out a bit over the top; it was not my intention to offend anyone. I should not try to work and post at the same time, but even so I apologize.

I think it is important to note that if you are looking for the vintage sizes (and many owners are), then Vredstein plays an important role as one of the only manufacturering sources still in the game. At a show last summer universal vintage tire set up a display and Vredstein's US rep was in attendance. He noted that the Sprint + was developed specifcally for the American market and as indicated previously really is one of the only 165R14 (as well as 155R15, 165R15 and several other size) options out there.

Back on topic, I did notice that universal lists a 185/70/15 size on their website.

https://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25052&category_id=340

You could play with the tire calculator on the miata.net site (unfortuantely I do not have that link handy) to check the overall rolling radius vs. the 185R15 option, which may be helpful to your decision.
 
Back
Top