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Tires, innnertubes or not?

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miranda

miranda

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I just went to a tire-place to get an estimate on 5 new tires for our 100-6. They told me I can put normal radial tires on it, without using inner tubes. But right now there are radials with innertubes on it. What is the best way to go? The car has the spoked wheels on it.
 
Hello Miranda and welcome to the forum. Tires have become a hot issue lately due to the elimination of the Dunlop tires which I think were the preferred brand. As for as tubes or not it really depends on how well sealed the inside of your wheels are. Spokes you see, tend to flex and that would allow air out of the tire unless they are sealed properly. If you go with inner tubes you must make sure the spokes are separated from the inner tube or they will puncture them. I personally prefer inner tubes, after using the proper wheel tape to isolate the spokes. Others have sealed the spokes with silicone sealant and claim it works well with tubeless tires. BTW which brand of tire, and what size, are you thinking of using?
 
Due to the low price on the tubes why would you not want them? I think it is best to be over cautious. That is a great price on the tires. What type and size are you using? There are some previous posts regarding the proper size. There are not a lot of proper choices out there. Also, not just anyone can properly work with wire wheels. Their machines are not designed to hold the hub properly. You may also wish to have them "trued" befor mounting the new tires.
 
My understanding is that wheels designed for tubed tyres are a different profile (in the bit you can't see when the tyres are on) from wheels designed for tubeless tyres, and tubeless wheels must have tubes.

Most tyre shops won't know this, as they haven't seen a tubed tyre for 40 years.

I think the difference is that there's a rib to stop the tyre bead being pushed away from the rim on hard cornering, which would let the air out. With a tubed tyre/wheel, the tube stops this, and anyway the air can't escape because it's in the tube.

You'd be better off asking a Healey/older car specialist rather than a tyre shop that's used to dealing with modern cars.

John
 
Most wire wheels, especially originals found on Healeys, won't hold air without the tube. An exception is the Dayton DB60 (15 X 5) which is sealed around the spokes to accept tubeless tires. This wheel is 1/2 inch wider than the original Healey wire wheel. I have them on my BJ8, and they seem to hold air w/o the tube.
 
I've only heard of people going "tubeless" with the Dayton wheels so perhaps it is true that the edge bead on those are different. Spokes should also be sealed with silicone to prevent the grease used on the splines from migrating from the inside of the hub to the outside (hard to clean and looks bad). I was told by a wire wheel expert to run tubes on my Dunlops. He said that wire wheels may need occasional tuning of the spokes which can break the seal on the spokes so it's much easier to just use tubes. To learn more about wire wheels/tires there is a printable article at https://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/ under the tech tips section.

Cheers,
John
 
One of the risks you run when you put an inner tube in a tubeless tyre is partial deflation, which can be sudden. Here's what happens.
As the tube is being inflated, it pushes the tyre out until the bead seats on the rim and forms its own seal - not a great seal, maybe but a seal nonetheless. Then air can get trapped between the expanding tube and the tyre, and has nowhere to go. You can inflate the tyre to full pressure, and it looks lke everything is fine.
Then, if you're lucky, while the car is resting overnight, the trapped air will seep out past the tube and the spokes and you'll wake up to a partially-deflated tyre. Your irritation will only get worse when you find no apparent reason for deflation, but you'll blow the tyre up again and think nothing of it.
If you're unlucky all the trapped air will make its bid for freedom when you're at high speed. Don't ask how I know.
Years ago, like in the 60s back in England when tubed and tubeless tyres were both available, tyre fitters had warning notices about this, along with those about fitting tube-type tyres without tubes. Sometimes they'd seal, too, though only temporarily.
So take care. When fitting tubes in a tubeless tyre, try to keep the beads from sealing for as long as you can. Always over-inflate then fully deflate, then wiggle the valve around a bit to get all the air out from around the tube, then re-inflate.

Good Luck
 
[ QUOTE ]
I just went to a tire-place to get an estimate on 5 new tires for our 100-6. They told me I can put normal radial tires on it, without using inner tubes. But right now there are radials with innertubes on it. What is the best way to go? The car has the spoked wheels on it.

[/ QUOTE ] HI Miranda, the best way to go is the configuration thats on the car now "Tubes". I would add Rim bands if they are not presently used.Additionally if they do not carry a high quality tube I suggest the Classico tube from Moss Motors. You canot put tubless tires with out using tubes on the original type wire wheels --FWIW---Keoke
 
Hi Miranda,
The above advice is good. John is correct, rims designed for tubeless use have a slightly different rim contour which is designed to retain the tire bead against the rim under hard cornering contitions. Most spoked rims do not have this contour & don't need it if tubes are used.

Roger is also correct, the usual method of preventing air traps between tube & tire is to partially inflate the tube to fully fill out the tire space BEFORE seating the outside bead.

As far as sealing the spoke nipples, & not using tubes, it's pretty hard to get a perfect, long lasting seal on all 48, 60, or 72 spokes per wheel.

The issue of tubes causing more heat buildup in the tires is sometimes raised, but does not usually present a problem unless you were running at very high & sustained speeds.
D
 
My new custom rims are in the mail, very exciting! Alan Hendrix (of Hendrix Wire Wheel) nudged me towards tubes saying that any time you tighten the spokes on a tubeless rim, you run the risk of breaking the silicone seal and causing a leak. I've heard that you want to put talc powder inside the tires before installing to keep the tube from rubbing and bursting. A shop not used to tubes may not be hip to that.
 
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