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Tubeless tires

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KMansfield

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Its time for me to replace tires on my 73 TR6 with original steel wheels. Last time I did this I had them install tubes with Dunlop A2 tires. This time I went with Kunho all-season tires from Tirerack and went back to the same shop. When I asked for them to install tubes, they said they didn't have anyone who could do that. A quick call to several other shops in the area and I got the same story.

Are tubes required with older steel wheels or will the do fine without?
thanks for your help.
Keith
 
Keith:

I got rid of the tubes in mine 15 yrs ago when I got rid of the original redlines. I do remember the tire store guy saying that the rim design of the steel wheels wasn't the modern design that helps keep the tire on the rim when there is little or no air pressure in the tire. He said as long as I wasn't trying to drive the car with 5 psi in the tires, I should be ok.

I have had no problems running without tubes.

Matt
 
For some reason its a liabilty issue, I have wire wheels and I have to run tubes, no one would fix a flat but the shop did help me get the tube out, I patched the tube, took it back to the shop and they help me put the tire back on the rim, He would not let me pay him either, I guess if he didnt charge me I couldnt sue him /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
("tyres" for those of you accross the pond)
The tire bead seal areas of each rim should be buffed out with a brass cup brush to remove any old tire seating, sealing lubricant that is used on all tire machines. Most (?) good shops do this as a matter of course when mounting tires.
If you have older model steel rims as found on 3 and 4's: I was told to silicon the centre seams around the wheel hub area as an extra precaution against the slow leak syndrome.
Don't make my mistake of not stripping and re painting and other general cleanup of the rims while the tires were off the rims.
 
This sounds like one of those real "anorak" detail questions. I know with the very old Michelin "X" radials found on the earlier TRs, there were specific "tube type" tires for wire wheels and "tubeless" tires for steel wheels. I think that most any postwar Triumph, save for possibly Renowns and Roadsters, should be able to use a tubeless tire on a steel wheel.

Thing is, I don't know if the Michelin 185/15 Redlines originally came in both tube and tubeless or not. And I don't know how the modern Redlines are configured. Does anyone here know? (Here's where the "anorak" part comes in.) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif
 
I can't speak for the new red lines but the old ones, Michelin 185X15 RW TT, were tube type ONLY. I understand the lip of the rims are different for tubeless as opposed to the tube type. I have never read a report explaining the risks of using tubeless tires miss matched to a tube type rim. Sounds like real reasons to change to the minilites!
 
[ QUOTE ]
...I have never read a report explaining the risks of using tubeless tires miss matched to a tube type rim. Sounds like real reasons to change to the minilites!

[/ QUOTE ]I also don't know if there's any "risk"; I'm pretty sure, though, that you would need to use a tube on a tube-type rim even if the tire itself is labeled tubeless, since there would be nothing on that rim to hold the bead properly.

And most wire wheels are, of course, pretty much limited to a: tubes regardless, and b: liners to keep the spoke ends from chafing the tube.
 
[ QUOTE ]
...

And most wire wheels are, of course, pretty much limited to a: tubes regardless, and b: liners to keep the spoke ends from chafing the tube.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not true. Dayton makes TUBELESS wire wheels. Dr. Marty sells them on e-bay. I've been to his house and seen them. All the places where the spokes go into the rims is filled in with some type of rubbery plastic material. Dr. Marty has been auto-crossing with these rims for years, and has yet to have a problem with one.

Edit: I re-read, and you said MOST wire wheels. So then you are right. But, it's good to know that there are wires that are tubeless, and they will be going on the TR3 when I'm done with the resto. I hated dealing with those tubes with the old wires. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Dayton makes TUBELESS wire wheels. Dr. Marty sells them on e-bay. I've been to his house and seen them. All the places where the spokes go into the rims is filled in with some type of rubbery plastic material. Dr. Marty has been auto-crossing with these rims for years, and has yet to have a problem with one.

[/ QUOTE ]

That must be some incredable material to resist centrifugal force and vibration. But it would be a good thing and help lower the wheel/tire combined weight.

The wheels that I was suprised to learn needed tubes were the cast magnesium wheels I used to run. The metal itself was so porus that the air went through it.
 
Oddly enough the BL slayer, Datson, had similar problems with the 280Z's. It was not uncommon to have a new car with a flat because of the porous material in the wheels. The answer was simple; paint the inside of the wheels with something (don't remember what). Nothing like progress.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The answer was simple; paint the inside of the wheels with something (don't remember what). Nothing like progress.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is what I did when I mounted the second set of tires. I cannot remember what I used. Seems like it was just a spray-can of some clearcoat. But that was 38 years ago! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
I have new Coker 185s on my TR-250, and they are advertised as tubeless, and I installed them on the original rims that way. That was several hundred miles of drivig later, and they hold air with no problems.
 
The tubeless Dayton wires are great but don't ever adjust the spoke tension as that will break the sealant and then you'll need tubes ;-)
Bob
 
If you switch to tubeless... save a couple of the old tubes. In addition to making a cheap pool toy for the kids there are no end of uses for that old sheet rubber.
 
Anyone have a empty spare TR6 wheel that they could photograph for a comparison of the TR6 bead area to the picture of the MGA wheels in the article?
 
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