TR2/3/3A Wheel hop of the unconventional kind

[PLeslie]

Hello all. I was driving down the highway today and after exiting on to a side road, the driver of the car behind me indicated I should pull over. He told me my TR is bouncing down the highway in the back end and my rear tires both looked like they were "out of round". I could feel it but had no clue what it was. I have new Firestone 560s (165-15) mounted on my 60 spoke wires. Never had this problem with the ancient Michelins that were on there before. Can anyone provide some insight as to whether this is likely a tire issue or perhaps a wire wheel problem? I've never experienced anything like this in the 40 years I've been driving cars with wire wheels on them. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[titanic]

I sounds like tire ply separation. I experienced it twice on my TR3 many rears ago. It causes a severe out of round condition that make the car look like a "clown mobile" to surrounding motorists, especially at freeway speeds. The other possibility, is potato chip shaped wire wheels. Either way, a trip to your favorite tire shop is in your future. Here is an example of ply separation- https://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=...B0602DECD8F37B2BA2E3397C&v_t=keyword_rollover
Berry

 

[martx-5]

Might want to also check out your dampers (shocks), as bad shocks will allow the springs to oscillate causing the wheels to "bounce".

 

[TomMull]

Not every shop can balance wire wheels and my first guess would be balance. If it is the wire wheels, it's easy enough to check.
Tom

 

[PLeslie]

Thanks guys. I'll isolate the problem between the suspension or the wheel/tire with the spare and go from there. Truly appreciate your quick responses. Cheers, Paul

 

[sail]

Another vote to check dampers.

 

[sp53]

If both wheels are giving the problem then this might not be it, but I had some wire wheels put on and the tech did not put enough air in the tube to push the tire over to the seat against the wire wheel frame. Two other guys missed it, and this young kid came over and spotted the problem right away. I thought I had something wrong with the tire itself. The fix was easy; put more air in to seat it and let some out.