Wire wheels questions

[Ed Sweeney]

Besides good looks and ease of removal (with the eared knockoffs) is there another strong advantage of wires over rostyles?

Also, when replacing wire wheels and hubs due to worn splines are there any other components that should be taken care of at that time?

Thanks for the help /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

 

[Steve_S]

May as well check the hub bearings while it's apart. There are no performance advantages to wire wheels that I am aware of other than better brake cooling. From a practical standpoint it doesn't make any sense to choose wires over bolt-on wheels, but looks are a major reason I have wire wheels on two of my cars!

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Ed,
The only advantage of wires is originality & or looks.

The solid type wheels of good quality will almost always be stronger & require less maintenance.

As far as "other" things to check, if the splines are worn there must be a reason. Abuse, poor maintenance, or old age. So you could check all suspension parts, bushings, bearings, steering parts, & brakes. Front & rear. Sometimes the list never ends with an old car.
D

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Aloha Ed,

As Steve and Dave have said, appearance is the advantage. Wire wheels have some maintenance problems that most tire stores can't handle properly. You may have to search for a shop that can balance the the wheel and tire because special equipment needed. Many tire mounting machines can damage the spokes if they use a peg designed to engage lug hole, the force will bend a spoke. I change my tires with tire irons to avoid the problem, it isn't hard with good tire irons.

Safety Fast,
Dave