MGA wheels 15" 48 spoke and Dunlop racing tires.
So if you can't wait until I take some pictures try google Lotus eleven. Beautiful
I will try to take some shots this week-end
15" wheels
-
11admire
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 8:40 pm
- Location: Denmark, Munkebo
Re: 15" wheels
I haven't got any photo's of the car with the 15" on, but it was the original fitment on the Lotus Eleven.
MGA wheels 15" 48 spoke and Dunlop racing tires.
So if you can't wait until I take some pictures try google Lotus eleven. Beautiful
I will try to take some shots this week-end
MGA wheels 15" 48 spoke and Dunlop racing tires.
So if you can't wait until I take some pictures try google Lotus eleven. Beautiful
I will try to take some shots this week-end
-
Westfield 129
- Posts: 867
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am
Re: 15" wheels
15" wheels are easy. I have done a few cars with them, but you have to use a 4.50X15 front tire. Nothing else will fit.
Using MGA or Triumph TR3/4 wheels will give plenty of clearance for the calipers up front. This is a simple conversion.
For the front, I recommend a 4.5X15 rim with an 85mm backside spacing. These are available from MSW in 60 spoke.
Better is the 5"X15" 72 spoke wheel, still using the 4.50X15. Here in the 'States, we use the Dunlop Racing bias ply vintage race tires. Same price.
You can use the same rim in the rear, running the 5.00X15 size.
It is important to note that a 5" wide rim, with a 4.50 tire on it is narrower than a 165X13 radial or a 185/70/13 (the size I ran on my personal XI). There should be no clearance problems up front if you use the correct tires.
While there were some problems with some of the guys fitting 15s here, in every case, the owner was trying to run a 155 or 165X15 radial. Too tall. I don't recall anyone with caliper clearance problems. In every case I knew about, I did get the owner set up with the right tires, and chassis adjustments.
If you want to run a 5.5" rear rim (the better to stabilize that 500X15 bias ply), you have a couple of choices. MSW has a 5.5X15 with an 85 mm backside spacing, which is perfect for the rear of a wire wheel car, or a disk wheel axle using a bolt on spline drive. However, this rim is silly expensive, at around £240 each. It's just a steel wire wheel, but it is for racing Morgans, so MSW charges double. 'Shame, as it really is the perfect rear wheel combination.
You can also run a 5.5X15 center laced rim, which looks great. However it is half an inch wider, and has a 73 mm backside spacing. Your track width will increase about two inches. This is not a problem on a wire wheel axle (1" narrower than the disc wheel axle), but would be a poor fit on a disc wheel car with a conversion. The center laced rim has the same pricing as a normal 5X15.
However, there is a standard 5.5X15 that has a 93mm backside space, which should be perfect in a disc wheel axle conversion. This rim is also priced the same as the 5X15.
If you are thinking about 15" minilites, you need a 101~105 mm backside spacing in front (and you can use this in the rear, or go a bit wider in the rear track if your setup requires it), which I believe Minilite can provide. The rim will be 5.5X15. There should not be any problems with the steering or scrub radius with this setup, and the 5.5" rim with a 4.50 tire should be narrower than a 165X13. so tire clearance should not be a problem as well. I did help someone out in the UK with this combination. Evidently, it worked fine.
It's a lot to digest, I know.
I do have a suggestion for the cars with ground clearance problems. Re set the ride height a bit higher, and re align the front end. The ride will probably improve, as will the handling. Many of the cars have settled on sagged springs, and need to be reset as much as an inch and a half higher. If you can, put the car on the scales at the same time as the re adjustment.
Using MGA or Triumph TR3/4 wheels will give plenty of clearance for the calipers up front. This is a simple conversion.
For the front, I recommend a 4.5X15 rim with an 85mm backside spacing. These are available from MSW in 60 spoke.
Better is the 5"X15" 72 spoke wheel, still using the 4.50X15. Here in the 'States, we use the Dunlop Racing bias ply vintage race tires. Same price.
You can use the same rim in the rear, running the 5.00X15 size.
It is important to note that a 5" wide rim, with a 4.50 tire on it is narrower than a 165X13 radial or a 185/70/13 (the size I ran on my personal XI). There should be no clearance problems up front if you use the correct tires.
While there were some problems with some of the guys fitting 15s here, in every case, the owner was trying to run a 155 or 165X15 radial. Too tall. I don't recall anyone with caliper clearance problems. In every case I knew about, I did get the owner set up with the right tires, and chassis adjustments.
If you want to run a 5.5" rear rim (the better to stabilize that 500X15 bias ply), you have a couple of choices. MSW has a 5.5X15 with an 85 mm backside spacing, which is perfect for the rear of a wire wheel car, or a disk wheel axle using a bolt on spline drive. However, this rim is silly expensive, at around £240 each. It's just a steel wire wheel, but it is for racing Morgans, so MSW charges double. 'Shame, as it really is the perfect rear wheel combination.
You can also run a 5.5X15 center laced rim, which looks great. However it is half an inch wider, and has a 73 mm backside spacing. Your track width will increase about two inches. This is not a problem on a wire wheel axle (1" narrower than the disc wheel axle), but would be a poor fit on a disc wheel car with a conversion. The center laced rim has the same pricing as a normal 5X15.
However, there is a standard 5.5X15 that has a 93mm backside space, which should be perfect in a disc wheel axle conversion. This rim is also priced the same as the 5X15.
If you are thinking about 15" minilites, you need a 101~105 mm backside spacing in front (and you can use this in the rear, or go a bit wider in the rear track if your setup requires it), which I believe Minilite can provide. The rim will be 5.5X15. There should not be any problems with the steering or scrub radius with this setup, and the 5.5" rim with a 4.50 tire should be narrower than a 165X13. so tire clearance should not be a problem as well. I did help someone out in the UK with this combination. Evidently, it worked fine.
It's a lot to digest, I know.
I do have a suggestion for the cars with ground clearance problems. Re set the ride height a bit higher, and re align the front end. The ride will probably improve, as will the handling. Many of the cars have settled on sagged springs, and need to be reset as much as an inch and a half higher. If you can, put the car on the scales at the same time as the re adjustment.
-
sgrant
- Posts: 333
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:44 am
Re: 15" wheels
That's really appreciated - many thanks.
-
11admire
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 8:40 pm
- Location: Denmark, Munkebo
Re: 15" wheels
Have just taken some pics of my 15" AH 3000 wheels, so this is how they look
[attachment=2]DSC00004.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=1]DSC00011.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]DSC00012.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=2]DSC00004.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=1]DSC00011.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]DSC00012.JPG[/attachment]
- Attachments
-
- Still front wheels
-
- How front 145/65-15 looks
-
- How the car looks
-
erictharg
- Posts: 680
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:50 pm
Re: 15" wheels
Sweet. What is that 145/65x15 std fitment on?
I'm guessing a 155/80 x 15 fouls? That used to be a stock replacement size for VW Beetles.
I'm guessing a 155/80 x 15 fouls? That used to be a stock replacement size for VW Beetles.
-
11admire
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 8:40 pm
- Location: Denmark, Munkebo
Re: 15" wheels
I don't know what they are made for, I just asked my tyre pusher for a tyre in that dimesion.
Front is Pirelli (145/65-15) and rear is Dunlop Sport (165/65-15)
Front is Pirelli (145/65-15) and rear is Dunlop Sport (165/65-15)
-
sgrant
- Posts: 333
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:44 am
Re: 15" wheels
That is such a fantastic looking car. Just....wow!
Many thanks for the pictures. So, it sounds like you have 145x65x15's on 4.5" rims at the front? Interestingly the chap i've been speaking to at MWS said he would strongly recommend going down to a 4" rim for 145's - he thought that 4.5" would be too wide for the tyre. I'll have another chat with him. He could supply me with 145/65's on an AH 3000 60-spoke wheel, but it'd be 4", not 4.5". Not sure that there's any problem with that, mind. Charles, I assumed from everything that "Westfield 129" (sorry, don't know your name) kindly posted below, a 155/80 is going to foul at the front. From his very detailed post below, I guess crossply sizes offer more options than radial (am I reading that correctly?), but I have never fitted crossplys to a UK road-legal car and, I must admit, I don't even know what the situation here is with them, how easy they are to get, whether they are road-legal, etc.
Thanks again for the photos, I'm kinda getting near to getting this sorted I hope....
stephen
Many thanks for the pictures. So, it sounds like you have 145x65x15's on 4.5" rims at the front? Interestingly the chap i've been speaking to at MWS said he would strongly recommend going down to a 4" rim for 145's - he thought that 4.5" would be too wide for the tyre. I'll have another chat with him. He could supply me with 145/65's on an AH 3000 60-spoke wheel, but it'd be 4", not 4.5". Not sure that there's any problem with that, mind. Charles, I assumed from everything that "Westfield 129" (sorry, don't know your name) kindly posted below, a 155/80 is going to foul at the front. From his very detailed post below, I guess crossply sizes offer more options than radial (am I reading that correctly?), but I have never fitted crossplys to a UK road-legal car and, I must admit, I don't even know what the situation here is with them, how easy they are to get, whether they are road-legal, etc.
Thanks again for the photos, I'm kinda getting near to getting this sorted I hope....
stephen
-
Westfield 129
- Posts: 867
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am
Re: 15" wheels
We use the racing Dunlops, 4.50LX15 front, 5.00LX15 rear. These are tubless, which works with the tubeless rims supplied by MWS.
No problems using the race tires here. While there are laws requiring DOT approved tires, insurance companies can't deny coverage, especially if the car has the correct sizes recommended for it, and the car itself was from or representing a time prior to "DOT" tires.
The recommended rim width for the 4.50 tire can be as wide as 5.5". I am using a 5", 72 spoke for additional strength and longevity. The rear 5.00 tire sits on a 5.5" rim, as the recommended rim width can be as wide as 6". With the narrower wire wheel axle unit, I figured that I could use a 5.5 center laced wheel and get an extra inch of track width. It should all fit, and the rear rim does look wider. Also, the center laced rim is about half the price of a 5.5 or 6" wide Morgan race wheel that also fits...
The whole wheel thing can be confusing, but if you go with a 4.5 wide, 60 spoke with an 85mm backside space for the front, and a 5" wide, 72 spoke 85mm backside space for the rear, everything will fit, and the wheels will be strong enough to remain true.
No problems using the race tires here. While there are laws requiring DOT approved tires, insurance companies can't deny coverage, especially if the car has the correct sizes recommended for it, and the car itself was from or representing a time prior to "DOT" tires.
The recommended rim width for the 4.50 tire can be as wide as 5.5". I am using a 5", 72 spoke for additional strength and longevity. The rear 5.00 tire sits on a 5.5" rim, as the recommended rim width can be as wide as 6". With the narrower wire wheel axle unit, I figured that I could use a 5.5 center laced wheel and get an extra inch of track width. It should all fit, and the rear rim does look wider. Also, the center laced rim is about half the price of a 5.5 or 6" wide Morgan race wheel that also fits...
The whole wheel thing can be confusing, but if you go with a 4.5 wide, 60 spoke with an 85mm backside space for the front, and a 5" wide, 72 spoke 85mm backside space for the rear, everything will fit, and the wheels will be strong enough to remain true.
-
11admire
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 8:40 pm
- Location: Denmark, Munkebo
Re: 15" wheels
sgrant skrev:
That is such a fantastic looking car. Just....wow!
stephen
Thanks
I think so too
That is such a fantastic looking car. Just....wow!
stephen
Thanks
I think so too-
sgrant
- Posts: 333
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:44 am
Re: 15" wheels
Hi Westfield129 - I would love to do that, because, as you say, I know it fits (from what you say above) and it would be zero hassle, but racing crossplys are not road legal here in the UK. I think that's my bottom line; in practice I need a solution that involves radials I think. I'm heading for exactly what you suggest in wheels, and it's just a question of finding the best match to that in radial tyres. Sounds like a 155 is not going to work (from what you've written), and MWS recommend I don't fit a 145 to a 4.5" rim, so I'm sort of somewhere in the middle ground. Rears sound like less of a problem, but I'm just really mulling over the options on the front; I'm not sure I want to drop to a 4" rim...