The 'E' Type Forum

I am at the point with my 3.8 that I need to buy some new wheels and tyres to replace the old chromed wires and the rotting tyres.
I have mulled over for too long whether to get the Blockleys or spend some serious cash on Michelins or Pirellis. Most cars now seem to be on chromed wires and very few on painted wires. I like the Dunlop alloys but shrink from the cost.
Is it safe to blast and powder coat old wire wheels? Then I could put Blockleys on for general driving in less clement weather.
MWS seem to be the only company with chromed wires actually available as SNG seem to have a quality problem with the current batch of Daytonas. Anyone got MWS wires and are they OK?
Would it be wrong to have Dunlop Alloys and possibly 3 earled spinners on a non race E type?

Any comments welcome, Regards, George

I put a set of MWS wires on my S2 last year with Pirelli's and have absolutely no complaints.

They look great and sparkle really well. Chrome, not SS. Also, I went for the original 5" to keep the look original. Coupled with the Pirelli's, it is in keeping with the original look.

Hope that helps?.

Cheers

Paul

Yes you can blast and paint or powder coat wheels but you need to make sure that the wheels are sound first. Rims need to be straight and not too rusted, spokes intact and splines not worn. If a wheel fails in any area it's most economical just to replace it.

I like the traditional patterned 6.5" MWS rims with the SS spokes. They fit perfectly on my 3.8 OTS and both of my S1 coupes.

I use run of the mill modern tyres 205 15" either 65 or 70 profile. I have Bridgestones on one car and Continentals on the other. I tend to avoid expensive "brand" tyres; I don't believe you get much if anything for the extra cost. Tread life is irrelevant for most of us as the tyres will never be used enough to wear out.

As for "classic" tyres, again I don't see the point of fitting a tyre based on older tread and construction technology. The purists will tell you that they give you the handling that the designers of the car intended. I prefer reliable grip and safety in poor road conditions every time.

Hi George.....I have MWS wires (tubeless) & Vrederstein Sprint Classics...... never had a problem with them.....Im not raceing just driving as most normal users do..... have a look at this tyre rating post http://www.myetype.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... res#p73098

I have 6 inch painted MWS with 205 Michelin XWX.

Car rides and handles superbly. No fitting issues.

MWS provided new spinners too, Longstone the tyres.

4 Wheels £773, 4 Spinners £165, 4 Tyres £946.

I went for 6" centrelaced chrome wheel from Phil Hallewell with Dunlop SP Sports 185VR15 fitted.

http://www.pjhallewellengineering.co.uk ... turing.php

I'm very happy with my Daytona chromes on 5" with Vredstein. I do however still run them with an inner tube.

I now run 5" Borrani wires with Michelin 185VR15 tyres. Grew out of wide wheels and modern rubber about 10 years ago and never regretted the change. I used to have MWS chrome wire wheels but found the spokes constantly came loose and in the end I had to send them back to be rebuilt as so many were in need of tightening. Common problem apparently so check your MWS spokes regularly by sounding with a small spanner.

Borrani wheels, David !........

Bloody hell....££££££ !

Is that curly hub Borranis?

Tyre chap has found some Vredstein Sprint Classics in Germany and I will go with 5 of those and refurb the old wheels for now and see how we get on. I have it in mind to get the MWS chromed but just 4 and try either Dunlop Aquajets or the Michelins as the decent set on decent wheels for high days and holidays though the post about spokes coming loose is worrying especially if they are tubeless.

George

George

Just to throw a spanner in the works I found the Vredensteins classic tyres simply unpleasant, simply gave no feel or feed back to inspire confidence. Fitted Blockleys for convenience because...

I fitted a new set of wheels from MWS in silver painted finish, but very disappointed to notice that some rust streaks are showing on the spoke ends (from the curly hub end) and some paint on the spoke end has come away. With very little running in the wet and the rims just over two years old (at the time) I rang MWS to advise them and see what they would say.

Maybe the guy on the end of the phone or myself was having a bad day - for instead of saying something along the lines of 'sorry to hear that, first occasion I've heard of such a thing' he immediately went on the defensive by saying rather uncaring, "well they are no longer under warranty" which annoyed me because I had not broached the subject with any attitude or expectation of sorting it out under warranty, more from the point of view of with this deterioration in such a short time what would they be like in a further two years?.

I said to him that I found his response disappointing and better we discontinue our conversation. But it did make me question whether to get the original wheels refurbished as they have lasted pretty well for 52 years….

Interestingly I have Vredsteins on a number of other classics and have found no problem with them. I have a set of Michelins on my Daimler SP250 and they seem fine also. I did have to change front tyres on my Alpine A310 which were Michelins also but they have aged and in doing so had become very hard and lost all grip in the wet and also become noisy, these were metric tyres and in a much more expensive band anyway. New tyres were like chalk and cheese.

As to painted wire wheels it is dissapointing if MWS do not have a good customer relationship if problems occur I may be just as well to get my old ones powder coated. Incidentally I have painted wires om my MGB which I bought new from one of the cheap as chips MGB suppliers for just over £100 per wheel and they have stayed looking very good. Why, other than the value of E types are the wheels so expensive?

Also see no one is jumping in and suggesting the Dunlop alloys are the way to go.

George

George,
I don't suppose you will find many people on here who would consider anything other than traditional wires on their E type but if you want a vote for alloys, here is one. I always liked the look of the Dunlop style alloys and when I had to replace the old tyres on my wires I decided it was a good time to take the plunge. Picture here :

http://www.myetype.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... 661#p72661

I have had them nearly a year and love them. Being six inch rims they help to fill the arches a bit even with standard 185x15 Michelins on. I use the car a lot and find them much more practical. Being a lazy git, a few seconds with a wet sponge to keep them looking nice versus hours of intricate polishing wins every time for me !

"Being a lazy git, a few seconds with a wet sponge to keep them looking nice versus hours of intricate polishing wins every time for me !" No one can claim to be lazier than I am, so I found an easy way to keep chrome wires looking show ready. I wet them down and then give them a spray with Meguair's Hot Rims Chrome Wheel cleaner, let it soak for a couple of minutes and then wash it off with my power washer and dry the wheels with a leaf blower. After a four day, 1200 mile trip a couple of weeks ago, it took me about ten minutes to get them sparklingly clean for a car show last weekend.

Hi again,

Take it from the number of you running 6" wheels they are OK with standard suspension and don't foul up or reduce turning circle? Or does suspension need modification?

Cheers, George

I'm running 6X15" Daytons with 185 70 tires. There's no fouling on the unaltered suspension and no affect on the turning radius. I'm certainly no Norman Dewis, but I didn't notice any change in the handling characteristics when I made the switch from 5X15 Dunlops.

Hi,

I have the pressed steel wheels as orginal, and have recently fitted the Michelin XVS 185VR15. Very pleased with them.

Richard

I think I'm going to get some dunlop style alloy wheels as although the spoked chrome wheels look nice I don't want to get into the potential maintenance issues. That being said the PO only bought them soon before I acquired the car.
I think adding a racy edge to my car will be fine, being a black car probably helps.

Now I have my new 6" wheels I have checked and the old wires were also 6". No apparent problem when on the car but one that rears its head is when fitted in the spare wheel well the old clamp to stop movement is now too short. Is there a longer one available for later models that would stop it moving about?

regards, George

I have the original (new) Curly hub spoke wheels with a NOS set of dunlop rs5 tyres, as it came from the factory i believe.
Don't think the Dunlopr RS5's are still available?