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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Balancing Wire Wheels

A normal tyre shop does not carry the bits (an internal concave adaptor not the normal one) to balance a wire wheel correctly. Does anyone know where I can get the bits from? And does anyone know of a garage that does have the tools?
D Brown

If the machine has a flat face all the way to the spindle try turning the wheel around with the knock on side to the flat face and the cone in the back side. That will index the wheel correctly. The other solution is to find a spare hub and knock on and have the rear of the hub machined flat and the knock on drilled out in the center to take the small outer cone. Mount the wheel on the hub with the knock on in place and then mount the entire assembly on the balancer.
Bill Young

So not that easy really then Bill?
D Brown

here is a better qustion

Are you sure its out of balance? or is it out of "true"?

think of the old 10 speed bikes,

Ive always wondered if a full servive motor cycle shop wouldnt be a better place to have spoke rims and tires mounted and balanced

the wheels arnt all that much bigger then a motor cycles
Prop

in answer to your question: any garage that still has the old fashioned bubble balancer can do it.

Bill's description is apt, but, as you pointed out, also rather more involved than most of us would like to have to deal with.

Unfortunately, most garages have long ago discarded their old bubble balancers, because the spinning ones are so much more accurate (FWD cars are pretty sensitive to wheel balance), and easier for (lightly) trained workers to use.

But, some of those spin balancing machines do have a cone that can be used to index against the cone on our wheels, or so I've heard.


Norm "still planning to make one of those adapters Bill described, one day" Kerr

Norm Kerr

Have you tried Brown & Gammons in Baldock? They have / had the correct equipment for wire wheels to suit a B so it may suit a Spridget wheel.
Doug Plumb

my local independent tyre factor is a bit "old-school" and had the cones etc to do the job. They also put the weights on the inside so as to not spoil the look. They also said that the 1967 wheels were "squarer" ....if you know what I mean... than the new ones I bought ...
David Cox

If you are the Essex side of Hertfordshire, there is Nicks Tyres in Ongar Road Brentwood (get the older guy to do them), or alternatively do what I am considering doing and buy your own bubble balancer from Frost for £60.

Trev
T Mason

D, no it's not easy unless they can reverse the wheel on the machine. As I plan on running wires on my MGA I went ahead and did the hub conversion as I mentioned so I wouldn't be left with an unbalanced wheel in case I had to replace a tire on the road. I plan on mounting the hub on the spare wheel in the boot so it's always available for use. I did a similar thing with the spare tire in my midget which uses alloy wheels on the road but the spare is a steel center rim and requires different lug nuts. The spare mount is a plate drilled with four studs and the correct nuts are used to hold the spare rim to the mount. Never have to worry about losing them.
Bill Young

This thread was discussed on 07/09/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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