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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - will this work?

im thinking about fitting 14 inch wheels to my lenham sprite

im the first one trying this?


awe rijt

Hi Angelo,

No, it's been done before, I think with MGB 14 inch wheels and lower profile tyres. But someone will correct me if I've got that wrong.
frogeye Gary

gary ,

the mgb hubs will fit the sprite wire wheel hubs?

i like the look of the bigger wheels , but before i buy different axles and wheels i want to make sure it will fit
awe rijt

If wires are the look you desire, then OK. But if you are just wanting larger rims I'd go with alloys. The MGB wire wheels are rather heavy.
Trevor Jessie

I think Arie has 14" minilites. There are others with 14"ers. So no, not the first spridget, dunno about Lenhams though.
Alex G Matla

large diameter wheels, with low profile tires, look "off" on a classic car

kind of like putting an aluminum screen door on a castle: out of place

Low profile tires also result in a harsher ride (and, on these old suspensions, I'd wager that a harsher ride also reduces handling, due to bounce).

On the other hand, people wear the most ghastly shoes, regardless of discomfort or how silly they look, because of "fashion", so I guess they won't care what I think.
Norm

Norm Kerr

Easily done - 13" to 14". Ride improved for my use.


Johnathan

Norm does have one thing right - larger wheels with slightly lower profile tyres are best used on a car that has well maintained suspension - but that is true of 13" wheels as well.


Johnathan

Oh and you will need steel wheel/alloy hubs :)
Johnathan

I've surprised myself by thinking on your car which hasn't been dropped to the floor those wheels and tyres look good

you can probably guess why I think the wheel colour is OK

do you know how much extra weight compared to previous wheel/tyre combination?
Nigel Atkins

Nigel,

Thanks - I think?!

14x5.5 minator alloys with 175/65R14 weigh 12.4kg each
13x5 minator alloys with 165/70R13 weigh 11.3kg each

So a 1.1kg weight penalty of which 0.55kg is unsprung. Ride height is raised by 1/2 inch which helps my exhaust. I will be switching to alloy hubs to offset the slight weight disadvantage. The tyres I chose are uniroyal rain expert which are superb in both wet and dry conditions.
Johnathan

I forgot to mention - I switched to 14" wheels to gain a small amount of ride height but primarily for a wider choice of H-rated tyre (useful for a tweaked k-series). The increased wheel size would also help with disc brakes if required.
Johnathan

Jonathon I reckon 17560R14 would look better, just MHO.
Do the 175's rub???
Cheers
Rod
R W Bowers

As Alex says I too have 14 inch on my square wheel arch.
175/65r14 like Jonothan.
I did "push" outwards the two square arches a little(see photo) and have a RTL to prevent sidewards movement of the axle.

On a roundwheel arch you dont have to worry about all that and as the Lenham of Angelo has round wheel arches too I dont see any problem fitting them.

My motivation for 14 inch wheels was: big brake kit Frontline(they do a 13ich one now), wider choice of H-rated tyres and defenetly looks.
I like arches to be filled with wheel&tyre!

No low profile tyres on my as "normal" rubber gives better comfort, protection of the wheel and lower rubber would make the wheel look smaller in the arch which I dont want.

I do have some tyre flex when pushing the car on high speed thrue corners but I can live with that.


Arie de Best

Rod - you may be right and a 60 profile would be the same rolling diameter as the original wheel/tyre combo but as I as I mentioned - I needed the 1/2" raise!

I have driven the car in a spirited manner just to check and the 175 width has not rubbed anywhere.
Johnathan

We've had 175-14's on our square arch car for a decade, no problems.
We have tried MGB 14" wires on one of the cars. They are a bit longer in the centre so you lose a thread or so on the knock-on. A little dodgy. However, fortunately all temptation to run like that is removed because the wheel centre fouls the calipers at the front and locks everything up. Have a look at the different shapes of the B centre and the midget centre and you'll see why.
Paul Walbran

Thanks lads, 14X5.5 is for me as soon as the financial controller gives the go ahead
Rod
R W Bowers

Sorry, a bit sloppy on my part ... 175-65x14 and 165-60x14 are the tyres we've used on 5.5" rims. The backspace/offset is important, it's a tight fit after all. Our backspace is 106mm from memory
Paul Walbran

Paul how did you arrange this offset?
Rod
R W Bowers

It's just the standard offset of the Minator wheels commonly in use, bolts straight on to the drums, no spacers.
I mentioned it because some other types have less offset (about 101-102mm) and these end up fouling on the inner wing, so if using other types of wheel you'd need to check. I know that people here using Performace Wheels on a Midget have run into the different offset problem. (Though if using 14" then Performance isn't an option as they are 14x6 which we couldn't get to fit a square arch car)
Like Arie, we nudged the rear of our arches out a bit too. It was done at the intersection of the rear end of the wheelarch and the outside of the tyre. They generally can go 5mm without creating a ripple in the outer wing. Generally only one side needs doing as most bodies are assymetrical in this respect. The LH arch as I recall, but measurement will make it obvious.
Paul Walbran

Thanks Paul
R W Bowers

Hi Guys
First post here but watched for a long time. My Sprite has been running MGB wires since 1992. As mentioned they will foul on the front calipers but I machined them back to clear, there is plenty of meat on them. Running std calipers and discs with comp pads is just about enough to slow the old girl down(running just under 100horses at the wheels).
No problems in 20 years, 10 years of which she was my daily driver.
Lee
L Ellis

Hey Lee,
I'm interested in which 14" MGB wheels you used on your Midget. I'm considering following your lead on my RWA Midget. Were they the 4.5x14 or the 5.5x14? Any other issues other than modifying the calipers? What tires are you using? Thanks for the help! Best, Dave
D Hicks

Sadly,

No one mentioned that shafts and hubs for wire wheels vs a solid wheel set up are not interchangeable

Id imagine awe, probably stoked out trying to figure out why his axle shafts are ither an inch to long or an inch 2 short with his rear axle assembly

Prop

Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Hi Dave

Mine are just standard 4.5x14 wires with a nice new powder coat on now. Tyres are 165/60x14 the widest I can get under the square arches, more room for rubber with RWA. Not too grippy, still enough slip for a little tail wagging. Slight rubbing on chassis legs on full lock manoevering,but nothing else to report.

Lee


L Ellis

This thread was discussed between 29/01/2013 and 28/07/2014

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