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MG MGA - whirewheel dilema

Hi all,
I have an MGA 1500 from 57, which is an older restauration. Because of wear I want to buy new whire wheels (and hubs) for my little one, but I don't know which marque: Dayton or Dunlop. I heard that the dunlop are low quality, but recently someone (a whire wheel specialist) told me the same storie I heard about the dunlop (low quality chrome, weak spokes), but now on the dayton.... I was going for the 72 spoke version (457F), but now I don't know anymore.
Please if anyone has more information let me know!
Best regards, Derk
Derk Stet

I purchased 3 new 60-spoke Dunlops a few years ago. After a few early problems (attributable to the tubes and bad taping, not the wires) were sorted out, the wheels have been fine. I heard that there were quality control problems with Dunlop many years ago, but that they had been resolved. I have never heard anything bad about Daytons.

Of course, wire wheels are a bit of a pain and do require some preventive maintenance. Hard to tell if some of the stories of bad manufacturing may be attributable to poor installation/maintenance techniques.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
M.D.
'57 Coupe
M. D.

Derk,
I have two year old Dunlops on my '59. No problems at all.
Good luck,
Jerry
Jerry Murphy

Dunlops are rumored to have gone down in quality since they started manufacturing them in India. I have a set of 15x5.5x72-spoke Dunlops on my MGB and they have been trouble-free.

That said, the Dayton wheels are of somewhat higher quality and are made in the USA. I have a set of 15x4.5x48-spoke on my MGA and have been quite happy with them. The initial balance of the wheel was better than the Dunlops. I can't compare finish since one set is chrome and the other is painted.

If it were me and the prices were comparable (which they should be) I would buy Dayton. Whoever told you that Daytons have issues must be confused. They are considered the best.

You may also consider looking into Dayton's new aluminum-rimmed wire wheels. They cost only slightly more than chrome models but are far lighter.
Steve Simmons

Steve,
I'd been pushing Dayton to produce aluminum wire wheels for our British cars for a number of years but after speaking to them on several occasions and getting the reply that the customer interest wasn't great enough to warrant the cost of development and manufacturing, I purchased a painted set from them last year. I searched their new redesigned web site (which, by the way, works poorly in both Netscape and Explorer) and couldn't find any information on the aluminum rimmed wire wheels. -M.S.
Martin Straka

I've been talking with them for a couple years as well. I was given an update about a year ago that they were finally working on the project and a few months ago the wheels finally became available. Currently they are available in 6" and wider with a Borrani-style lacing. I have a photo of the wheel if you want it.
Steve Simmons

Steve,
Please sent me a photo. At 6" rim width, my guess would be a 185 or a 195 low profiletire would be the ideal size. Previous posts have mentioned that there is adequate clearance for the 185 tires, but what about 6" rims - are there any issues with suspension components? The lighter weight of the rims would most likely offset the extra weight of the wider tires. What's the number of spokes? If affordable, the wire wheels may be a blessing considering the limited availability of 155 through 175 width tires. -M.S.
Martin Straka

I got 48 spoke made-in-India chromes through Moss 20 years ago. True, the car has since run less than half that time, but not one problem and no maintainence needed since. The chrome is starting to fail, but I can't complain at 20 years. I've apprciated that the 48 spoke wheels have held up to some agressive driving. Steve
Steve Meline

Martin, you have mail.
Steve Simmons

I have the Daytons and they are tubeless. The spokes are polished stainless steel and look just like chrome with out the problems of chrome. I have 185/70 tires.
JEFF BECKER

Hi all,
Thank you for all the replies. I can now safely say that Dayton quality is better than the Dunlop, but Dulop quality is also good.
Now another question: how about the handling of the 60 vs 72 spokes. In the NAMGAR BBS ( http://www.british-cars.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=namgarbbs&mode=thread&access=&subject=6002&source=T&thread=200209201344264155 )there was a thread about this. Can anyone share some light on this subject?
Derk Stet

For a roadster, 60 spoke should be adequate, unless you plan on doing a lot of rallying or racing. 48 spoke was standard when the cars were made and 60 spoke was an available option. Also, although a matter of personal preference, I think 72-spoke wheels look too busy on an MGA. 60-spoke are a nice compromise.

Regards,
M.D.
'57 Coupe with 60-spoke wheels
M. D.

I have the 72 spoke. They do look nice but not too busy in IMHO. The reason I got them so I would NOT have to worry about broken spokes like I had when I had 48 then 60 spokes rims. I do not run it hard too much but sometimes I get on it( can't help it) and I do not worry about too much torque that might cause them to break.
JEFF BECKER

For easy driving, 48-spoke is fine. For hard driving, 60-spoke will hold up a bit better. 72-spoke is the srongest but also the heaviest. I went with a set of Dayton custom-built 48-spoke that are guaranteed maintenance-free, and so far they have proven to be just that. If I were planning to drive hard often I would go 60-spoke.
Steve Simmons

For comparison, there are a few nice shots of a set of 72 spoke chrome wires on a clean MGA on eBay (4544912701). I personally think they are "busy" also, but I still bought a set (72 spoke chrome Daytons) for my rebuild because of the durability. I used 60 spoke wires on my car for a previous rebuild and found that a few spokes tended to loosen up with time. With the supercharged five main B engine I'm using on this rebuild I opted for the extra strength and the slightly wider rims for handling.

Steve
Steve Brandt

Martin, I've been running 6" spoke wheels on my A for 2 years. The 15" 205/70s rub a tad with a passenger on board, and the wheels are a bit heavy, but the handling is utterly fantastic and it looks great. I don't think I could go back, although I might try a 195 tire.
Fred H

This thread was discussed between 25/04/2005 and 27/04/2005

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.