Which wheels and tires to buy?

[jack Bacon]

I have a question about which is a better wheel choice for my Series II-

Minilites 13" X 6" from Sunbeam Specialties $860 set
Minilite clones 13" X 5" from Victoria British $600 set
Panasports 13" ?

Also which tire would be would be a good choice to go with these wheels?


Regards,

Jack

 

[husky drvr]

Maybe one of these?

13"x 6" Superlite Wheel, 13 mm + Offset
Timeless in design, genuine Performance Superlites are the most sought after Classic alloy wheel design. Only Genuine Performance Superlite alloy wheels are engineered for all demanding road conditions with a history to match. While strong enough for all road and rally applications the 13" x 6" Superlite weighs only 12.3 lbs. This +13 mm wheel has a backspace of 3.98". Inquire for PCD's not listed.
Price: $145.00



Superlite Wheel, 14" x6",12mm + Offset
Timeless in design, genuine Performance Superlites are the most sought after Classic alloy wheel design. Only Genuine Performance Superlite alloy wheels are engineered for all demanding road conditions with a history to match. While strong enough for all road and rally applications the 14" x 6" Superlite weighs only 13.9 lbs. This 12 mm + wheel has a backspace of 3.94". Inquire for PCD's not listed.
Price: $150.00


Superlite Wheel, 15" x 6", 13 mm + Offset
Timeless in design, genuine Performance Superlites are the most sought after Classic alloy wheel design. Only Genuine Performance Superlite alloy wheels are engineered for all demanding road conditions with a history to match. While strong enough all raod and rally applications the 15" x 6" Superlite weighs only 18.9 lbs. This 13 mm + wheel has a backspace of 4.01". Inquire for PCD's not listed. Prices include appropriate cap and decal, lug nuts of your choice and chrome valve stems.
Price: $165.00




Bolt Pattern
PCD4 x 108mm (4.25")

Lug Nuts
7/16-20 17mm Hex Chrome

 

[Alpine 1789]

Jack: for what it's worth, I have the VB clones and have been very happy with them. I spent a fair amount of time researching the alternatives and decided they were the best value for the money. A couple of things to consider:

1. I went with the 14" wheels because many people here and on other forums have expressed concerns about the continued availability of 13" tires.
2. If you are comparing prices, be sure to include shipping in your calculations. It can be high on wheels, but - at least when I bought mine - VB offers free shipping on purchases over $500.
3. If you are in no hurry, VB generally seems to put wheels on sale in January.

VB gets a lot of bad press on this board, most of it deserved in my experience, but there are some cases where they are really worth considering.

 

[jack Bacon]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the information and I'll go with the 14" wheel.

What did you use for your spare tire and wheel? Also what tire should I go with?

Regards,

Jack

 

[Alpine 1789]

What did you use for your spare tire and wheel? Also what tire should I go with?

You will find many different opinions on this. I have a terrific tire guy who I buy all of my tires from and he and I spent some time working this out for my car. I am running 185/65 SR14 tires on the ground. IIRC, the rolling radius of these is very close to the original bias ply tires, meaning my speedo didn't need to be recalibrated. Figuring out the spare took some trial and error, but I have a stock wheel with a 165R13 tire on it. The radius of this tire is almost exactly the same as the 14" tires, so there is no problem if I need to use it. Plus, it fits into the well in the boot, something the 14 tires won't do.

As for brand, he and I discussed this too. I told him that the tires will probably never wear out; they will just get too old to use. Given that and the fact that I don't drive especially hard and never in bad weather, he suggested that buying expensive tires would be a waste of money. I bought his store brand tires (which he thinks are made by Kumho) for something like $125 for all five. I've had them for about 4 years and am very happy with them.