3000M with Minilite wheels
Discussion
I have a 1975 3000M, with T-slot alloys. I use the car in the TVR sprint championship, and want to increase the wheel size to 15inch, as this will give me more choice on tyre selection. I am thinking of fitting Minilites, but would like to see some pictures of cars that have already had these fitted, before i take the plunge. If anybody out there has any pics it would be appreciated.
Take a look at the photo in my profile .....
15" rims with 195/55 Yokohamas
I'll also be going for some 195/65 somethings for the wet and to get the car on the rolling road.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Look to be good value TR6 replicas ....
heightswitch said:
I believe needs to be done in conjunction with some geometry changes to the suspension to ensure the car doesn't turn into a supermarket trolley.
Neil.
Neil.
So why is that, if the overall diameter of the wheel/tyre combo remains unchanged ? (as you can tell, I'm no 'techie')
Notanutter said:
heightswitch said:
I believe needs to be done in conjunction with some geometry changes to the suspension to ensure the car doesn't turn into a supermarket trolley.
Neil.
Neil.
So why is that, if the overall diameter of the wheel/tyre combo remains unchanged ? (as you can tell, I'm no 'techie')
No doubt Adrian will be along shortly to advise me if I am talking Bollox, but from memory I seem to recall a conversation regards 14 and 15 inch rims and steering angles with relation to wishbone angles, the acuteness of which obviously is dictated by the overall rolling radius. i think that despite 14 and 15 being similar rolling radia (when applying the 10% aspect ratio rule) the real rolling radius when loaded under the weight of the car changes.
obviously we are talking small improvements here, but we all know how finicky Mr Venn is, and of course how well his M's seem to handle and stop.
neil.
Notanutter said:
heightswitch said:
I believe needs to be done in conjunction with some geometry changes to the suspension to ensure the car doesn't turn into a supermarket trolley.
Neil.
Neil.
So why is that, if the overall diameter of the wheel/tyre combo remains unchanged ? (as you can tell, I'm no 'techie')
The only way to fit larger diameter wheels without increasing the overall tyre diameter is to use lower profile tyres with shorter sidewalls. These are more sensitive to camber changes - ie the wheel moving away from vertical as the suspension deflects. To make low-profile tyres work properly the suspension will probably need to be re-tuned to minimise camber changes, which either means changes to the suspension geometry or stiffer springing to reduce suspension deflections.
Revolutions look much better!
15x7 front (with 19mm Adrian Venn Exactly TVR Spacer) running 205/55's
15x9 rear (no spacer, small amount of inner arch removed) running 225/50's
Running adjustable Leda's with Adrains secret squirrel springs, fully corner-weighted by Mr Venn himself, over 100mph (genuine) through the Cramera Curves at Donnington (no lifting!) should be good enough for most people!!!
davidy
15x7 front (with 19mm Adrian Venn Exactly TVR Spacer) running 205/55's
15x9 rear (no spacer, small amount of inner arch removed) running 225/50's
Running adjustable Leda's with Adrains secret squirrel springs, fully corner-weighted by Mr Venn himself, over 100mph (genuine) through the Cramera Curves at Donnington (no lifting!) should be good enough for most people!!!
davidy
Edited by davidy on Thursday 22 February 09:10
With your proposed 195/65 on a 15" you will running a larger rolling cicumference than a later car on 195/70 14s. Whilst this is good for top speed it's not good for acceleration (which is useful for sprinting).
You might want to run a 60 profile tyre instead, on a 195/60 on a 15 will give you 98% of the rolling circumference of a 195/70 on a 14, personally I would go for a set of 15 7J wheels and put on a set of 205/55's (96% rolling cicumference - more acceleration and a bit more grip). The only reason I went for such a wide tyre on the rear was that I fell over the set of wheels secondhand and it seemed rude not to buy them. (My 225/50's on the 15 rear had a rolling circumference of 96% of a 195/70 on a 14)
davidy
You might want to run a 60 profile tyre instead, on a 195/60 on a 15 will give you 98% of the rolling circumference of a 195/70 on a 14, personally I would go for a set of 15 7J wheels and put on a set of 205/55's (96% rolling cicumference - more acceleration and a bit more grip). The only reason I went for such a wide tyre on the rear was that I fell over the set of wheels secondhand and it seemed rude not to buy them. (My 225/50's on the 15 rear had a rolling circumference of 96% of a 195/70 on a 14)
davidy
Edited by davidy on Thursday 22 February 11:02
The standard tyre size for an M car is the 185R14 at 654mm diameter. The suspension arms are designed around this geometry. Whilst you cam alter the static geometry there's not a lot that you can do about the dynamic set up.
A 195/65/15 is already 3% undersized.
The rear on 225/55/16s is spot on whilst running the fronts on 205 or 215 55 series 16s is 2 or 4% undersized respectively.
A 195/65/15 is already 3% undersized.
The rear on 225/55/16s is spot on whilst running the fronts on 205 or 215 55 series 16s is 2 or 4% undersized respectively.
davidy said:
...the handling and the grip of my Taimar was phenomenal!
I'm sure that it was and it looks(ed?) well too. Equally important IMHO is to match the rim width to the tyres and I hope that people notice your wider rim choices. Modern tyre technology and choice is very different to 35 years ago.
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