16'' (Tamora) Spiders on the griff

[Purple Helmut]

Hi TVR forum,

I'm considering changing from my original estorils due to lack of tyre availibility.

Are the 16'' TVR spiders ok on a griff? ie Tamora wheels.
What else is required... obviously 5 stud hubs, but what else?
Where is the best place to get the hubs etc...

Are the spider wheels offsets right for the griff

or what do people suggest?

I prefer the TVR wheels to other 'aftermarket' wheels

[mk1fan]

The spiders are pretty soft and buckle easily.

You'll need some 5 stud discs too.

A few people have done 5 stud conversion so try the search function.

[phazed]

Why not go for a set of 17" cerb 5 stud RL7s? Silver normally.

[JimTC]

Maybe see if you can get some 16" Estorils for the front to ease the tyre selection problem. Although I know these can be difficult to find....

[bananaface]

get some 18 spiders on !
wider track less tyre wall, totally different car.
Ive had a griff on stock estorils and on sp12 spiders 16 and 17 staggered. and the latest car with 18 spiders all round on fills the arch, looks better and drives better too imho.
and you can get proper brakes in !

[stevesprint]

Purple Helmut said:

Are the 16'' TVR spiders ok on a griff? ie Tamora wheels, I prefer the TVR wheels to other 'aftermarket' wheels.

Yes, 16'' TVR spiders are ok on a griff and the TVR factory actually manufactured a 5 stud upgrade kit for the Griffith that included a set of 16 inch spiders. Also, I’ve been running my Griffith on 5 stud hubs with 16 inch spiders for the last 7 years and they have proved to be strong with excellent handling. I also “prefer the TVR wheels to other 'aftermarket' wheels” as they look original.

Purple Helmut said:

Are the spider wheels offsets right for the griff

When I first fitted my 5 stud hubs and 16” spiders as per the TVR factory instructions (fronts on the front and rears on the rear) my rear left tyre was rubbing on the wheel arch with 245s. Also as per TVR’s instructions I fitted two spacers to the steering rack to stop the front rims rubbing on the rear lower wishbone arms on full lock but sadly the spacers reduced the turning circle.

On further investigation I realised the 16” spider front and rear wheels have exactly the opposite offsets to the standard Griffith Precat wheels of front +25 & rear +37. I therefore simply swapped the front and rear wheels over (not tyres) which stopped the rear left rubbing and also meant I could safely remove the steering rack spacers so I had full steering lock to lock again.

Here’s the original TVR factory instructions that use to come with the factory 5 stud hubs & 16" spiders upgrade kits, I guess TVR produced this kits as they had too many spare 16” spiders left over at the factory. www.stevesprint.com/TVR-Griffith-Docs/Spiders-5-St...

Purple Helmut said:

What else is required... obviously 5 stud hubs, but what else?

Apart from the obvious items you’ll also need 4 Spigot rings that centralise the spiders on the hubs and maybe some spacers behind the brake discs depending on your choice of brakes.

Once I finally proved it was safe to run the fronts on the rear and the rears on the front I immediately run them reversed for the whole of the summer without any issues. However I spent the following winter having lots of fun (considerable effort to normal people) machining the rear hubs to make the rear hub caps fit and also making spacers etc to move the front wheels in a few mm without reducing the turning circle.

mk1fan said:

The spiders are pretty soft and buckle easily

I decided on 16” spiders because at the time I was informed by several independent sources that the 18 spiders are weak and prone to buckling but the 16” spiders are very different and very strong, I guess a smaller diameter would be stronger. My 16s have proved to be very tough over the last seven years and even have survived a few potholes.

bananaface said:

get some 18 spiders on !
wider track less tyre wall, totally different car.
Ive had a griff on stock estorils and on sp12 spiders 16 and 17 staggered. and the latest car with 18 spiders all round on fills the arch, looks better and drives better too imho.

I decided on 16” spiders because, again, at the time I was informed by several independent sources that 18” spiders make the Griffith too twitchy and sensitive to bumps and fortunately my 16s haven't.

mk1fan said:

and you can get proper brakes in !

Are these Cerbera 304x30mm discs and Cerbera AP CP6600 calipers inside my 16” spiders proper brakes ??



Purple Helmut
The only reason I wouldn’t choose 16 inch wheels again for the rear is due to the more recent lack of availability of 245/45/16 and I’m seriously cheesed off that since fitting my 5 stud hubs and 16” spiders Toyo’s have introduced the Proxes R1R but not in 245/45/16.

Therefore this group buy now makes even more sense than ever, provided it’s cost effective and has the option for 4 and 5 studs or how about only manufacturing a 17” 5 stud spider for the rear as the 16" for the front is already available. Sorry, its only wishful thinking. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=20&...

Acknowledgement
Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank Precat for his hands on help and guidance whilst I was fitting the 5 stud hubs and also thanks for your help with some of my other projects.

Edited by stevesprint on Tuesday 5th May 21:27