> 1. Roger Williams, in his book, claims that 5.5J x 15 72-spoke rims
> (TR6 material) will mount with no interference on a TR3. Is this true?
I don't _know_, but it seems quite likely. I do know that TR6 steel rims fit
quite nicely. Of course, the _tires_ may still interfere.
> If not, will a 0.5" spacer work? The problem areas appear to be the calipers
> (Girling B) up front and the leaf springs aft. Adding an inch of track
> sounds good as well.
I wouldn't go more than 1/4" on spacers ... for one thing, where will you find
longer studs ? The TR6 wheels already have some offset, adding much more is apt
to shorten the life of the wheel bearings as well as increase steering effort.
> 2. Regarding tires, R. Williams again claims that 185/70 tires on 5.5J
> rims work. My realistic options are 185/65 (too small a diameter) or 195/65,
> which works great on paper. Has anyone out there mounted 195/65 tires on a
> 5.5Jx15 wire rim onto a TR3?
Again, not on wire rims, but they work fine on TR6 steel rims. My "late" TR3A
is still wearing 205/55-15 tires, but even after some massaging of the sheet
metal, they still rub the fenders at times.
> The folks at Dayton try, but always come back to the 5Jx15 60-spoke standard
> upgrade. I'm installing a lot more grunt and want a safe set of wheels.
I'm sorry, I don't believe there is such a thing as a "safe" wire wheel;
especially if you plan to drive the car hard. My advice would be to pick up a
nice set of alloy wheels instead.
One of my brand-new Dayton wire wheels (with the oversize SS spokes instead of
weaker stock chromed spokes) turned up with broken spokes within 6 months of
installation on my Stag. And after only about 2 years of daily driving, there
is significant wear showing on the splines.
And with the exception of the auto-X at last year's VTR convention, I don't
drive the Stag nearly as hard as I drove the TR3A.
Randall
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