Hi John;
I have a very early TR3A that, when I bought it, had 60 spoke painted
wires and 165/80-15's fitted. I had a close call when a car turned in front of
me, I braked, the tyres locked up and I nearly hit the "person of
questionable parentage" that was turning in front of me.
The tyres themselves had lots of tread and they were a reasonably good
brand. As you know, disc-braked sidescreen TR's have remarkably good brakes, so
my theory (which I know could be argued against all day long on this list)
is that the car has brakes that are perhaps too good for the level of grip
afforded by skinny tyres.
Accordingly, I went for TR6-type painted 72-spoke Dunlop wire wheels with
195/65-15 tyres. I have tried some mock emergency braking scenarios and the
car stops much better. It also has better emergency avoidance qualities.
I believe the price of the 72-spokers is not that much more than the
60-spokers. You'll be able to fit a wider tyre to the 72-spokers because I
think
they are 5.5 inches wide. In addition, I have a theory that they will
require less maintenance because the 72-spoke wire wheel is a very strong
wheel.
Now I live in Canada but I grew up in the UK and used to go to racetracks
all over the country to watch historic racing, following a team of guys
racing sidescreen TR's. The wheels of choice were either TR6 steel wheels or
TR6 72-spoke wire wheels. The guys with the wires loved them; claimed they
were at least as strong as the steel wheels, said they hardly ever had to
adjust the spokes, despite the abuse they received on the track, and they
were easier to change than a steel wheel.
I'm not saying this is the best set-up for everyone; I'm sure there are
listers that would condemn my choice. However, my personal opinion is they
are the best choice for this car. The front tyres do rub very slightly on
full turning lock, but that's minor; I don't do much slow-speed parking lot
work. I also happen to think that wires look best on a TR3A; they just seem to
look so right to me, and the wider ones I have look even better especially
painted and not chromed. Then again, I like that juvenile boy racer look!
I've had my Dunlop 72-spokers fitted for three years now. They have
required no adjustments or maintenance (apart from the annual greasing of
splines), and I live on a bumpy dirt road which admittedly I drive on at
little
more than walking pace but still the car gets bumped about a lot.
Good luck with it John. Difficult decision.
Tim
PS: Don't forget you'll need to shorten your wheel studs to accommodate the
wires; they're too long and will interfere with the wheels when fitted.
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