[TR] wire wheel advice needed

[John Reed]

I'm considering changing my 57 TR3 from 4" disc wheels to 60 spoke 4.5"
painted wire wheels.  I'd like to hear others' experiences before I drop that
much money on wheels.



I started thinking about getting new wheels last year.  I was never able to
get a couple of my disc wheels properly balanced, and I thought I might want
to go up in width to 5" wheels and 185/80-15 tires.  I gave some thought to 5"
wires or panasports, but I decided the panasport look wasn't right for me.  I
was also concerned that the 185 tires might be too wide for the handling with
the worm and peg steering.  So that put me back to 4.5" wires.



So what am I getting into?  Am I spending a lot of money to buy headaches in
maintenance on painted wire wheels?  Do they really need much maintenance?
How does the paint hold up?  Should I reconsider wider wheels/tires?  Since I
have zero experience with wire wheels any advice before I spend the money is
apprciated.



btw, Allen Hendrix at Hendrix Wire Wheels is now recommending Dunlop for
painted wheels.  He says that the quality issues have been resolved and he's
now seeing paint issues on the Dayton's.  I'm planning on buying the tires and
mounting and trueing service from him.  He says Dayton still has the best
chrome by far.



John Reed

Ann Arbor MI