[TR] wire wheel advice needed

[KingsCreekTrees at aol.com]

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.