Non-original wheels

[micmak]

Hi Folks,

I have original-looking wheels on my Vitesse.  I am always on the lookout for alternative, sportier wheels.  I found an ad for 14" inch 5.5J JBW minilite wheels.  The ad says PCD: 4 x 95.25mm

My question is:  Will they fit my Vitesse?  

Thanks.

.....Mick.....

 

[JohnD]

Three factors to consider:

1/ The Pitch Circle Diameter.  Triumph used a smaller PCD than almost any other manufacturer, 3 ¾” (95.25mm).  Do these wheels match that?

2/ The offset.   This the distance between the hub mount and the actual middle point between the rims.     Usually expressed as "ET" for "Einpress Tiefe" the German for offset.  I believe that wheels with a  20-25 mm ET will fit.

3/ You may be able to find tyres to fit a 14" wheel that will clear the wheel arch.     The new tyres will be radials and they will need to have narrower, stiffer walls to achieve that fit.     Stiffer walled radials will reduce the footprint of the tyre by lifting an edge when camber doesn't stay in a small range around zero.     This may be acceptable on a road car, it depends on how you drive it, but has been tried for competition where 14" wheels don't improve adhesion!

John

Edited October 16, 2023 by JohnD

[micmak]

Hi John, Thank you for responding.  I don't know any of the dimensions you talked about.  My guess is that the seller wouldn't know either.  He DID say however, that these wheels were on his Herald.  Is it safe to assume they will fit a Vitesse if they were ok on a Herald?

 

.....Mick.....

[johny]

If they worked on a Herald (and you trust the seller) they will on the Vitesse as long as you use the same tyre size of course. On the rear of the wheel quite often the offset that John mentions is stamped so it would be useful to confirm that.

I have 13" minilites on my Vitesse with 165 80 x 13 tyres which makes their diameter bigger than the original 155 80 x 13 and also bigger than 165 70 x 14 so if you fitted the latter you shouldnt have any problem....

[micmak]

I don’t know the seller at all, so if I go ahead, I will be putting my trust in him and hoping for the best.   He has 165/70 R14 tyres on the rims, and they look to be in good condition.  Below is a photo of the inside of one of the wheels.

[johny]

Cant make out the ET figure in that photo but JBW wheels certainly sell a minilite in that size for Heralds and they offer it with 175/65 14 tyres which are pretty much the same diameter as what youre looking at....

[micmak]

1 hour ago, johny said:

Cant make out the ET figure in that photo but JBW wheels certainly sell a minilite in that size for Heralds and they offer it with 175/65 14 tyres which are pretty much the same diameter as what youre looking at....

The ET figure seems to be blank, Johny.  Strange....

[Gully]

I have 13in JBW Minilites on my GT6, so their PCD and offset on those is fine for a small chassis Triumph.

 Gully

[JohnD]

OK, that disposes of 1/ and  2/ .  Except that I note Gully's pic is of a GT6 and must be a rear wheel as there's a brake drum.  If your seller has front discs and isn't a pre-12/50, 1962  then make sure they are the originals,  Some non-original calipers are more bulky, eg Princess ones.

My point 3/, I stand by!

John 

[Straightsix]

On 16/10/2023 at 12:10, micmak said:

 

Hi Folks,

I have original-looking wheels on my Vitesse.  I am always on the lookout for alternative, sportier wheels.  I found an ad for 14" inch 5.5J JBW minilite wheels.  The ad says PCD: 4 x 95.25mm

My question is:  Will they fit my Vitesse?  

Thanks.

.....Mick.....

 

That’s weird 🙂 mine came with Wolfrace alloys, I feel 5.5 wide steels look cooler 👍

Beginning to think I made the wrong choice buying this Vit. 🤔

[johny]

yes wonder how it worked out for micmak...

[Colin Lindsay]

Back in the day I had these wheels on my first MK3, no idea who made them but I remember the seller telling me that they had had to be machined out for the front wheels and so not to mix them up, as the rears wouldn't fit the front. I don't know if it was to clear calipers, or anything else, but they were actually too wide and the tyres were damaged by the lip under the rear wing. I transferred them to my MK1 when I bought it and they were even worse on that. I did like the look of them, but ended up selling them on.

 

[Wagger]

20 hours ago, Straightsix said:

That’s weird 🙂 mine came with Wolfrace alloys, I feel 5.5 wide steels look cooler 👍

Beginning to think I made the wrong choice buying this Vit. 🤔

A Vitesse is a very different 'Animal' from a MM or 105E Anglia, Much more nose heavy and the rear suspension makes for very different handling from what you may be used to. I have a Mk1 with a 2500TC engine and I will never use full power on 'Take off' having seen pictures of sheared drive shafts on this forum.

I once had a BMW 2002tii which the PO had fitted 205's. It went sideways in the wet even when setting off from the lights. I fitted 165's as designed and it handled very well behaving as designed. Gave many a 205 GTi a run for its money.

Not every mod is worth while. Looks sometimes mean nothing. Yes I've done it before, especially on motor bikes fitting fancy noisy exhausts. That is why I am deaf.

[Straightsix]

On 17/11/2023 at 17:48, Wagger said:

A Vitesse is a very different 'Animal' from a MM or 105E Anglia, Much more nose heavy and the rear suspension makes for very different handling from what you may be used to. I have a Mk1 with a 2500TC engine and I will never use full power on 'Take off' having seen pictures of sheared drive shafts on this forum.

Very true, if CV driveshafts were fitted would that eliminate the sheared driveshaft threat? Just curious.

[Steve P]

Yes because you have to convert to Mk2 roto setup so the shaft isn't part of the suspension,you could still snap a shaft I guess but you wouldn't lose a wheel as I did.Thats on a Mk 1 Vitesse obviously.

S

[Pete Lewis]

there is a recent post about failed CV shafts and wheels/hubs shearing 

CV  on a rotoflex twin brg hub should be fine ,but on a swing axle with only one bearing its limited design can fail easy as some have found the hard way 

its common that Must Haves and bright idea's often make a good headache    but dont let that stop you  

Pete

[micmak]

On 17/11/2023 at 07:21, johny said:

yes wonder how it worked out for micmak...

Hi Johny,  Thanks for mentioning me in relation to the wheels.   To answer your question: nothing has happened!   I have done nothing and I never found suitable wheels.  In the meantime, thanks to a recurring hand injury, and the weather getting colder, I have done nothing to any of the cars for weeks.  I have not even started them!  Maybe I will get the inclination to take them out in the next few days, if the roads are dry.  

I am suddenly concerned about the cars too, because I saw a mouse in the garage.  I caught him, and then a second, then a third, etc etc.  In total, I have caught about 10 in a week. I just hope they have not chewed anything in the cars.  I had problems like this in Canada years ago, but I was lucky in that they never actually damaged the cars.  I don't know if mice are more harmful or less so on this side of the Atlantic.  But what can I do except keep trying to catch them. 

[johny]

Get a cat😆

[micmak]

36 minutes ago, johny said:

Get a cat😆

I tried the cat option years ago. It didn’t work. The cat never caught even one mouse, and to my absolute horror, I saw her one day climbing up onto the roof of one of the cars, scratching her way into the paintwork in the process. I gave the cat away the very next day.

[Chris A]

There are electronic devices that use untrasound to scare them away. Don't know if they work.

[micmak]

I tried them before. Unfortunately, they need a clear line of sight in order to work. What I mean is, the wheels from your car will block them from “beaming out”, if you know what I mean. Anything that is on the floor of your garage, will block them. So in theory they work very well. But in practice, in a garage situation, they just don’t work.

[PeteH]

2 minutes ago, micmak said:

I tried them before. Unfortunately, they need a clear line of sight in order to work. What I mean is, the wheels from your car will block them from “beaming out”, if you know what I mean. Anything that is on the floor of your garage, will block them. So in theory they work very well. But in practice, in a garage situation, they just don’t work.

We had reason to store a 32ft Winnebago for several months in the USA between Excursions. What I found was 1) the "sticky" traps to be quite effective, I foumd 3 or 4 deduns each time in the lockers, and 2)Tumble dryer sheets, deter them?. Aparently something in the sheet formulation is not to their likeing. That was a tip from an Amercan woman who travelled the `states on her own. Scary Bird, but wife and her got on like big buddies, Both being "crafty".

Pete

[micmak]

I used the sticky pads in Canada too,  They are ok, but i didn’t find them any more effective than a snap-trap.  The dryer sheets didn’t stop mice for me.  They MAY have reduced the numbers of mice, but I certainly still had the problem even though I used dryer sheets all over the place.  I used mothballs too.  The smell from them deters mice, but I still got SOME mice even though I had dozens of them all over my garage.   I guess all I can do is employ all of the methods and see what happens.

[JohnD]

I disturbed a rat in my outhouse.   YUK!   Poisoning the bugger(s) so that their bodies corrupted in some hidden hole didn't appeal, so I bought a trap that electrocuted the revolting animals.   Three days later, after cheese, peanut butter and a special tube of bait guaranteed to tempt them to immolation and...

Nothing.  Bugger.

[micmak]

Yikes!   I have not seen any rats, thankfully.  But mice can be very destructive.  I have seen cars that were destroyed by them.  So I plan on doing everything I can to get rid of them,and discourage any new ones from invading my garage.