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MG Midget and Sprite Technical Minilites BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net
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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Minilites
| Tempted by the 5 x 13s JBW/Minilights in gun metal from Midland wheels http://www.midlandwheels.com/Shop/P-2437-5-x-13-JBW-Minilight-Gun-Metal---4x101.6.html Anyone have any experience of this supplier, and will these be OK for a 73 RWA? |
| Mark O |
| Don't know about that supplier, but YES fine on an RWA. I've got them on an SWA. |
| Lawrence Slater |
| Midland Wheels are fine, they attend the mg spares days and other shows, I've used them. As for the wheels themselves, the midget PCD is in inches (I haven't converted and checked) and you need to check the offset too. If you phone them they should know (but always best to check yourself too). If you buy a set of 4 they should throw in wheel nuts if asked. |
| David Smith |
| Look good. PCD looks right - 4" or 101.6mm. |
| RS Hughes |
| Yes...PCD looks fine and they chuck in the nuts. Think gun-metal will look good against the dark blue... Price is also competitive... |
| Mark O |
| Hi For comparison, I was quoted in July 2012 the following for real Minilites: The 5.0x13 Minilite wheels are £84.90 each + vat = £101.88 each. Total £509.40 for a set of 5 wheels. Price includes the centre caps , wheel nuts and UK mainland delivery. www.minilite.co.uk Not sue what price is now Cheers Mike |
| M Wood |
| We can do those for £48 each plus vat, but better deals can be had if you include tyres. Our normal deals inc fitted and balanced Yokohama tyres, 16 domed chrome nuts, caps, valve chrome caps and sleeves and a free set of locking nuts. Delivery is £20 plus vat for mainland UK shipping. |
| J L HEAP |
| I used R and R Alloys (RandR-alloys.co.uk) to buy my wheels and they were very good to deal with. Same wheels! Note that these are all Minilite look-alikes. Genuine Minilites were until recently at least, very hard to get hold of. They seem to be more available nowadays. The oddly-named "Isaydingdong" people (see Ebay) do a plastic self adhesive label of just the right size to replace the JBW logo in the wheel centre. |
| Graeme Williams |
| Is there anything special about genuine "minilites" over the copies? |
| Lawrence Slater |
| Is there anything special about genuine "minilites" over the copies? Yepp... there orginal, not copies Sort of like imitations plastic wood grain vs real plastic wood grain Haha Prop |
| Prop and the Blackhole Midget |
| lLawence The correct shape of the spokes, including the back which were designed for the Mini to aid disc brake cooling. Also made in the UK. Hopefully accurately made so sit well on hub and are easily balanced (I remember complaints on this forum about the a uality on the later non-UK made KN Minators, although support above for JBW wheels). 4 spoke Revolutions get good reviews and can get real ones again from Magic Midget. Cheers Mike |
| M Wood |
| These have been on ebay for a while. Seem to be Midland Wheels clearance. Not sure how the gold finish would be against dark blue paint and red seats though. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400866435837?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649 Rob |
| Rob aka MG Moneypit |
| I saw a set of genuine Minilites at Stoneleigh a couple of years ago and they were £950. |
| Bernie Higginson |
| 5 '' and ET 20 is good, 5.5" and ET 25 gave problems with wheel clearance in and outside. The weight of the "5'' minilites" I bought was more than the 3.5'' steel ones... Flip |
| Flip Brühl |
| Bernie - were they magnesium jobs or something? |
| L McInally |
| I thought the original Minilites were magnesium, or at least they were available as mags. Therefore, light weight was what made them desireable. Charley |
| C R Huff |
| Six or nine months ago "original" Minilites were impossible to get hold of, but it looks as though supply is more forthcoming nowadays. They are a chunk more expensive than the repro ones and I'm sure the manufacturers will claim the original are better. You pays your money and makes the choice! I think they come in "standard" alloy material and a fancy, even more expensive lightweight alloy. |
| Graeme Williams |
| Hi Anyone tried these Minilite style wheels from Quiller Triumph in SE London? http://www.quillertriumph.co.uk/Quiller/Parts/Wheels/minilite/minilites.htm They offer them in MG sizes and sound like they may be good quality UK made, apparently used as OE equipment for some manufacturers. Wonder who makes them, are they still available - some of the car manufacturers they mention no longer exist, the prices look a bit low, and one potential wheel maker [KN] has gone - and are the wheels any good? - they certainly look the part. Cheers Mike |
| M Wood |
| I see their list of 'project cars' is dated August 2011 so one wonders how up to date the rest of the site is? |
| David Smith |
| Mike & All. I hit the link to the quillertriumph site and my spyware/malware alarms lit up like Blackpool. Just a heads up. |
| RS Hughes |
| Looking at this thread has prompted me to have a look in my shed! I have a set of minilite wheels that came with a project last year. They are fitted with 155/70 tyres, two of which look new and the other two really need replacing due to age. They have stick on wheel weights - the weights were just touching the track rod end, so will need moving, or small TREs fitting. Is there any interest on here before I put them on the dreaded ebay? Say £150 Dave  |
| DM Gibson |
| I changed the Rubbery Owen items for minilites for 2 reasons: First. The rim of 5 inch gives more stability. Second. The RO wheels did crack on la Sarthe on top speed. They are not made for the modern tires grip. Is it possible to get lighter 13x 5 minilites? If so where can I buy them?? Flip  |
| Flip Brühl |
| In terms of the weights, I moved them in and apart slightly to clear the tre on my 13s. They were kn ones. I managed to pick up a set of genuine aluminium alloy minilites in 14 x 6 that just fit on my rwa. To answer the original q, yes, they're fine, dad's got them on his. The shape of the spokes isn't quite as nice IMO, but they do fit well. He's got 175 70 13 on his, it's a 1972 rwa. |
| Rob Armstrong |
| DM Gibson: Whoa! Those alloy wheels don't look too bad. They are somewhat rare as Hen's Teeth over here in the USA. Any idea as to shipping and handling from the UK to New York? Possibly remove the tires to assist in the shipping and toss a few more Euros, Pounds and/or Dead Presidents into the mix then let me know what you would want for your time & effort. Mike Buffalo, NY USA >>> |
| Mike Pelone |
| Flip - scary photo! |
| john payne |
| Chaps Very many thanks for all the useful replies. I would agree that the spokes of the Minilites are very stylish, but I prefer the JBW option of the gun metal or possibly black with the dark blue of the car. I also think the polished rim is a nice touch. They seem to give the car a more purposeful look and to me at least, Rostyles just do not look the part on a Midget. |
| Mark O |
| With the RWD you can go for 14"'s if you like. I have 10 sets in stock if you would like a comparison price to the 13's. All gun metal and polished rims. |
| J L HEAP |
mark. I have midland 5.5 x 13 silver minilites on my car and they fit really well. Also have lowering blocks on the rear springs and there's no clearance issues. look pretty nice too :-)
 |
| graeme jackson |
| Good looking car there Graeme. |
| J L HEAP |
| Graeme's Candy Apple red car always makes me green with envy. The Minilites I saw at Stoneleigh were being sold as NOS, but I don't know if the were Magnesium or not. Perhaps the guy just thought the fact they were genuine NOS was worth the money. |
| Bernie Higginson |
| love that candy red. is it celly or 2k? |
| Rob Armstrong |
| silver base and red lacquer are some form of cellulose. Clear is 2k. |
| graeme jackson |
| Is it just me, but Every time I see graemes car, I get a woody... anyone else? Prop |
| Prop and the Blackhole Midget |
| me too Prop :-) beautiful sunny run in to Edinburgh this morning. F'n cold though - thank got for the blast furnace on the knees. |
| graeme jackson |
| It's a great colour, but no, I don't feel like shagging it. lol. |
| Lawrence Slater |
| Dave, Whereabouts in Bucks are you? I may be interested in your Minilites! |
| Matt1275 |
| Wouldnt go that far Prop ;-) But its an exceptionally good looking Midget. The colour really emphasises how good the fundamental Midget proportions are. |
| Dean Smith ('73 RWA) |
| Firstly to Mike in New York - the postage cost to USA is quite high , somewhere between £100 and £150 so I think the cost would end up more than the wheels are worth! Matt, I am based just outside Milton Keynes, Dave |
| DM Gibson |
| I wonder if graemes is the same type of paint as mine Mine is by 1997 GM fairway green metalic...I do love the color, but I had an idoit do the painting... some day id like to get it redone to the standard id want like graemes car But my paint has candy, pearl, several differant metalic...way more advanced then what im capable of spraying Sorry not exactly a good pic Prop  |
| Prop and the Blackhole Midget |
| Dave, I'm just a few miles north of Aylesbury so I'll have a think and see what I can find down the back of the sofa. They are genuine Minilites aren't they? Anyone want a set of 5 chrome wires and a conversion kit? |
| Matt1275 |
| Matt, I could well be interested in the chrome wires, so perhaps could do a deal? The wheels have mini lite cast in to them, so I assume they are genuine. I can be contacted on 07912 072372 Dave |
| DM Gibson |
| This is what the 'genuine' cast-in 'Minilite' looks like in their current 5.5" x 13" aluminium cast wheel. This is NOT the magnesium version. Richard  |
| Richard Wale |
| Another picture showing the standard centre cap supplied by Minilite. Richard  |
| Richard Wale |
| I have a genuine old magnesium minilite sitting in front of me,one of three left over from the 70s and it doesn't have minilite marked on it anywhere. All it has is a piece of paper in the well with made in England on it I know it's genuine minilight and magnesium My question is Who is manufacturing the new wave of "minilites"---OR Does anyone on here know of anyone that deals in old race wheels thanks willy |
| William Revit |
| The original 'Minilite' company still exists, having been through a number of ownership changes - this is their website: http://minilite.co.uk/ The wheels I have came from them, but there are numerous products using variations on the name, e.g. Minilight, Mini Lite, Mini Light etc., etc. Richard |
| Richard Wale |
| yup - like this 14 x 6 bespoke alloy in midget PCD  |
| Rob Armstrong |
| Thankyou Richard I will get onto them and see if they can match a wheel to my lot thanks again willy |
| William Revit |
This thread was discussed between 03/04/2015 and 11/04/2015
MG Midget and Sprite Technical index
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