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MG MGB Technical - Wire Wheels

Am going to replace the rear two wire wheels on my 67 BGT (fronts are newish). Seems that either Dayton or Dunlap wire wheels are the usual offerings, Moss doesn't say whose theirs are, anybody know what their wires are?, any opinions or experience to indicate a choice between Dunlap or Dayton (as Dayton is more costly)?
Kenneth von Wolf Lewis

Dunlop. Usually made in India, considered to be inferior quality. I've had mine (chrome) on for 13 years on what is basically a summer car, although planned runs in the UK can be wet as often as dry. Virtually no salt, though. After abnout five years I started to notice some specks of rust at the first major clean after the winter, so now I spray them with WD40 in the autumn which seems to have stabilised them. I had no spoke breakages for the first eight years or so, but now get a couple a year. They (and the box) are clearly marked Dunlop and India, if the Moss one are Noname from Nowhere I wouldn't touch them.
Paul Hunt

Kenneth, I just bought a set of 4 Dayton wires for my 65 midget and have to say they were worth every penny. The construction, materials, and paint all seem first rate. They are tubed type and even came wrapped with vinyl tape to eliminate using the rubber strips over the spoke ends. The handling seems much improved over the original wires even though they had only 15K miles on them. More likely the switch from the original Dunlop bias plys to modern radials? Following the advice by Hendricks Wire Wheel I plan on having them tuned up after they have been run in.This should prevent the deterioration mentioned above to where spokes start breaking.
Thomas Rynne

Ken,
Try britishwirewheel.com Good service good prices.
Dan H.
Dan Hanson

Kenneth,
I went with Dayton on my '69 MGB-GT. I am very satisfied with them. Got them from http://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/wheels.html . Good service.
Paul
Paul S. Canup

After the aggravation and cost of painted wire original wheels, next time it's chrome Daytons with stainless steel spokes. Adjustable, no painting and worth the effort from reading many posts about it. If I can't afford it then will do Rostyles.

JTB
J.T. Bamford

My chrome wire whels are from Motor Wheel Services, www.mwsint.com

They have no Dunlop name on them, but are probably identical. These wheels also have stainless steel spokes now, so that particular problem should be history.

Tore




Tore

Dayton will also seal the spoke nipples, so you no longer need to use an inner tube. I don't have them, but reports are that this does, in fact, work. I'm not sure if this is extra cost or a standard feature of all Dayton's.
Paul Noble

Dayton does charge for the sealing of the spoke nipples. I think I remember it being around $15. I made the decision to get the sealed nipples when I realized that sealed nipples cost less than inner tubes.

I got the Dayton's from British Wire Wheel, and, while the transaction was not without its hiccups, the offending party was duly chastised, and the sales rep did his best to make it up to me. I would (and intend to) use them again. After all, accidents do happen -- it's how they're handled that matters to me.

Daytons have 3 year warranties. After 1 season on my chrome/stainless wheels, I'm seeing traces of rust down near the hub. We did have a rough winter here in DC, and I do drive the car every day, but I have to say that I'm not terribly thrilled about that. As a result, I'm considering replacing the worn out old painted wires on my other car with more painted wires. I was already in the habit of routinely (every couple of years) scrubbing and painting them. I need to see what I myself can do about the rust on my chromes, though. And, if I can't do much, I may have to test Dayton's warranty.

On the whole, though, I'd have to say I've been happy with both Dayton and British Wire Wheel.

Hope this helps.
Larry Bailey

'lo all,

I've never seen the daytons but I can vouch for the *lack* of quality of Motor Wheel Services' products - all 4 of my 3-year-old wheels are out of true in all three planes... they're not round, they're not centred, and they're not flat.

I'm really interested in the dayton product, specifically the 15x6 non-stock MGC wheel, with which I would use a 205/60 tyre. Has anyone used this wheel on a B GT without having to flare the wheel arches?

Cheers,
--
Olly
Oliver Stephenson

Olly-
I've got set of them (15X6) on my car with the heavy-duty spokes and the sealed nipples. Yes, I run them tubeless. Michelin P195/60R15 Exalto tires. As you know, I have a comprehensively-modified suspension system meant specifically for flying down winding mountain roads (Panhard Rod, Ron Hopkins kit, Superflex bushings, 25% uprated front dampers), so the wheels get stressed about as havily as any. The wheels hold their true and concentricity. I can't speak too highly of Dayton wheels or the company that makes them. I originally had the regular unsealed versions of these wheels and they went out of true as a result of my own extreme abuse. Dayton replaced them with what I have now at no extra cost, just by way of apology. Great company, great wheels. No point in going to a 205-series tire and flaring the wheelarches just to get one more measly centimeter of width. If you need more grip, go for a stickier rubber compound on a higher performance tire. The car will handle better and have a bit less tendency to aquaplane than it would with a wider footprint.
Steve S.

Steve, cheers for that. Fair point on the 205s... one of my reasons for choosing them was their near-identical rolling diameter to my 165SR14s, but I guess a 195/65R15 would only be a few millimeters bigger. I love the idea of running them tubeless.

Anyone know who sells Dayton wheels in the UK?

Thanks,
--
Olly
Oliver Stephenson

This thread was discussed between 20/05/2003 and 21/05/2003

MG MGB Technical index

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