Moss Motors, Ltd

I am exploring the idea of of changing my original 14" wire wheel car to a mini-lite 15" wheel and use a low profile tire. I am planing to rebuild the suspension also. I want the the result to be a better handling street ride ( not track) Has anyone had good success with a similar project? Thanks 

I have 15x6 Panasports with 195/60/15 Yokahama AVS ES100s on my 72.  I am very pleased with the handleing and do some track days and autocross with it.  This is what's refered to as a plus one fitment, the stock size being 185/70/14.  The only problem that may occur is with the offset of the Panasport rims.  They are offset more to the outside of the car than the stock rims and the tires may rub the rear quarter/ wheel lips.  On my car this was caused because the original rear axle was offset to the left side.  I swapped out the rear for one that was centered and have had no rubbing problems since.  This apparently was a quality control issue with the factory.  If you are contemplateing Panasports, I would carefully measure your present  clearance on both sides of the car to see if your axle hsg is centered.  Moss also sells a replica minilite that I believe has the correct offset.  The catalog says they are a direct fit but cautions to check clearance with the panasports.

Now to add to the confusion, you have a wire wheel car.  This means your rear axle is 1 1/2 inch narrower than a disc wheel rear.  You can bolt the disc wheel hubs on your rear but will need longer wheel studs and spacers to get the right offset.  This could be an advantage with the Panasports because you would be able to dial in the exact offset you need.  Of course the other option would be to swap in a complete disc wheel rear.  And still yet another option would be the Knockoff minilight replica made to fit wire wheel cars.  They are rather pricey though and you still have to deal with the splined hubs.

Hope this has been of some help and not too confuseing.  just holler if you have any questions.

BTW, just for general info, The 14" Panasports absolutely do not fit a Chrome Bumper MGB without modifications.  Evidently the people at Panasport think just because a rim has the correct bolt pattern, it will fit.  This is probably why Moss warns to check for clearance.  I'm sure there have been complaints.  Don't get me wrong.  They are a very high quality rim and I have 2 sets, 15s on my B and 14s on my TR8, and have been very pleased with them. 

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72 MGB 80 TR8
Pittsburgh PA

On mt '65 B, I swapped my stock wire wheels with 15x5.5x72-spoke wire wheels with Michelin Pilot 195/60R15 tires.  The handling was greatly improved with a more crisp response, less tire and wheel flex and better grip (due to wider tires).  The steering is slightly heavier with the wide tires and ride quality has gone down slightly, but for spirited driving it is a worth while trade off in my opinion.

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Thanks Underdog,

Thats great info, I'm thinking of the bolt on minilights I'm from Pittsburgh too. I've lived in Nashville for 15 years now. Weather is better, the food is not. Thanks again Randy

Steve,

Thanks thats a great idea. I checked out your cars and garage...awesome... the lifts are great who makes them? I have similar problems Where you featured in Moss news? Thanks again Randy

The lifts were semi-custom made by American Custom Lifts.  I had to have them made smaller than normal yet go higher than normal, among other modifications.  And yes, I was in a recent issue of Moss' "British Motoring" magazine.  Well, the cars were in it.  I was in a just co-staring role.  :)

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Randy:

I wrote an article on this subject for British Motoring Magazine. You can find it here: http://www.britishmotoring.net/bm0404/TiresNwheels/TNW.html

To get any kind of high performance tires you do have to go to a lower profile than stock. To keep your gearing correct, that means going up a wheel size. Both the Panasport 15 x 6 and the Minilite replica 15 x 5.5 work well on the MGB with minimal rubbing problems so long as you don't get carried away with tire width. 185/65 15 or 195/60 15 are the typical tires used on the B.

Please note that you may have rear fender rubbing even with the 185 tire depending on the location of the rear axle. Some cars have the rear axle way off center and any wider than stock tire wheel combination can rub.

Kelvin.

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Kelvin Dodd
Global Sourcing Engineer
Moss Motors, Ltd.
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Disclaimer: Working on automobiles is inherently dangerous. Moss Motors, Ltd. is not liable for injury or damage due to incorrect installation or use of their products. All products are sold with the understanding that the safe and proper installation and use of the products is the customer’s responsibility. Follow factory workshop manual procedures and instructions, but use current shop safety standards and common sense. Some tasks will require professional advice or services which Moss Motors cannot provide.

I am running the Moss 15" Panasport (look alikes - ?) with 195/55/15 tires.  Looks awesome!  Highly recommended, no rubbing whatsoever.

 

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'71 BGT, Autocross focused

Yes, like I said, the minilight replicas evidently are made with the correct offset for an MGB.  I prefer the Panasports mostly because they have a polished rim whereas the minilights are fully painted.  They also are 1/2inch wider.  There is the offset issue though.

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72 MGB 80 TR8
Pittsburgh PA

I realize this is an older thread so here goes. I bought a set of 14 x 6 superlites and mounted 185 70 14 Yokohama tires on them. They look awesome. Unfortunately the rim is 7 inches wide and rubs the outer tie rod. Even switched to the smallest tie rod end I could find and it still rubs in a hard right turn. Thought of grinding the tie rod down to gain some clearance. Also have the tire rub on the rear fender. Rolled the lip a bit on the left rear and that helped a bit. I read all I could about these wheels before buying them and was told they were a direct replacement for the wire wheels. At this point rather than screwing up my car I may bite the bullet and buy some tubeless wires and try to sell the Superlites. Anyone else with a similar fitment problem with this size wheel?

thanks,

john

I am running two sets of  wire wheels on my MGB. I have a set of 15x5.5 and a set of 14x5.5. In both cases I have experienced zero interference with the underbody or suspension parts.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Dittybag

Hi,

Doesn't really help me. I know a larger diameter wheel would clear as well as the stock size. I was wondering if anyone had bought the 14 x 6 Superlites and had clearance problems, etc.

j