Wheel size

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Speedfastboy

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Once again being a new owner of the fabulous Tiger I have another question. What optimal wheel size should be used for my now bone stock Tiger? 13", 14" or 15"? the original size looks a little too small.
 
I think 15" looks right. 16 is decent but 17 starts to look clownish. 13 is waaay too small and 14 isn't much better, IMHO.
 
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Tyred

I have 205/50/15 in the front, and 215/50/15 in the rear. Both look nicely sized and in proportion to the car and wheel well opening, without being overly large. I experimented with several size used tires for looks and clearance before deciding the 205/50/25 range was about the right size for a Tiger. To '60's eyes they would have looked huge, by todays standards, they're pretty conservative. It you go that large, I would strongly suggest rolling the flange on the inside of your front fenders with the Eastwood fender bead tool, or similar, to avoid the tire grabbing the flange and bending the fender out when turning/backing/hitting a bump simultaneously. You might also need to trim the front of the wheel well opening and the valance a little, many Tigers have already had that done long ago.
Bob K.
B9471705
 
I have had 15's on my last few Tigers, my current one has 14's and they seem to ride a lot better with the 60 series tire vs the 50 series. My 2 cents.......
 
Look good and look correct are not the same. The Tiger was a British car not so stylish or mean looking. To me it only looks correct with 13 inch tires but I don't want my Tiger to look mean, aggressive or anything other than stock. It was a cute British car with an engine transplant. My car attached looks correct with the stock 13 inch tires. Bruce would put 15 inch tires on it and it would look good to him. Lee
 
Besides looks, I also considered performance and practicality, both of which come down to tire availability. 13" and 14" are not well supported by the tire manufacturers, although you can get DOT-R comp tires, like Hoosiers, in those diameters. Great for performance, not so much for practicality. 16" is kind of a bastard diameter...auto manufacturers went straight to 17", then 18" (now, 19" and 20") on performance models and the 16" size was short lived in OEM applications in general. So, not as good of tire availability as 15" and 17". 17" looks too big, to my eyes.
So, I run 15" wheels. Don't look crazy big, very strongly supported by the tire manufacturers with plenty of choices in 185, 195, 205, 215 and 225 section widths. Aesthetically, I like 13's better, but I can't live with the tire choices, given how I use the car. I also run a "square" set up with 205/50-15 front and rear for handling related reasons. Staggered probably looks better :)

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leepear said:
Look good and look correct are not the same. The Tiger was a British car not so stylish or mean looking. To me it only looks correct with 13 inch tires but I don't want my Tiger to look mean, aggressive or anything other than stock. It was a cute British car with an engine transplant. My car attached looks correct with the stock 13 inch tires. Bruce would put 15 inch tires on it and it would look good to him. Lee
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Here's mine with 15's born the same day as Lee's with another Tiger wearing 14's
 
Wheel Size - specifically 15" wheel offset

It seems many folks like 15" wheels and tires as a compromise between looks, ride comfort, and tire availablity.

Is there a consensous as to the ideal rim back spacing which would put the tire inboard as far as possible and avoid contact with the fender lip?

Rick
 
I like the looks of a 14" rim on the Tiger best, with 13's second choice. If it wasn't for the tire manufacturer support of the 15" diameter, I'd be on 14's. :)

btw, are those Diamond wheels? They appear to be steel "stock car" type design...look great on the car.
 
cobrakidz said:
I have had 15's on my last few Tigers, my current one has 14's and they seem to ride a lot better with the 60 series tire vs the 50 series. My 2 cents.......
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What tire are you using? Need to re-tire my recently handed-down 66 MkIA and prefer the taller sidewalls of 14s if I can find decent tires. Cruising and some spirited twisty road drives only -- no AX or DE for this one. Thanks!
 
LO Bill said:
What tire are you using? Need to re-tire my recently handed-down 66 MkIA and prefer the taller sidewalls of 14s if I can find decent tires. Cruising and some spirited twisty road drives only -- no AX or DE for this one. Thanks!
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Dunlop direzza 195/60/14 are a great tyre on the tiger and suit it well for sidewall height and stance. IMHO
 
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