This is a read-only archive of the old Madabout Kitcars forum. New posts and replies are no longer possible, but every thread is still here to browse and read.
More photos coming soon, I'm just hammering on with the fab atm!
One interesting development is that even with the recessed bulkheads my tyres still make contact
I've currently got 165 SR 15's fitted to the wheels i bought and it shouldn't be an issue fitting smaller tyres, but does anyone know what profile SR is? 65? 75?
What tyres are other's with 15's running?
SR refers to the speed rating, not the size of the tyre. 165 SR 15's are 80 series aspect ratio: that means that the side wall height is 80% of the width of the tyre 165mm x 0.8 = 132mm. You need to multiply that by 2 and add it to the diameter of the wheel to calculate a total wheel and tyre height. Or you could just paste this link into your browser...
It's quite a useful tool for checking how different sized wheels and tyres compare to the standard Herald/Vitesse 155/80/13's.
175/65/15's are a common size and add only 5% to the diameter of the standard tyres so fitment shouldn't be a problem. The bonus is you get much more modern tyres (so you can actually stop!) at half the price of classics. Try this link -
PS, I really like the look of the Uniroyal RainExpert directional tyres. In 175/65/15 they're about £53 each fitted. I'm going for 175/80/14's which are a tad cheaper at under £200 for four.
hi all im running on 15" rims with 195*55 tyres on mgf/tf wheels fit straight on...happy days oh and 205*55 on the back, should help me stay on the road
SR refers to the speed rating, not the size of the tyre. 165 SR 15's are 80 series aspect ratio: that means that the side wall height is 80% of the width of the tyre 165mm x 0.8 = 132mm. You need to multiply that by 2 and add it to the diameter of the wheel to calculate a total wheel and tyre height. Or you could just paste this link into your browser...
It's quite a useful tool for checking how different sized wheels and tyres compare to the standard Herald/Vitesse 155/80/13's.
175/65/15's are a common size and add only 5% to the diameter of the standard tyres so fitment shouldn't be a problem. The bonus is you get much more modern tyres (so you can actually stop!) at half the price of classics. Try this link -
Good luck finding the right combination and let us know what you end up with.
SUPERB reply! Just what i was after, i owe you a pint for this!!
So the 2nd figure is simply the side wall height aspect ratio?
So that works out that atm i have 165/80/15's ?
Which gives a total diameter of: 64.50 cm
If i go to 175/65/15's
Then that gives a diameter of: 60.85
So effectively loosing 2cm of radius, which will sort the fouling problem. Nice!
You mention that you're going for: 175/80/14's which is a diameter of: 63.56, which is only 5mm radius from what i've got atm! You "should" get away with that.
This has cheered me up endlessly now! thanks once again
SUPERB reply! Just what i was after, i owe you a pint for this!!
So the 2nd figure is simply the side wall height aspect ratio?
So that works out that atm i have 165/80/15's ?
Which gives a total diameter of: 64.50 cm
If i go to 175/65/15's
Then that gives a diameter of: 60.85
So effectively loosing 2cm of radius, which will sort the fouling problem. Nice!
You mention that you're going for: 175/80/14's which is a diameter of: 63.56, which is only 5mm radius from what i've got atm! You "should" get away with that.
This has cheered me up endlessly now! thanks once again
No problem but I'll hold you to the offer of a pint.
I've been agonising for ages about tyre sizes as they're crucial to the overall look of the finished car. I'm hoping to get away with the 175/80/14's but I'm going to bolt up my wires with the worn out 165/14's on first and do a lot of measuring before making the final decision. As I haven't got any adaptors yet that'll have to wait for a while.
Anyone found a cheap supplier of splined adaptors?
hi all im running on 15" rims with 195*55 tyres on mgf/tf wheels fit straight on...happy days oh and 205*55 on the back, should help me stay on the road
I looked at MG TF wheels as they're really cheap on ebay, they have the same bolt pattern as the herald/vitesse and the minilite style wouldn't look out of place on a sammio (imho).
Bearing in mind the 195/55/15's are almost exactly the same diameter as the 165/80/13's often fitted to Vitesses I'm not surprised they fit without fouling the front tub, and I'm guessing the extra width isn't causing any fouling on the front or rear suspension either, but don't they look a little small in the Sammio arches with those tyres fitted?
im looking to reduce the wheel arches down so it hasnt got the 4*4 look, but thats a huge amount of work, or just mybe fit bigger tyres like 195/65/15....
Hoop and hinge all bonded in. When this was taken the rad was removed while the brackets were being moved. Remember this is a 6-pot, hence the lack of space.
And the bonnet all in place! Main lights & indicators fitted (but removed while they are being wired up). Grill cut-out finished and just awaiting the delivery of the grill from Gary.
The back half of the interior is all panelled and finished and has now been under-coated in black, which really made me realise how close to finishing i am!
I've also fitted the bonnet straps and started filling and sanding the back end ready to fit those lights tonight as well as initially trial fitting the mirrors
SO close to paint and the end now.... The only major(ish) fabrication left is the gearbox tunnel
im looking to reduce the wheel arches down so it hasnt got the 4*4 look, but thats a huge amount of work, or just mybe fit bigger tyres like 195/65/15....
I'd go with the 195/65/15's: they'll fill out the existing arches nicely. As they'll be an almost identical radius to the 175/80/14's I'm hoping to use I'd be interested to know if you get any fouling on the front bulkhead if you go down that route.
PS, I really like the look of the Uniroyal RainExpert directional tyres. In 175/65/15 they're about £53 each fitted. I'm going for 175/80/14's which are a tad cheaper at under £200 for four.
I'm also fitting a heater and aiming to build some luggage space in between the fuel tank and cabin bulkhead with a view to touring across Europe, so there's a chance I'll need the rain tyres when I get back to Britain.
For anyone interested in a suitable heater option see the link below.
use photobucket guys to upload your pictures to this site,it worked for me...
gary
Hmm, managed to upload picture to photobucket, but, depending on which url address I select to link the attachment to the post it either tells me that the url is not recognised, is not supported or that the file is still too large.
I'd really like to be able to post pic's on this site, especially when I get to the interesting bits of my build like installing the home-made water/methanol injection system...
Try googling 'resize image free software' and download a free tool to shrink your images to required size. I got a great one which will resize a whole batch of images in one go. Can't remember what it's called, will have a look when I get home (am currently sitting in the middle of a field somewhere in Cornwall)
i simply upload images to photobucket then copy the IMG Code straight into my links to embed my build photos.
I'd greatly encourage all builders to start a "xyz's build thread" so that we can track and comment on your progress. Although beware of people kidnapping it to talk about other things <cough> <cough>
I moved my radiator last night and after talking to Gary i dropped it 65 mm, although i did raise it by a few mm with some spacing washers so i reckon that a 60mm drop would have probably been better for pipe clearances etc.
I also started fitting my new fibreglass centre console and as soon as that is done it's just electrics (lights and gauges) to fit before it's all systems go on the bodywork