Winter wheels and tyre options / 10's.

[Mini_Lund]

Hi guys,

I'm more than sure this topic has been covered before, but I need some winter wheels and tyres if I am to survive this winter! Dry Slick Yoko A032R's tyres with wide 10" Ultralites are a recipe for disaster.

Ideally I'm still after a set of 10's with some sensible rubber. Would 10x5 & 10.5x5" wheels fit over my 7.5" S disks or would I have to go for Cooper S steel wheels?

I also think skinny wheels would look silly with my group 2 works arches.

Cheers,

Tom

[haynes]

I always found Dunlop aquajets really good winter tyres, excellent in the wet and last for 1000s of miles, much much harder wearing than yokos. But at £70+ vat these days i'm also looking for alternatives. http://www.vintagetyres.com/display.asp?K=20100914...

[guru_1071]

tom

yokohama do a really cheap winter tyre thats a 12" - it wouldnt be too much hassle to get a set of those on some steel wheels

[Mini_Lund]

but but but, I want 10's!

[Mini_Lund]

I was thinking of purchasing a set of silver S 4.5J x 10 replicas from mini spares, but at £61.17 each it would cost £244.68 a set of 4. Then including tyres; A008's or something similar at £159.80 a set. I'm looking at £404.48 just for a set of winter wheels. Not to forget the charge of £10 fitting the tyre per wheel, and the possibility for the need of inner tubes. I'm in the region of £450.



My current tyres A032R's are starting to show signs of wear, they're still within the legal tread limit, but probably frowned upon if I were to be stopped.

I do have a spare set of alloys in the shed that nobody can fit tyres to due to a manufacturing fault which have 3 brand new tyres on, but without the forth. I'm insistent that those wheels will never see the mini again due to the blow-out I experienced if your remember?

As you said Rich, the 12" winter tyres by Yokohama are looking more feasible 145/70/12. They dont do them in 145/70/10's do they?

I would also benefit from a late type distributor cover as I have a fibreglass bonnet, they do away with the rubber strip that meets the slam panel and prevents water from being dispersed over the lot of the spark plugs when driving!



What other sorts of preparations should I be doing. I'm tempted to put the 6's spark plugs back in for the winter also, would this be beneficial?

Do they still produce the grill covers? (Monte Carlo).

Cheers

[checkmate91]

If you think that distributor cover will keep you moving, think again. It's a barrier to water deluge on the dizzy but in the rain there's more than enough spray flying around to short out your plugs and, more importantly your coil (assuming it's in the original position over the starter motor). Alternator doesn't like a soaking either.

With such a nice car as yours do you really need to use it every day in the winter? If it's your daily driver, fair enough but be prepared to to do some, er, prep...

I ran my mini as a daily driver for almost four years from 2001 to 2005 and fitted an Aldon Ignitor ignition (well worth the money), vaseline seal on the spark plug leads at both dizzy and plugs and undertook weekly maintenance on the coil low tension connections and fuse box connections in the very wet weather. The original fuse box is an absolute bd for getting you stranded on the motorway. V-shaped drive belts are also a PITA, Mini Spares does a ribbed version (with the associated pulleys etc) which is much better.

Regards,
Andy

ETA, oh and skinny wheel/tyre combos won't look silly with Gp2 arches, GP5s yes. I'm tempted with finding some original 12" steels and using the best 145/70 tyres around (pirelli, bridgestone or a winter special)

Edited by checkmate91 on Thursday 16th September 19:33

Edited by checkmate91 on Thursday 16th September 19:37

[Mini_Lund]

checkmate91 said:

If you think that distributor cover will keep you moving, think again. It's a barrier to water deluge on the dizzy but in the rain there's more than enough spray flying around to short out your plugs and, more importantly your coil (assuming it's in the original position over the starter motor). Alternator doesn't like a soaking either.

With such a nice car as yours do you really need to use it every day in the winter? If it's your daily driver, fair enough but be prepared to to do some, er, prep...

I ran my mini as a daily driver for almost four years from 2001 to 2005 and fitted an Aldon Ignitor ignition (well worth the money), vaseline seal on the spark plug leads at both dizzy and plugs and undertook weekly maintenance on the coil low tension connections and fuse box connections in the very wet weather. The original fuse box is an absolute bd for getting you stranded on the motorway. V-shaped drive belts are also a PITA, Mini Spares does a ribbed version (with the associated pulleys etc) which is much better.

Regards,
Andy

ETA, oh and skinny wheel/tyre combos won't look silly with Gp2 arches, GP5s yes. I'm tempted with finding some original 12" steels and using the best 145/70 tyres around (pirelli, bridgestone or a winter special)

Edited by checkmate91 on Thursday 16th September 19:33

Edited by checkmate91 on Thursday 16th September 19:37

Hi and thanks for the response. Yes she's my everyday car, used everyday of the week to go to work! Unfortunately I don't legally have access to another vehicle. All I know is I need to change my wheel and tyres over for the winter. The windscreen also leaks in the corners, I have a brand new genuine rubber and insert but fear running into rust and ending up with more leaks than I had in the first place!

Also desperately need to sort my clutch. I have 2" of travel before the bite, the system is fully bled, but there is definately something not quite right. I don't feel that the plunger is located into the slave (vetro on the bracket type) at the correct angle. It seems to shoulder the internal of the slave, fouling the rubber seal. It could be the bracket that needs bending, but I'd need to compare it to another mini to see how it should look.

Cheers.

[checkmate91]

Ha, can't help you with the clutch, I've forgotten what it feels like, I last ran my mini on the 2006 L2B! What I can say is that 2" of travel doesn't sound quite right with a verto clutch. I did use to find tha the plunger on the wok cover used to stick (grit and muck) which made life quite difficult. Always had an aerosol can of spray grease handy for that (which I'm sure also contributed to the problem in vicious circle way).

Going back to your winter tyre issue, I never had any trouble with Yoko a539s in the winter (they weren't clever in the snow TBH but the last time I ran the car in the snow the tyres were marginal anyway). I know you want to keep the 10" look but please dont discount 12" steels with the 165/70 a539, their wet grip was amazing in my experience.

[Ben Magoo]

Winter Tyres:

Standard steel wheels off ebay and these Falkens - http://www.minisport.com/mini-spare-parts/info_FAL...

Dead cheap, brilliant tyre that I've run for the last 6 years, hard wearing reasonable grip and quite. A great option for saving the alloys for the summer etc.

On the subject of running for 6 years - I've done this with only one winter break NEVER suffering from a water affected ignition system! She's totally standard running points and condenser with only the standard dizzy shield that screws behind the front grill. Keep it clean and adjusted you will have no problems.

[checkmate91]

You've not been going fast enough!

[guru_1071]

these are the yoko winter tyres - only avalible in a 12

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&p...

they are really cheap though!

[Cooperman]

Tom,
Did you want a full-on Winter tyre such as a 'knobbly' rally forest tyre of just a tyre whih will be better on the road than the wide Yoko with a dry tarmac suited pattern.
The forest-type 10" tyres are now very difficult to find and are not very nice to drive on dry or wet tarmac, but are excellent in snow, ice, mud and gravel.
However, if it's just a better tyre for wet and slippy winter roads, then the 145/80x10 Falken is good, especially if you can find a set of 3.5" wide wheels, although they will fit 4.5" OK.
Alternatively, the Dunlop SP Super is good for mixed surfaces. I've even used the 165/70x10 Falken on gravel on mixed surface rallies when the surface was mainly wet or dry tarmac with a bit of gravel.

[Mini_Lund]

Cooperman said:

Tom,
Did you want a full-on Winter tyre such as a 'knobbly' rally forest tyre of just a tyre whih will be better on the road than the wide Yoko with a dry tarmac suited pattern.
The forest-type 10" tyres are now very difficult to find and are not very nice to drive on dry or wet tarmac, but are excellent in snow, ice, mud and gravel.
However, if it's just a better tyre for wet and slippy winter roads, then the 145/80x10 Falken is good, especially if you can find a set of 3.5" wide wheels, although they will fit 4.5" OK.
Alternatively, the Dunlop SP Super is good for mixed surfaces. I've even used the 165/70x10 Falken on gravel on mixed surface rallies when the surface was mainly wet or dry tarmac with a bit of gravel.

Hi Peter,

I'm after better performance in the wet really. I'm after a tyre that will cope with the British winter, wet leaves, tarmac and snowfall. Work is based on a farm, therefore the wheels get caked in thick mud and manure daily - not the best I know. My current wheels and tyres are great for the dry summer, but useless otherwise. I'll put the standard wheels back on, with new tyres. Will they fit over my front brakes?

Cheers

ETA: Found these

Edited by Mini_Lund on Friday 17th September 19:56

[Cooperman]

When rallying on mixed surfaces I usually use the Falken 165/70x10 as they are better than the 008's on that sort of surface(s).
Other than that I have used the full forest M & S knobbly as made by Colway but they are NLA. Maxsport my do some remoulded knobblies, but in general 10" M & S tyres are hard to find.

[Mini_Lund]

I think I have located myself some 10x5 Wellers, but they have Carmacs on. Which tyres should I purchase from Minispares to fit?

Thanks,
Tom

[Cooperman]

Despite what some say, I do like the Falken 165/70x10 for overall performance on mixed surfaces. I run them at 33 to 34 psi all round and they work fine. Not as good as the 008's on dry tarmac, but much better on muddy lanes or broken road surfaces and in the streaming wet.

[Mini_Lund]

Cooperman said:

Despite what some say, I do like the Falken 165/70x10 for overall performance on mixed surfaces. I run them at 33 to 34 psi all round and they work fine. Not as good as the 008's on dry tarmac, but much better on muddy lanes or broken road surfaces and in the streaming wet.

Pete I found this quite the opposite! I used to have these FALKEN 165/70/10 FK07 on my previous set of wheels. Driving through Wales, I had a few sketchy moments in the elements. It almost turned into a road rally stage, brilliant fun, but had a few sketchy moments. Having also had a bad experience with a blow out I'm reluctant to purchase another set. I'll see what these Carmacs are like, but I have every intention of buying a brand new set of tyres.

Thanks.

[haynes]

Has no one else used the Dunlop Aquajets? I still think they're your best option for 10s, long lasting and good grip in the wet.

From my experience:
A008s - 3000miles
A032s - 1500miles
Dunlops - 10,000+miles

[Cooperman]

I don't think Camac's are of the same quality as the Yoko's or Falken's.
Dunlop were doing a D93J, which I haven't tried, but which is apparently very good.
The Falkens I've used have been excellent and I've had some good results on them, winning at least 3 historic rallies on them.
I have used the Yoko 008, but I rolled the car in a Welsh forest when the tyres clogged with mud/gravel and we went 'over the edge' and down about 14ft. Definately the wrong tyres for the surface - should have known better but it was a 75% tarmac rally. We were winning at the time!
In fact I have 10" Falkens on both my Coopers at present.
The problem is that 10" are not a widely moulded size now and that situation is not going to improve. Yokos are good on tarmac, wet or dry, but as soon as it becomes a bit muddy they become difficult due to the lack of tread pattern.
The old Dunlop SP Sport is really good in the wet, but as it's a nylon rather than steel braced radial it is not so good in the dry. I believe they are back in production, but whether the compound is the same who knows?
It's all a compromise.

[Mini_Lund]

The wheels locked up under braking last night, skidded to a halt. I need to sort out some winter tyres with immediate effect. I can feel the wheels skipping in gears you wouldn't expect. I think the 3:4 is a rather tight diff for the 1293, considering the amount of torque going through the wheels. I'm now driving like a timid pussycat in the rain!

Dunlop D93J 165/70R10



'The Dunlop D83J and D93J are the definitive answer for UK historic tarmac rallying. Dunlop have re-introduced this tyre for historic tarmac rallying in several 70 series sizes. It incorporates similar characteristics to its newer derivatives, including a high stability tread pattern and a race bred compound and construction, and suitable for all weather conditions.'

Edited by Mini_Lund on Friday 24th September 09:38