MG Sports Cars

Hello everyone. I am just 20 hours away from painting my 1977 MGB.. So exciting!!!

I was just wondering if anyone could give me a good tire size that looks proportional to the size of the car..

I was thinking 165 wide, 14 in . However, I am not sure on the proper height.. Could someone please give me some advice.. I cannot find the proper original height in my owners manual.. Thanks ever so much..

IAN

Hi Ian and welcome to our message board. Congratulations on your project!!! Be sure to post pictures when you have them.

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Is it safe to assume you're still running "Rostyle" steel wheels? I believe MG recommended 155SR14 (nominally 23.7" outside diameter) or 165SR14 (nominally 24.4") as an upgrade/option... but hardly anyone uses 155 or 165 tires anymore. It's hard to even find them in popular tire brands. I believe a 175/70R14 tire measures ~23.8". You can look up any tire diameter you like from the Tire Rack website, and also check what's recommended with your rim width.

Start here: [www.tirerack.com]
Then select a tire size.
Then select any of the available tire models they list as available in that size...
And click on the word "Specs".
Then read over to the "Overall Diam." column.
Now you can at least compare the actual height of various avaliable/modern tires (or sizes).

As to what looks (or drives) best... I think that's a whole different can of worms. On both counts, I think most of us on this website strongly prefer a lighter weight (alloy) wheel with more rim width. IMHO, you should upgrade to at least 6" wide rims, and then you'll need and want different tires. A Rostyle wheel weighs about 18.0 pounds (without trim ring or cap) and is 5" wide. A decent 14x6 alloy should weigh in the ballpark of 13 pounds. (28% less unsprung weight and quite a bit less flywheel effect too!) Generally, wider tires will grip the road better. Check the photo gallery section of our website to see literally hundreds of combinations. Most of the gallery pages provide wheel and tire specs for the respective cars shown. Here's the link: [www.britishv8.org]

I personally use 185/70R14's on my 1971, looks fairly good as such. I bought Khumo Powerstar tires and I can't complain at all about them