Triumph Sports Cars

Hey All,

I am new to this forum as well as new to owning a vintage British car. I have just purchased a good foundation car ('74 TR6) in May. I have driven it and rallied/raced it enough to begin to appreciate the additions and changes I desire to make over time. At the most recent road race "rally" we did well enough to come in 5th out of 55 other fellas (we are gals/mother daughter team). However, on our way home, a portion of the tread of the Michelin 18515X tires flew off. I believe these are Coker tires. As in LOVE with my red lines as I am, I have begun to realize I need performance oriented tires and wheels.

I have looked at Universal Tire Company's redline tires that are H rated however, they seem to only offer a 15" that would fit on my stock wheels. While these would look great, I am not sure they are what I need for racing. Therefore, I have been looking at Panasport 16" wheels however, I do not know which 16" tires will fit without any modifications to my car. While I may consider owning two sets of tires and wheels, it would be ideal if the panasport performance wheel and tire combo would work for everyday cruising.

Any advice/input would be welcome. As a girl who knows horses inside and out but not much about horsepower, please don't fear insulting my intelligence. I am on a steep learning curve.

Get me back on the road with tires/wheels and next comes the engine choices and research!

Thanks!

Welcome Jenny to the forum.
A number of guys have gone to Koenig rewind wheels 16 x 7 with 0 offset. Google these wheels and take a look at them. These wheels with Yokohama TRZ 205/60/16 tires will fit quite well with no rubbing on the fenders or front suspension. Note these tires are not redline tires. The upside of going to a 16" rim is that you will have less side wall flex and a firmer ride in the corners.
A good place to buy these wheels and tires are from Discount Tires Direct as you can order them on line and they will mount and balance the tires on the wheels and ship them to your door for a very competitive price. If you do order from these guys do not forget to buy the wheel nuts as your TR6 lug nuts will not work.

Get me back on the road with tires/wheels and next comes the engine choices and research!

If you are serious about doing an engine swap on a TR6 you are at the right forum but be warned if you go down this path it will be an adventure!!

Cheers
Byron

Welcome to BritishV8!

Panasports are also available in 16x7 with zero offset. Moss Motors lists that size specifically for TR-6 and will have them on sale for fifteen percent off from Monday (Nov. 24) through the end of the year. Even with that discount Panasports are about twice as expensive as Konig Rewinds. I think the price difference is mainly because Rewinds are currently made in China and Panasports are still made in Japan. (Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.) To my eye the Panasports are a whole lot better looking!

The history of "eight spoke" style wheels dates to 1956, to England, and to Cooper racecars. You can read a little about that and also about how Stirling Moss and the Cooper team went from humble beginnings to Formula One here. At the beginning of the sixties, John Cooper partnered with Austin to promote the original Mini. "Minilite" brand wheels date to that era. You can buy genuine Made-in-England Minilites now, but for years they weren't exported to USA. That opened the door for a whole bunch of copycat brands. IMHO, Panasport was and is the cream of that crop, but if you like the eight spoke style you'll find lots of alternatives. Note also that Panasport offers a "Racing Use Only" version of their 8-spoke wheel. At 17.66 pounds per wheel (according to Moss' website) regular Panasport 16x7xZero wheels aren't especially light.

Thanks Gentleman!

This is GREAT information. Byron, I will take it under advisement regarding the "adventure!" Why should this be anything but?!

Cheers!