Frequently asked questions - wheels, tyres and hubs
We are asked about many subjects in the Dutton Owners Club, and these pages are aimed to help you find some of the answers to the most commonly asked questions. All these FAQs are from our members and the DOC accepts no liability for the information following. These methods have been used by our members, but people who are unsure should consult a qualified specialist (eg: welder, engineer, mechanic) if they require further information. If you can't find the information you need here, you may also post a general question on the online Q&A page.
Click on the links below to go direct to the relevant section.
You've built your Dutton, or bought it from someone, and you're wondering what to do about those large spaces above the tyres and below the wheel arches, and that lack of ground clearance... sound familiar? Hopefully the following should shed a little light on the matter.
Wide low profile tyres may look good on a Phaeton or Melos, but the large gaps don't, and Sierras do not look right on 13" rims. What can you do about it? Well, hopefully the following table will give you some help, as it shows the overall diameter of various wheel and tyre size combinations. This should enable you to compare the size of the combination you already have, with what you think you might like, before going off and parting with hard-earned cash. These figures are for guidance only, and different manufacturer's tyres will vary slightly in size. Not all tyre sizes will fit the rims if the difference is too much.
Remember if you do change your wheel or tyre sixes, your speedometer reading will also change. This is because it is dependant on the the speed of the engine, and therefore if you have a different ratio and wheel/tyre size than the donor car, it will be inaccurate.
And here's an example, just to make things even easier...
When I bought my Phaeton S3 it had 205/60 tyres. With these the sump sometimes scraped the road, and when it rained the car floated! Of these two problems, the tendency for the car to lose grip when it was wet was the most worrying. (Odd that!) So, when the tyres wore out, I replaced them with 185/60s. Now the car gripped when it rained. Looking at the table below with this in mind, it shows a reduction in diameter of 576mm to 552mm, or 24mm, which in turn means the car is 12mm closer to the road. In reality, this figure would be less, as the old tyres were worn, but you get the picture. Anyway, the result was now that the sump did not scrape the road - it hit it, especially when the car was fully laden. This was a bad thing. As the tyres wore, this problem became worse, until the sump became so worn the engine dumped all its oil. A very bad thing... The answer: raise the engine and make the sump shallow - now the exhaust hits instead! There was a solution though, borrowing a long suffering friend's 13" wheels with 185/70s - while rebuilding their Phaeton S4 - (590mm diameter) solved the problem, by making the car 19mm higher. I had to give the wheels and tyres back sadly when the project was finished. Neat huh!
|
Tyre diameter |
Wheel rim size
|
||||||||
| 500-542 (19.7-21.3) |
175/50 155/65 185/55 175/60 |
506 532 534 540 |
195/45 185/50 |
532 542 |
|||||
| 544-555 (21.4-21.9) |
165/65 195/55 155/70 185/60 |
544 544 548 552 |
165/60 | 554 | |||||
| 555-570 (21.9-22.4) |
175/60 165/70 195/60 185/65 |
558 562 564 570 |
155/65 185/55 175/60 165/65 195/55 |
558 560 566 570 570 |
195/45 | 557 | |||
| 575-585 (22.6-23.0) |
175/70 205/60 195/65 |
576 576 584 |
185/60 205/55 175/65 |
578 582 584 |
215/45 195/50 185/55 |
575 577 585 |
|||
| 585-595 (23.0-23.4) |
215/60 185/70 |
588 590 |
165/70 195/60 18/65 |
588 590 596 |
205/50 234/45 195/55 |
587 593 595 |
|||
| 595-620 (23.4-24.4) |
225/60 195/70 235/60 |
600 604 612 |
175/70 205/60 225/55 195/65 215/60 185/70 |
602 602 604 610 610 615 |
215/50 225/50 205/55 285/40 255/45 195/60 215/55 185/65 |
597 607 608 609 611 615 617 621 |
|||
| 620-635 (24.4-25.0) |
205/65 255/60 195/70 |
622 626 630 |
345/35 206/60 225/55 195/65 |
623 627 629 635 |
|||||
| 635-650 (25.0-25.6) |
235/60 205/70 |
638 644 |
235/55 215/60 185/70 205/65 |
639 639 641 647 |
|||||
| 650-665 (25.6-26.2) |
245/60 215/70 |
650 658 |
195/70 225/60 215/65 235/60 |
655 656 661 663 |
|||||
| 665-690 (26.2-27.2) |
205/70 225/65 215/70 275/55 255/60 |
669 673 683 683 687 |
|||||||
A more expensive way is to fit aluminium front hubs to the Triumph Herald or Vitesse stub axle. These can be drilled to suit Ford, BL, or Triumph wheels and are obtainable from Merlin Motorsport Chippenham, Wiltshire Tel: 01249 782101 www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk
Another way is buy some Weller Wheels. These can now be supplied in a range of sizes with both Ford and Triumph holes properly pressed in the steel. (Not sure if they are still available as this information comes from 1996). You could get one as a spare, but then where do you put it?
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