Wheels / Tires: Wire Wheels....should I worry?

[Lou Van Anne]

I've been running Appliance Wire Wheels on my Avanti since the mid 80's. Prior to that I ran them on my "work" car for over 150,000 miles....they now have about 200,000 milles on them. Should I continue to run them?

[mw2013]

what no white walls? they look mighty fine, how's the engine,at 200k?

[Lou Van Anne]

what no white walls? they look mighty fine, how's the engine,at 200k?

Sorry, but I hate WWs on fancy rims. The car has just over 50,000 miles.....(I bought her new).

[tsenecal]

I like the look of the wire spokes, AND the car. Not too many one owner Avantis out there. As far as the 200K on the wheels, if they balance fine, no slow leaks or vibrations, they must be fine.

[5brown1]

Some interesting information I found after the tire store told me about the difficulty of balancing my wire wheels.

https://www.truespoke.com/frequent-wire-wheel-questions

[DEEPNHOCK]

Some interesting information I found after the tire store told me about the difficulty of balancing my wire wheels.
https://www.truespoke.com/frequent-wire-wheel-questions

Thanks for posting that link.
Even though I have no wire wheels (currently), it is a very good read, and I learned something new!
To add my 2 cents worth.. I was taught a long time ago by a kind old wire wheel gent...
(My high school dean, August Pasquini...during a lecture in his office about ditching classes and working on my Stude Hawk in the auto shop).
He owned an MG TC ('52 iirc) and I asked him about tuning his wire wheels... Anything to change the subject away from the inevitable after school detention (we called it 'squish'... Don't ask me why I remember this <lol>)
He told me he would regularly tap each wire with a screwdriver and listen to the tone. He could tell a loose one.
I did this a couple years ago on John Sartorius's '59 Hawk. Didn't learn a thing <g>..

[5brown1]

You are welcome. I also took that information to the local tire shop which helped them understand why they had a hard time with them.

[Milaca]

Looking at the True Spoke website, I see that the reproduction Cragar Star Wire wheels are still not yet available. I would love to have these on my GT Hawk.
Star Wire 30 Spoke Wire Wheel by Truespoke Returning in 2021

[evilhawk]

I really like the look of those cragar wire wheels. The thick spokes look very cool. Should look great on a hawk or avanti

[Buzzard]

Lou,
Thanks for posting that great link. Even though I am a wheel/tire nut in the industry for over 40 years, I too learned something. I currently own Tru-Spoke as well as Borrani wire wheels on Studebakers.
My only quirky recollection regarding the Appliance Wires was the mandatory Appliance Roto-Lug wheel affixing nut and unique washer combination. They would be fairly difficult to obtain today, but not impossible.
Your Avanti looks great.
Cheers,
Bill

[PackardV8]

Lou,
Thanks for posting that great link. Even though I am a wheel/tire nut in the industry for over 40 years, I too learned something. I currently own Tru-Spoke as well as Borrani wire wheels on Studebakers.
Cheers,
Bill

For true, Bill. I wasted some of the best years of my young life in the retail tire business. Most customers don't want to know anything about tires beyond resenting spending any money at all on them.

My custom Avanti came with a set of fifty-year-old Dayton true knockoffs. They rusted the worst of any I've ever seen, so I sandblasted and painted them Avanti Gold body color. Having rusty wire wheels sandblasted and powder coated is a trick way to save them.

I also have a set of five Borrani true knockoffs which are also fifty years old and the chrome still looks great.

The downside of most wire wheels, especially the older true knockoffs, is they require tubes. The combination of steel rim, steel spokes, steel center, steel knockoff hub adapter and the tubes add up to being heavier than the hubs of hell. They're also more difficult to balance than modern aluminum wheels. Wire wheels are great for shows; terrible for ride and handling.

jack vines

[garyash]

I got my Rudge-style true knockoff wire wheels from MWS in England, had custom hubs made to fit the spindles and bearings of my 1929 President front axle and 1928 Commander GB rear axle. The weight really does add up, especially with 7.00-18 tires, tubes, and rubber rim bands (to keep the tube from rubbing on the inside of the spoke nipples). Plus, the knockoff spinner and brass hub cap add more weight. The hubs are each 8 lbs of 4340 steel. The wheels are powder coated gray over electrophoretic coating. I expect they'll last many years. I did have to go to a special shop, New England Wheel Service in Auburn, MA, to have the tires mounted and balanced.

[PackardV8]

Absolutely beautiful, Gary! And worth whatever they cost.

jack vines

[Lark Hunter]

Ditto what Jack said. Just. Wow!

[5brown1]

So that's what you have been working on! I knew about it from posts but never saw a picture. Anyway it looks great Gary.