Wheels & Tires For Sprites & Midgets
In this video, Brendan from SpridgetMania.com goes over tire and wheel sizing that's appropriate for Austin-Healey Sprites and MG Midgets from 1962 to 1980. See below for tires, wheels, and accessories available from Spridget Mania.
Toyo 155/80/13 Tire:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/TIR...
Achilles 145/80/13:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/TIR...
Achilles 165/70/13:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/TIR...
5x13 Minator Wheel:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/WHL...
5.5x13 Classic 8 Wheel:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/WHE...
6x13 Minator:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/WHL...
CN5 60 Degree Taper Lug Nut:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/CN5...
Stock steel wheel lug nuts:
www.spridgetmania.com/part/88G...
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thank you for the solid information. currently working a sprite with a 1.8 miata swap, going to be referring to you guys for parts and videos a lot.
Your info was great. I thought about moving to a 155 tire on Minotor wheel!
Thank you. Very informative vid.
great video for my tire choice process!
Glad it was helpful!
I have a 73 midget with the factory center-lock 13” wire wheels Would love to swap out for a bigger wheel, love the mini lites...but can’t seem to find 14” or 15” available in the center lock I know I can swap them out to the standard lugs, but seems to be a pretty big swap with the spindles up front and the entire rear end
Great vid. Thanks
So far my favorite tire for my Midgets is a 165/70 13 on the later Rostyle rims (5" wide, I think). But they are getting harder to find. Good contact patch, slightly stiffer sidewall but still very comfortable.
You could have mentioned the difference between lug-centric and hub-centric wheels too. People assume wheels off a car with the same bolt pattern but hub-centric will fit an car that requires lug-centric wheels, and of course the centre hole size can be an issue too. A good example is trying to put TR7/8 alloy wheels on a Spitfire.
I removed the rubber plugs, and replaced them with a plastic disc, and glued it in with two part "Araldite" And smoothed it flush with the hub.
Thank you for pisting this video! I have 74 RWA car that I would like to run 185/60/13 tires on. The VTO is +19 in the 5.5, the Minator is +23, and I see on your site that there is a 6” VTO with a +13 offset. Question is with the 185 width tire, will it interfere with the rear spring and front suspension with the 6” Minator and the fender with the 6” VTO. I don’t mind rolling the lip if needed. Safer to maybe run the 5.5 wheel? Thanks in advance!
I think you'd be ok in the rear, especially on a round arch car, but I doubt a 185 on a 6" wheel will clear everything up front. I'm afraid it will probably rub. Remember, the factory wheel was only 3.5" wide! You can always ask on the forums if anyone runs something similar. The 5.5" wheel would be the safer bet.
That's what I needed to know. Thank you!
do you think the 185 on a 5.5 would fit a square rear fender as well? im thinking of going 185/55 on a 14x5.5 in the classic 8 style with +19
I don't understand why you would ever want to go wider than a 145R13?
Thank you for the video, what is I want to increase to a 14 inch rim?
You could do it as long as it's not too wide. But you have to have a lower profile tire for sure like a 60 or 50 series. But, if you have round arches in the back you'll have more room. Not sure if it will make a difference in the calibration of the speedometer - that's something else to think about.
The 6x13 with a + 23 offset wheels don’t have a lip on them. Your 6x13 does. Is the offset wrong?
Hi guys! THANKS for the information. It is really appreciated on my part, as I have some faux, 6" mini lites on order, or Minotors maybe... anyway. I posted your video on a MG facebook group, called; 'MG Owners Group', and one of the guys said it was a great video, but the video failed to mention the need for longer wheel lugs, as the minilites are much thicker than the stock wheel. Can you shed some light on this? Thank you very much :)
I don't know of any wheels of this type that require longer studs. We don't sell any wheels that I know of that would require swapping out the wheel studs. It just isn't an issue as far as I know.
Thank you VERY much for the reply. You guys provide a GREAT service :)
Hi any problems fitting mini lites on the front? I have heard that you may have to grind tie rod end? thanks
6" wide wheels can rub regardless of offset in the front. unless you're racing or modifying with arches/flares best to stay at 5.5" wide or smaller.
Great video! So do you think a 165/65 13 on 13” 5.5 wheels would be okay with a SWA car?
Yes, likely you'll have enough clearance.
Stop the press -- since this film was made there has actually been a perfect tyre made for these cars 145HR13 Pirelli Cinturato. so it is the correct size and a period carcass designed to go with cars like a Spridget. If you really want a wider tyre there is also a 1968 Pirelli CN36 175/70VR13 Cinturato that will spoil the handling less than any modern tyre.
I have a 68 sprite with tire size 175/70R13 82H on aftermarket wheels. I get a lot of tire rubbing / hitting on rear fender when driving. will changing a 145-80-13 tire resolve that? i also am not sure if the wheels i have will take the other tire size.
Yes, 175's are usually too wide for the rears on Spridgets with the square rear wheel arches. A 165 would be a better choice, or even a 155 if that's not too narrow for your wheels.
great video; thank you! opinion question: what would you think of putting the 155/80s on the 6x13 rims? If I did my math right, there would be precious little side-wall bulge (153.6mm vs 155mm) and the total tire stance would be 17mm shorter than the bigger tire (or tyre, since it's an MG!) :-) My numbers are 155 x 0.8 (124mm) vs 165 x 0.7 (115.5mm), or 8.5mm difference on the radius, so 17 mm diff on the diameter. Also, I'm curious about how tightly can the steering wheel turn w/the different tires. Any hindrances inside the wheel well that might influence the matter? Thanks again!
Should fit just fine, though a 165 would give a slightly bigger contact patch with the road. As far as the steering goes, anything up to a 6" wide wheel is usually fine with normal suspension height. With lowered suspension anything wider than 5" wide can be an issue.
the idea of lowering an MG has always left me scratching my head...I mean, it's "butt-draggin'" enough as is! :-) Thanks for the confirmation...my goal would be to have as much rubber on the road as possible, for traction.
I have 195 50 15 on the front and 295 40 15 on my bugeye sprite rear
I am looking to buy a 5/6 speed transmission or an automatic! Do you have those for 1959 Sprite?
There are 5 speed options, but no automatics that I know of: www.minimania.com/part/RIC501/Sprite--Midget-5-speed-Gearbox-Conversion-Kit-1275cc
Thanks for this video, I am going to just build a widebody kit for mine and make 15" racing wheels fit. Unless anyone wants to buy it before I take a sawzall to it.