|
i have to disagree here, the reasons that wire wheels stopped being used
was quite simply economics (they were far more expensive to produce than
steel wheels) they fell out of favour with the general public (as they take far
longer to clean than steel wheels).
If a car doesnt handle properly with wire wheels it is likely to be because
the wheels havent been properly maintained (yes they do
require maintenence, spokes can become loose , generally because they have
been abused, kerbing at high speed for instance, also the heavier the car the
more likely spokes will become loose. or more likely other worn out
suspension parts.
I havent that much experience of American cars on wire wheels, but they do
tend to have fewer and thicker guage spokes than european cars. I do
dislike welded spoke wheels such as those fitted to model A Fords, but on my
1933 Railton Terraplane (english body on Terraplane chassis) I have
never had any problems with loose spokes, it handles very well, and I use it,
having competed in many Sprints and Hill climbs.
I have only ever had a broken spoke on one car, a 1957 Alvis TC 108G which
was on 60 spoke wheels, the later TD21 had 72 spoke wheels and no problems,
quite simply the weight of the car was just too much for the 60 spoke
wheel.
However one area which needs to be treated with care is that of chrome wire
wheels, the chrome process can cause the spokes to become brittle and then break
(this is particularly dangerous in a high performance car, breaking hard from
high speed , in excess of 100 mph, can result in enough spokes breaking for the
wheels to collapse.
If you must have chorme wires (I far prefer painted ones!) have stainless
steel spokes.... but make sure it the right spec or stainless for the
purpose.
Apologies to those who dislike mention of cars other than Imperials, but
you cant address a subject like this without reference to other makes.
regards
Nigel Plant
1929 Chrysler Imperial L*80 Convertible Coupe by Locke (on wooden
wheels, which I also have no problems with! although I do have a set of Chrome
Wires with stainless spokes which I might put on if I can sort the hubs
out...)
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network