 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aluminum Wheel Reconditioning / Tires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My "new" Hayashi Racing Wheels were purchased on an eBay Auction. They had a set of old racing slicks on them and were pretty grungy. There was a lot of corrosion on the aluminum rim, and significant discoloration of the originally light gold center. These photos were taken AFTER a good cleaning with Eagle One A-2-Z wheel cleaner, using a stiff brush for the rims and the spokes, and a high pressure spray at the car wash. They are cleaner, but not great looking yet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The fronts of the rims looked bad, but the back sides were horrible. Bits of tire, globs of asphalt and large black pits made them look like they would never be shiny again. Since these are a two piece wheel design, I decided to unbolt the center basket, allowing me to get at the wheels with some abrasives. I tried fine steel wool with Mother's Metal Polish, but it didn't cut through the worst of the corrosion. I went out and bought a few sheets of fine emory paper, and hit them with that. This method eliminated the pitting and also took out all the curb rash on the edge of the rim. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So then I was looking at pretty clean - though scratched - solid aluminum. Liberal gobs of Mother's Polish and lots of work with the steel wool started to produce a shine. A good quality "Aluminum Polishing Kit" was purchased from Caswell Plating to help finish them off. The centers were cleaned and then painted with "Antique Gold" enamel. A clear coat was applied later on top of the color coat. They are a darker gold than the original color, but they really "pop" against the Carmine Red of my Spitfire. I found some center caps that fit the wheel and also fit the "Triumph" hub cap appliques available from the catalogs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
The wheels are 13x5.5 inch in size - 1/2 inch wider than the stock wheels for late Spitfires. These wheels have a 3.875 inch backspace, giving me a negative 1.125 inch offset. I bought a set of Sumitomo 205/60's from The Tire Rack and then promptly tore the shoulder off the left front. I've worn out two sets of 185/60 R13 Yokohama AVSi tires in autocross events and regular driving. They are no longer available, so I had to find something else... |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Now I've mounted 175/70 made by Kumho. They are taller, skinnier, and not as sticky as the old Yokohamas. Tread width measures about 5 inches unmounted, not sure if the tire will "spread" a bit when mounted on the wide wheel. The old Yokos measured about 5.75 inches of tread width. I'm sure I have given up some autocross performance. They are the closer to the correct height, so my speedometer reads almost perfectly. Plus they were REALLY cheap at $32 each. OK - they are "grocery getter" tires, but they tested OK according to GrassRoots Motor Sports. On the first drive, I noticed the car felt like it sat higher. I haven't actually tried cornering on them at all yet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||