javelin Radial tyres- again Sorry Folks!

[jowettgeoff]

Nah not Frank and me - wide rims are for cissys

Tyre pressures always 30psi plus or minus 20.

I never drive above 99 (in a 30 limit)!!! Unlike you in your Scoobie, as I recall!

[Forumadmin]

So you run at 10 psi in the snow and 50 psi when doing an economy run?

You guys were on 15" rims as I recall

[jowettgeoff]

15" RIMS? It's not a dragster you know!

We used 16" diam when Frank needed to see over the hedgerows to find out where he was, (usually 'lost in France'), on some rallies. Also on some other events where good ground clearance was needed. Plus I've run 3" with Taxis on my roadgoing cars most of the time since Kingpin gave us the freebies in 1988.

Some hillclimbs were done on 14" x4.5" (I still have them). Top speed about 65mph - but we didn't 'alf accelerate

Seriously though, Im sure your absolutely right when you say that Taxis are unsuitable for 3" rims, though I've done umpteen thousand miles on them (with tubes fitted), without any probs. I'm pretty sure we were all on 3" with Taxis on the first Marathon weren't we? On that event, Malcolm Oliver DID have punctures, though that was maybe due to rough fitters. Mike subsequently had some widened to 4" I think.
As you say though - insurance could be an issue, if the assessor chose to look that closely, so advice on this forum should probably be, 'don't do it'.

[Jack]

I am about to replace my Henley 5.00/5.25x16 tyres so am contemplating what to do. Keep with the crossply look and feel or go for radials and be able to stop and corner. Never has there been a more difficult choice.

It seems this choice has been made significantly easier, when last night over dinner I told Keith that I had two brand new Avon Tourists in my garage that he could have, with the wrapping still on them. His eyes lit up, he thought he'd got a brand new pair of tyres for free, and then remembered that he'd paid for them in the first place I offered to charge for storage, but this didn't get past the accountancy department in Keith's brain. Problem solved, perhaps, at least for the short term. It also means I can put whitewalls on my Javelin, just because nobody else seems to like them

Jack.

[Jack]

Some hillclimbs were done on 14" x4.5" (I still have them). Top speed about 65mph - but we didn't 'alf accelerate

Hi Geoff,

Were these modified standard rims, made to order, or from another vehicle? I can't imagine why (other than a hillclimb type event) you'd do it, but worth knowing where they came from in case others want to do this in future. Thinking about it, tiny wheels on the front might be fun for a hotrod project, you'd certainly get an interesting stance with 16s on the back!!!

Thanks,

Jack.

[jowettgeoff]

Hi Jack,

Nice try with Keith's tyres

Yes the 14" were used mainly for sprints and hillclimbs, but top gear performance on the road was brisk! They were Jowett centres, turned down and the 14" rims (from an unknown doner) welded on.

As I remember, the modified 16" wheels that Mike Smailes had were standard Jowetts whose rims were sliced, and a 1" strip welded in. This technique of 'banding' was quite popular with rally people at the time. In the early days, a few of us had some Jowett centres turned down to 15", and a 4" rim welded on. I think the rims were MG Magnette or possibly BMC Farina type.

I've currently got some Saab 95/96 wheels on BEG (comp Jav), but these needed some (approx 1/2" thick) adaptor discs making up, which fasten to the hub using (recessed) Jowett wheel nuts. The adaptors are drilled and tapped to take the Saab bolts. Seem to work ok, but quite heavy. Trouble is, Saab wheels are now quite hard to find. I found that drilling and tapping standard hubs wasn't an option, partly because of the bowl shape of the rears, and partly because the inset meant there wouldn't be enough clearance at the front (on a Javelin - at least).

Many years ago I bought a nice set of 15" wire wheels from club member Alan Beeden. These came with splined hubs (off an Armstrong I think), but modifying them to fit a Jowett has defeated me! I sometimes wonder if MGB conversion kits could be made to work.

I recently drove a Javelin with 16" HM Tourist tyres, and I'd forgotten how awful they are. Nice ride, but take wet corners with care! I'm sure Keith's legendary driving skills will cope though
Geoff.

[Jack]

Hi Geoff,

Thanks for the info on the 14" wheels. Sounds like quite a bit of work!

If you have the adaptors already, you might be able to use Saab wheels from here: http://www.comp.co.uk/wheels/wheels.asp ... eels-15-17

HSP1550 is what you'd need. This is being discussed along with the drums and other modifications and ongoing for some time. We are not sure if these would fit with a Javelin, but seem fairly confident they would work with a Jupiter.

Gets around the weight issue perhaps, and also the availability problem.

Jack.

[jowettgeoff]

Thanks Jack - I'll suss that out...
Geoff

[Chris Spencer]

It seems this choice has been made significantly easier, when last night over dinner I told Keith that I had two brand new Avon Tourists in my garage that he could have, with the wrapping still on them.

And pray Mr Clements just how old are the said new tyre's ? they maybe new and still have the wrapping on them - what's the betting they are in excess of ten years old - and the fact that you will put them on a car and throw it around the corners as always - when in reality if the said tyre's are in excess of ten years old they should only be put in one place 'The bin' - new and in wrapping or not !

Much like any other item made from rubber - tyre's deteriorate with age - not just wear !

Sermon over

[Jack]

And pray Mr Clements just how old are the said new tyre's ? they maybe new and still have the wrapping on them - what's the betting they are in excess of ten years old - and the fact that you will put them on a car and throw it around the corners as always - when in reality if the said tyre's are in excess of ten years old they should only be put in one place 'The bin' - new and in wrapping or not !

Much like any other item made from rubber - tyre's deteriorate with age - not just wear !

Sermon over

I refer the honourable gentleman to his posts in this thread regarding health and safety... http://www.jowett.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2682

To reassure you a little, they are not decades old, but we should check the manufactured date, and have been packaged and stored out of daylight. We wouldn't have kept them if they weren't ok. And they do seem to be ok.

Jack.

[Chris Spencer]

I refer the honourable gentleman to his posts in this thread regarding health and safety..

Me honorable ? - why thankyou !

[robert lintott]

On the matter of alloy wheels there is an item in the Dec. Classic Cars and Classic Car weekly for 21/11, about 15" wheels sold by VW heritage which are 5 stud with a PCD of 112,130 or 205. Would it be possible to get the makers, SSP Wheels, to drill other sizes-- what is the Javelin ? The wheels are £136 each. Even with the correct PCD they may not fit the Jowett hub I suppose? Bob

[Keith Clements]

The issue may not be with the hub as it is unlikely they will fold back inside so that the drum will not fit or with the size of hole required in the centre to accomodate the bearing cap, but with the offset which may put the contact patch in the wrong place or allow the rim to foul the top swivel pin (late) or boot (early) as it is only a 15 inch wheel. Also depends what width they are as then a wider tyre may foul the rear wheel arch.

Worth investigating though. Ask them!

[Jack]

Update on this - having done some research Nigel Hicks has bought a set of 550 x 16 Avon Turbosteels for his Javelin, and got them fitted.

The narrower rim seems to keep the sidewalls pinned in a bit more than on Jupiter or other wider wheels, and the maximum sidewall width is 150mm as a result vs official size of 165mm. Paul, if you are running on the wider JCS wheels this might explain some of the reason why you are having clearance issues with the same tyres that work for others on narrower rims.

The Avon Tourist that many will have used measured up at 142mm, so not a significant increase either side - good news for potential clearance issues with rear wings and on full lock at the front.

Also worth noting that he needed valve sleeves/grommets to fit the hole with a Michelin innertube, worth asking for these when ordering tyres as these look very sensible for rims with larger holes like the Javelin.

Given the potential clearance problems with some of the wider radials it sounds like the Turbosteel is a sensible choice for Javelin especially with Garth's feedback earlier in the thread on improvement in handling - obviously on Jupiter this is not such an issue and wider tyres should fit.

Jack.

[paul wilks]

Hi Jack

I have given up on radials for my Javelin! However.... originally I did have the radials fitted to 'new' JCS Javelin wheels. I therefore had two fitted to standard Javelin wheels.. to see if that would be better. Same result! Still not sufficient clearance under nearside rear wing.
Thanks for the suggestion though!

PS
I have advertised the tyres through the Jowetteer. Alan (Hon Ed) tells me it should be in the September issue.

Paul