The wheel thing

[CMRichards]

I am about to buy a supersport with 5 spoke HPC alloys.  I'd like to put it onto minilites style wheels with higher profile tyres.  Can anyone recommend a good brand of wheel and type of Avon tyre?  And should I keep the HPC's for track work?  Or is anyone interested in a swap, with cash either way?

[Wrightpayne]

People who have the 5 spokes generally have them for their looks - they (from what I've read on here) dont suit the 7 from a handling perspective.

Minators were the caterham supplied minilites for many years - to recommend a size probably need a bit more info on your car and intended use eg 13" handle well however can give ground clearance issues.

 

Ian 

[K7 VCT]

Best to go for smaller diameter wheels, I had 8 years on HPC rims and yoko A539's on my 95 k series, now  my 310 sigma on 13 inch apollos with 185/60/13 Nankang NS2r in street compound, as they say chalk and cheese.

The HPC is a nice look, but the difference is well worth it. 13 inch gives you more tyres  to choose I think. Nankang  was unknown to me, just heard of it from a mate who runs them on some track cars only. They are good value to. 

[Q Catcher]

I used to run 16" 'HPC' five-spoke wheels and also looked to swap to minilites, partly because I like the look.  I bought a set but was shocked to find that they were actually heavier than the HPCs, which at 6.7kg are lighter than they look - so I promptly sold the minilites.

I resisted the temptation to go to 13" wheels purely due to ground clearance (touring use, and not wishing to compensate with a 'balloon' sidewall height) so in the end I went for 15", which at least has the benefit of a very wide tyre choice.

But I would definitely run 13" wheels if the priority was track use.

(I got a bit carried away at the time, weighing wheels, and found that they often weigh more than the manufacturers claim.  When I discussed this with one manufacturer, they blamed this on 'different offsets' - the example they weigh for the brochure must presumably have a massive offset!)

[CMRichards]

Thanks all.  Now I have the car I think I'll run it for a bit and see.