I used to run Michelin 145-SR13 MX's on my Midget when it was younger, but
they no longer make them (or MXV's) in 13". When I did the car over last
year, I noticed fatigue cracks around the bolt holes of my rostyle wheels,
so I decided to replace them. Since Panasport mini-lite repros were cheaper
than new Ro's, I went with them. These wheels are 1/2 inch wider but are
offset to compensate. Someone at Moss told me that people run spridgets
with 185's on this wheel, but I don't believe it. I went with Continental
Contact 165-70's, which have phenomenal road-holding in wet weather (nice
when you're rearranging towels over your lap & legs to catch the drips, to
not have to worry about tire traction :-). This setup clears my semi-
elliptical rear leafs by 3/8". The front tie-rod end to wheel clearance
is only about 1/8", and I was nervous about that, but so far it's OK.
I'm curious what other spridget owners are running with these wheels...
anyone try a 60 or 50 profile tire?
I had the same problem with body lean to the driver's side, and decided it
was spring set from a decade of driving the car mostly solo. So I replaced
front and rear springs, rebuilt the front suspension on both sides (rubber
bushes), replaced the front lever shocks with new ones, replaced the rear
shocks with Spax's (3 clicks from soft), and replaced the steering rack
with a new one. With all this and the new wheels, the car handled
unbelievably better, and sat dead level in the driveway.
For about three weeks...then it started listing to port again. I too now
have a 1" lean to driver's side. This is driving me crazy and I *will*
fix it this winter. Options are:
- Install 100 or more pounds of ballast in the passenger seat.
Said ballast should preferably be attractive, love riding in LBC's,
and not mind mussed hair. (Most cost-effective fix.)
- Swap front and rear springs from side to side. This might work if the
problem was that a spring on one side was weaker than one on the other.
- Take the car in to a frame alignment shop and check the deck height and
chassis reference points (I think this stuff is in the factory workshop
manual). Worst case: the body has been misaligned since it left the
factory, bent control arm not repaired after accident (should show up
in front alignment check), control arm subframe mount badly repaired
or welded out of place after accident. ($$$ :-( :-( :-( )
- If all else fails, wedge the suspension on the drivers side so it rides
level.
If anyone out there has any other ideas on this one, or has fixed it, at
least two of your brethren would love to know.
timd@midget.ptltd.com (Tim Dziechowski - Phoenix Technologies, Ltd.)
w: 617-551-5068 h: 603-362-4072
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