Just two years ago I replaced all five original and very wooden 12 year old 195/60 Yokos with 185/65s, thses gave me a 7mm lift over the tyres originally specified by Morgan. For my new 185/65 tyres I went with Continental Ecocontact 6s for their soft sidewall which make them ideal for an unusally light car like a Morgan, most tyres these days in 185 or 195 sizes are designed around modern small hatchbacks that tend to weigh at least 400kg (45%) more than Monty.
Choosing a tyre with a soft sidewall really helps with Monty's rear end ride quality on the road, I'm also able to increase the pressures significantly for a stiffer sidewall if I'm running up Presscot or having fun at the Curborough sprint track, the front end is a Mulfab wishbone conversion that continues to impress with its excellent abilty to smooth out anything that's thrown at it while delivering lovely compliance.
However, I then lowered the car by 20mm and ground clearance started to become an issue, I dont regret this for a minute as it dramatically improved Monty's look and included the added benefit of moving the axle back so the rear wheels now actually sit central in their arches, to redress the ballance and more or less get me back to where I started before lowering the car I tackled the problem head on
See my 'Nip & Tuck' post here:
https://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/800136/monty-gets-a-nip-n-tuck#Post800136The chassis & bellhousing shave was my answer to giving me back the full 20mm of ground clearance I'd lost when lowering the car plus 5mm, plus a further 7mm from the tyres so I've actually gained 12mm of ground clearance over a standard Plus 4, the countersunk screws will take this 17mm and its worth pointing out I never actually had a ground clearance issue when Monty was standard. Admitedly the chassis & bellhousing shave was not the cheapest approach, but I couldnt live with that awful bellhousing lip a moment longer and the crossmember was just crying out for some sympathetic surgery too.
I do aknowlege that going from 185/65 to 195/65s would give me a further 13mm, add this to my chassis/bellhousing shave and the countersunk gearbox fasteners and the taller tyres (less the lowering exercise) would actually leave me with a net gain in ground clearance of 30mm over than a standard factory spec Plus 4, all this while still retaining the lowered look and centred rear wheels I love so much.
However, as I've already solved the gound clearance issues and my Conti 185/65s are lasting well, I think for the time being and after fitting the countersunk gearbox screws that arrive tomorrow, I'll just leave it at that and call it job done for now
