Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Wire wheel Tyre fitting and balancing

Use logic. Read what you are saying. Why would your wire wheel manufacturer use rubber rim and bead bands with tons of silicone if they are merely to "protect spoke nuts from damaging the inner
tubes" when our tyres are tubeless tyre. You can also, in many cases, convert a tubed wire wheel to a tubeless wire wheel! Why don't you both try some google research? (please) There is a ton of info,
not my own, out there which will enlighten you both and will compliment my experience indicated above. But try to sift out the bad from the good. There is all sorts of silly nonsense out there now. If what
you both say is true, fitting wire wheels would suggest the MMC were very cruel to so many buyers. They rims would have to be tossed in less time than the tyres they came with unless one wants to
tolerate a degraded car.

BTW, you forgot to indicate what you finally did for your wheel(s). Did you toss it/them? If we follow you both, wire wheels cannot be trued. In my case, I would have removed the compromised rim
band and the silicone and put on another with silicone again. I loath single spot patch repairs. Or did you have MWS do it? They daily do what you say should not be done. Look at their site under
"RESTORATION". It is a lot of what they do. But they will charge a LOT more than doing it yourself. (figure 15 pounds each)
Non UK owners, if they do not want to adjust or repair their rim bands themselves, (shrug) can use local sources. I have used motorcycle shops in the past.
Here is a US source that will do the job for the reluctant there. https://www.truespoke.com/wire-wheel-restoration
And I have heard these fellas are recommended Downunder That being said, there are, everywhere, a lot more bicycle
and motorcycle shops than classic wire wheel suppliers. This stuff is not rocket science.

Remember, trads were designed in an era where every owner took care of their own vehicle...during the Golden Age of UK Motoring. (That era is different for the UK and the US I am told). If a car was made
impossible to fix, it could not be sold. Ask Luddite, (I am the same in this area) how much he has spent on labor, for repairs and servicing for his Morgan in almost 25 years or his Porsche before that.
Repairing your wire wheel is a great reason for an afternoon BBQ with other moggers. An eye opener, even for a Canadian, is a quick drive through suburban Virginia Beach on a sunny weekend. Amazing!

gmg

P.S. I will bow out at this point so don't worry about me. I wish you both great mogging

The last time I had my tyres changed, I just got stuck in and loosened the wheel nuts in the tyre shop! They said they weren't confident of operating the hammer so close to the bodywork.
We had a good chat during the work, and everybody learned things.

They were reluctant to set the pressure low, so I had a very slippery journey home, then I used my gauge to set to 24 psi. They'd put in 32!

They should just need to use higher pressure to get tyre to seal and should then reduce to whatever you ask for. That's how my experienced local dealer works Alexander.

.

I think the outer spoke adjuster operated by the spoke key is an integral part of the inner spoke nut shown in my pic Doug. Consequently it's this larger object that twists inside the rim whilst the threaded spoke stays still. Since the sealant is well attached to this inner nut as it's applied, even the smallest twisting action breaks through the thick layer of same leaving a clean twirling split on the outside to identify, so some good news

I cannot see therefore if there is any method of adjustment with this spoke style on a tubeless rim without disturbing sealant. It's always going to be sealant removal then long prep followed by a couple of tubes of sealant if you have messed with multiple spokes when trueing. There are YouTube videos illustrating the job.

Just a quick update from me, having asked the question in the first place (after the various side roads that the thread has drifted around!).

I have bought some cones for 42mm spoked wheels from Smoothride, so that should make it more straightforward for getting the wheels balanced at any decent tyre place.

I will take my big custom socket for removing the hub nuts, given that I don't want just anyone whacking the standard spanner with a big hammer.

I have no intention of trying to adjust any of the spokes and messing up the tubeless sealing system.

To fully round off this thread from my point of view - I have now had a set of 5 195/65/R15 Dunlop Bluresponse tyres fitted at a local tyre specialist - Harry Park aka Kendal Tyres. I took the Smoothride cones and the spare in to them, to check they would fit their balancing machine, before actually ordering the tyres.
It all sent very smoothly, with suitable care for the rims and sealing bands. They used adhesive weights on the inside of the rims and were happy to put just the usual 22psi in them. I've not driven the car yet, as I'm doing a couple of other jobs while it is up on axle stands, but I anticipate a better ride and better grip with some new rubber - the other tyres were the originals, manufactured in 2016 so getting on a bit.

That was a wise move to take your cones and spare wheel in first to make sure it worked. I did the same.
I have come across some fancy balancing machines that will throw up an error when cones are used, as the machine doesn’t think that the wheel is mounted properly as it cannot “feel it” against the mounting plate.