wheel advice

[sean leslie]

I want to put wire wheels on my 1975 Caterham. I love the look and want it for show and general street driving. I have to drive over rough dirt roads to get home so I want to lift the oil pan as much as possible.
Knock-off adaptors, etc seem clumsy and heavy so I am thinking of taking the plunge for Dayton bolt-ons. What I need to know is: can I mount 16 inch wheels or do I have to stick to 15 inch wheels?

[Elv15]

Sean,

Welcome to the forum! Do you have cycle fenders or clamshell fenders? I suspect the clamshell fenders will take a larger tire/wheel. That being said, I run 13" wheels and have done plenty of dirt roads. It depends on how fast you plan to drive on them. Rally speed and it would be trouble!

How much clearance do you have under the sump?

The limiting factor will probably be the radius of the rear fenders. You may be able to go with a taller tire on a 15" rim.

Tom

[sean leslie]

Wheel advice

Many thanks for the welcome ELv15,

My Seven has the clamshells and it looks like the rear fenders will accomadate 16" wheels, but I have to be sure because the Daytons have to be custom made and will run over $2000.
The current wheels were on the car when I picked it up in Caterham back in 1975. They measure 14" but the tires are 165-13. The sump is only about three inches above the pavement and I have perforated the pan twice.
Do you know anyone who runs 16" wheels?

Sean

[slomove]

You may be better off with 15". As far as I know the tire selection would be better and I don't think that 1" rim diameter will make much of a difference, depending on the tire cross-section. A taller tire may even look better or more classic on wire wheels.

Something like 3" clearance is probably what most people have on a Seven. If you want your sump to be safe you may have to drive slow or install a sump guard. Another option would be to jack up the shock platforms or use some spacers if not adjustable.

[magnusfeuer]

From the top of my head Caterham recommends 75mm clearance, which is almost exactly 3 inches.

We bad boys run 65 mm and live in perpetual fear of shaving off our oil pan.

/Magnus F.