Wire wheels ad naseum

[RonHorowitz <RonHorowitz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK, wires are pretty. Got it. Borranis are particularly pretty. OK, got
that one, too. Borranis weren't really a factory option, but you can get
away with it at a concours. Check. Steel wheels are stronger and lighter.
No probleemo there. Alloy wheels are even lighter than steel ones. Right
you are, sir.

And Borrani wires are very pretty. OK, back where we started....

> I
>can't imagine that simply rendering the rim in alloy could save more
>than a few pounds.

A few pounds of rotating weight at the maximum wheel diameter isn't such a
bad deal. In truth, one of the old tricks was to use a steel hub and an
aluminum alloy rim. I think Borrani used the name brand "Turbo Sport" or
something like that. Not as pretty as the wires, and not max-cool-points
like the one-piece alloys, but effective.

Also, don't recall the point having been noted here (maybe I missed it) but
from what I can gather, the biggest claimed advantage of wire wheels was
their alledged superior brake cooling. How much better than slotted alloys,
or whether more imagined than real, I couldn't say.

Final note, it's generally useful to consider the wires' strength is in
tension. In other words, while the car is sitting still, if you took the
wires out of the 180 degrees of each of the wheels that you might otherwise
think of as being loaded in compression , it would make relatively little
difference. Makes sense?

RON
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