Trying these out for a bit. What are your general impressions? Actually fairly light, concerned about upkeep (I'm OCD) and I've never driven wire spoke wheels before so duribility issues?

 

Cool lookin sort of a retro look.

A pain in the a$$ to clean????

 

They look really cool. Saw these on a site recently too.

Not sure how well they hold up for twisties. As the spokes loosen up over time due to flexing, how / who re-tightens them ?

 

Nice Chuck!!

I was looking into wires myself. These would look good on my MINI too.

 

It's been my experience, owning multiple MGs and a motorcycle, that you have to pay close attention to the spoke tension mostly in the first thousand miles and then only occasionally after that. A torque wrench is the best way to check them, but if you have a good ear, you can tap each spoke with your spoke wrench and tighten them so they have the same tone. If you have wheels with two different length spokes, they will have different tones. Always jack the wheel off of the ground when checking and adjusting spoke tension.

Wire wheels do flex and are not as good as cast wheels for spirited driving or the track.

Dave

 

Good to know. I'm just trying them out before MITM where they will be on display.
I've got a set of wheels I really like but these are interesting.

 

Looks Cool, but not for me....

 

I think a set of chrome wire wheels on a Pepper White MINI with a lot of other chrome on the car would have a real retro, Austin-Healey kind of look to it. Not sure how I feel about the black center and black rims, although I think those were the best choice for a red MINI.

 

...and for cleaning. I'm wondering how dirty the spokes will get though and with about 9,000 spokes per wheel I can't even calculate how long it would take to wax them all.

 

Just stumbled across these yesterday in an ad in MC2.... Gorgeous! (But, again, maybe not for me.)





Is anyone actually running these, though? Real-world experience?

 

Some fun video from the Borrani website track testing the Srays on a Fiat 500:
http://www.borraniamericas.com/html/fiat_500.html

 

They look really cool. Also, they really match the chrome cowl vents and scuttles.

 

Personally, I think wire wheels look better on a car that takes less positive offset (like a rwd car) than on the MINI,
where the spokes are kind of pushed to the edge of the rim.

 

Lookin' good! Love the retro look!

 

Here's another shot of silver S-rays on a Justa:



... classic look! (Although did classic Minis tend to run forged steel wheels rather than wire?)

Here's a nice shot of some "classic" wire wheels on an MGA to illustrate the point cristo was trying to make, I think:



Dayton also makes wire wheels for the MINI, but they're not quite as nice as the Borranis, IMHO:

 

i have never seen modern "true" spoked rims before. i kinda like them

 

I've put about 600 miles on the Borranis at this point and they seem to be doing well. 300 mountain miles (fast and twisty) and 300 city miles (slow and bumpy).

 

Not sure they're quite my taste, but they look kinda neat! That said, the thought of them "giving' a little bit might be nice on bumpy roads. Hmmmm....

 

Personally, i think the colors and rims are very attention grabbing. but if thats your style they compliment each other very well!

 

MINI Mania has them listed for $3750 16" and $4350 17". Apparently you have to pay for quality eh

 

 

spoke wheels remind me of a MGB-GT I used to own but the MINI is much better! The spokes on a mini looks classic!

 

They look great with the red brakes. Did you paint those yourself?

 

Duplicolor caliper paint. Easy to do and it lasts pretty well if you put it on real thick.

 

Nnaaaahh...too busy. Just me.