tires and wheels Panasport experience...might be interesting

[Guest Anonymous]

During the install of my wheels last Wednesday, the technicians watching my mechanic balance my new wheels saw something they have never seen before. The first wheel on the balancer needed no weights on either side of the tire. One tech commented "Only if they were all like that". Sure enough the second and third wheel balanced exactly the same way: no weights needed. None of the techs watching could believe what they were seeing. Only the last one needed a .25 gram or oz.I forget. The weight that was added was very negligible that most applications does not even require to add the weight at all.

Me mechanic has never seen that before. Anyway, these wheels are not cheap but they are well made. I guess the moral of the story is you get what you pay for. I love these wheels so far.

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

Are they sold with another name or are they available here at all? I've never seen Panasport wheels in Finland. There are same style Compomotives but they don't look quite same .

Tommy

[Guest Anonymous]

..I'd have to agree that the the balancing trick has

as much, if not more to do with the tyres than the

wheel. Pretty amazing though.

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

Used heavily on British cars in the 60's and 70's.I thought they were out of production, but here you go. Follow the link. Good luck.

Steve P. in NC

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

there are small differences in appearance and bigger in price. I like the polished lip of Panasports and the price range seems reasonable. Compomotive for example doesn't have polished lip. Minilite site didn't have prices but AFAIK they are way more expensive.

Tommy

[Guest Anonymous]

Minilite wheels were once on my tii. The PO sold them because "they were too hard to clean." I've been toying with someday purchasing a set of new ones direct from Minilite in the UK. Looks like you could go +1 (14") if you wanted. Back in the late 60s and seventies they were THE wheel to have, especially on rally cars. Looked great on just about anything...'02, Escort, Alfa, Cortina, Capri, Mini, Maxi, Hillman, Opel. The first (real racing)IROC Camaros had Minilites, BTW.

[Guest Anonymous]

My experience is that there's ALOT more variation in tire balance than wheel balance - and some brands are notorious for being a little lumpy. I'd love to know the tire brand / style you have - as your experience is more a testament to the TIRE quality than the wheels - although I do LOVE them Panasports!

Paul

MAximill...

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

As a few have mentioned below, tires are usually what cause the wheel/tire combo to need balancing. I've had V and Z rated Dunlops, Michelins, Yokos, and Bridgestone all on the same set of wheels and paid attention to which balanced well. The Michelins (XGT or XGV or something like that) needed little or no weight as did the Bridgestones (Potenza something or other). The Yokos (AVS-Intermediate) needed the most.

[Guest Anonymous]

Did your tires have yellow dots on the sidewall? Seems like there would have to be some inconsistency on the tire (and a tire man who know what he was doing) to offset the valve stem weight. Or maybe panasport thinks about this when they make the wheel?

[Guest Anonymous]

www.minilitewheels.com

They are in the us and have listings for wheels to fit an '02. It also says they can custom make any offset wheel needed.

HTH again

Steve P. in NC