Spoke count 60 vs 72

[MalBJ8]

I'm looking to update my stock spoke wheels for chrome spokes. Can I ask for advice on whether I should purchase 60 vs 72 count wheels. Plan to use them on my 64 BJ7 for pleasure driving. Thanks for the advise.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

If you plan on doing any serious cornering--you WILL be tempted--get 72-spoke. When I bought my BJ8 it had 60-spoke, probably OEM, wheels and I promptly broke a few spokes. Oh, and you want stainless spokes, not chrome (I don't think anybody even sells chrome spokes any more, but I haven't shopped them in a while). I do engage in serious (road) cornering when possible, and even with 'big rubber'--185/70--I haven't broken any spokes.

I have 72-spoke, 6" Daytons on my car. I do think 6" is a bit wide; 5.5" would be ideal but when I bought only Dunlop made 5.5" and they had a less-than-stellar reputation at the time. But, I hear Dunlop has improved and there is at least one other brand available (though they might be re-branded Dunlops).

 

[British_Recovery]

Check out MWS for wheel specs. 15" 72 spoke also come in 5" width, as was on MGC. Good for 165R 15 tires.
Bob

 

[BJ8Healeys]

It's a matter of personal taste, but to me the 72-spoke wheels look too "busy". They are stronger, so if your driving style is a bit aggressive they are a better choice. Of course they are more expensive, too.
I bought 60-spoke Daytons with stainless spokes from British Wire Wheel in 1991 and they are still on my BJ8 with 99,500 miles on them now. Yes, I have found a few broken spokes now and then, but the first one was not until 80,000 miles. I go for long-distance reliable cruising rather than performance.
I have a double-handful of chrome spokes that someone gave me a few years ago, if anyone is interested in them. Because of the chance of hydrogen embrittlement of the metal during chrome plating if they are not properly treated afterward, they are more vulnerable to breaking from fatigue.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

I purchased my wheels and tires from Hendrix Wire Wheel. I was considering the 72's but he asked me if I do gymkhanas and I said No. He said to go with the 60's because they are easier to clean. I did the the larger tires which really do a nice job of filling up the wheel wells on my BJ8.

 

[MalBJ8]

Patrick, what size do you mean when you say "larger tires"?
Thanks

 

[dcarlg]

I changed to 72 spoke chrome Dayton wheels after breaking several spokes on both front chrome Dunlop 60 spoke wheels. That was 10 years ago. Been happy since.

 

[Keoke]

I like and bought those "busy lookin" 72 spoke Dayton 5.5" WW with SS spokes from British Wire Wheel long time ago for the owner moved to Hawaii.

Fitted em up with 185 X 70 X 15 Verdestein tires too.

I am on the second set of tires and other than the price of tires these days I am just happy as a lark-.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I like and bought those "busy lookin" 72 spoke Dayton 5.5" WW with SS spokes from British Wire Wheel long time ago for the owner moved to Hawaii.

So you know Bruce E. too. Did you go to his house in the Aptos hills? Or was it Soquel (his garage was his first 'store')? FWIW, I've never seen Daytons in 5.5; Bruce talked me into the 6" rims. Fitted them with Yokohama A321s--best tire I've had on a Healey (though the Vreds aren't bad).

 

[steveg]

Dayton's matrix of British car sizes:
https://www.daytonwirewheels.com/britishcars.php
Moss' Dunlops for Healeys:
https://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=116059

 

[Michael Oritt]

People's selection of wheels is probably driven more by the appearance they prefer than a need for performance. I am an advocate of a tall tire--presently a 180 Michelin XAS--which, to my mind, looks best with a more traditional 60 spoke wheel. Those who like squat, wide tires seem to prefer the busier appearance of a 72.

I drive my car vigorously and have never experienced any problems with the 60-spoke Daytons I purchased about 16 years ago.

 

[Keoke]

So you know Bruce E. too. Did you go to his house in the Aptos hills? Or was it Soquel (his garage was his first 'store')? FWIW, I've never seen Daytons in 5.5; Bruce talked me into the 6" rims. Fitted them with Yokohama A321s--best tire I've had on a Healey (though the Vreds aren't bad).

Yeah Bob:
I have known Bruce for a long time and Yokohama tires have a very good performance history too.

 

[HealeyRick]

I purchased my wheels and tires from Hendrix Wire Wheel. I was considering the 72's but he asked me if I do gymkhanas and I said No. He said to go with the 60's because they are easier to clean. I did the the larger tires which really do a nice job of filling up the wheel wells on my BJ8.

I've got 72 spoke Daytons on my BJ7 with 175R Michelins that I'm quite happy with. As far as cleaning goes, try this stuff:

Make sure you get "chrome" Works great. Spray on, rinse off.

 

[steveg]

Agree on the Meguire's Chrome per above. Spray on; wait 30 seconds; hose off -- the wheel is clean without any haze.

Mother's Chrome works equally well.

I blow mine off with compressed air.

This whole process compares very favorably to the old days of cleaning between the spokes by hand.

 

[Editor_Reid]

So you know Bruce E. too. Did you go to his house in the Aptos hills? Or was it Soquel (his garage was his first 'store')?

He lived at 525 Ranchitos del Sol in Aptos. I didn't have to look that up. Weird how certain things stick with you, such as Bruce's street address. I also visited there when he was selling wheels out of his garage. Just 30 short years ago. Thanks for the time travel.

And back to the subject and original question: I'd go with 60-spoke wheels, definitely. I agree that the 72-spoke wheels look too busy, too dense for my taste. Of course, my Healey has solid wheels, so I have the easiest time of all cleaning them.

 

[EV2239]

Way back in the sixties on the advice of John Chatham we'd use 165 X 15 XAS Michelins on wider 72 spoke wheels. Or we'd widen the standard steel rims by just over an 1" and still fit 165 section tyres because over typical English roads, bigger section tyres were steered by bumps and spoiled both ride and handling.

We we had to fit 72 spoke wheels because 60 spoke ones would begin to collapse within a couple of hundred miles!

My BJ7 has 60 spoke wheels that have been on the car for years and my son has just done 2,400 miles across Europe including tortuous Alpine Passes, all with 165 X 15 Veredesteins and still the wheels are okay.

We drove the cars absolutely flat out in the day, dust covers on brake calipers used to catch light, exhausts were regularly knocked off cornering, rear springs broke, shocks lasted 5/6000 miles if you were lucky and tended to work loose on the front, fanbelts often came off and occasionally oil boiled in overdrive and it came out with a bang and twisted the end of the main shaft and still John Chatham was madder.

I guess now we have a serious guilty conscience and are anxious to cherish good old cars that deserved better.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Something to consider: I think all modern, chrome wheels have stainless steel spokes; older, painted wheels had mild steel spokes. Could make a difference; presumably, SS is stronger. So, 60-spoke chrome/stainless wheels are probably stronger than plain steel wheels and spokes (the 60-spokers on my BJ8 that broke spokes were painted/mild). Though, I had the opposite experience with exhaust manifold studs; the mild steel ones seemed to take more abuse than the stainless studs I tried.

 

[EV2239]

Stainless Steel is a generic term covering a huge range of corrosion resistant alloys, each with different characteristics.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Stainless Steel is a generic term covering a huge range of corrosion resistant alloys, each with different characteristics.

I know. Neither the wheels or studs identified the specific alloy; they just said 'stainless steel,' and I didn't perform a metallurgic analysis on them so I used the generic term. If either had indicated the specific alloy--and I could remember it--I would have posted the info.