Re: Chrome wire wheels 53-56

Posted by Leeedy On 2012/2/4 10:09:52

Packard postwar chrome wire wheels had slightly thicker rims by definition. The triple plating process alone would make any rim thicker. And of course spoke wheel rims are put to stresses that ordinary disc wheels are not. So a somewhat heavier gauge of the rim itself also makes plenty of sense.

As for the matter of balancing these wheels, today in the 21st century there are so many ways to attach weights including ways to make them not look obvious or different... or visible at all in some cases. In reference to the Packard Service Counselor notes... there was-mentioned or not-the added issue of attaching (and maintaing grip) of a lead weight to a spinning, slippery new chrome rim, plus the thickness.

By the way, these wheels are so often referred to as "Kelsey-Hayes" but they were actually made by Motor Wheel Corporation. Cadillacs of the same era used K-H and you can easily see the differences by simply looking at the wheels and how they are laced. The Packard wire wheels were much stronger.

As for radial tires on these wheels, I am unsure what "stresses" radials would cause. Since bias-ply tires "squirm" down the road and radial tires "moosh" down the road, I fail to see why radials would pose undue "stresses" since they actually roll smoother! They just don't look quite as cool and beautiful as old bias-ply Firestones or Good Years or General Nygen whitewalls!