Whilst I am sure this may have been covered in the past I would love to hear experiences currently from current MKII owners .
Has anyone out there fitted 6J curly hub wire wheels to their MKII and IF so what tires did you use, I would like to use ‘red line’ ones from Coker but do not know if they are any good, also where is the best place to get the wires wheels.
Coker tires and wheels good idea or not /
Thanks
Gary
I got 15x6 stainless wires from MWS and painted them. I got Firestone Firehawk radials. They seemed like good performance but reliable too and they fit the size. Have had for 4 or 5 years now and flawless. Wheels fit the original hubs.
I’m surprised that you could fit a 15x6 wheel on the back unless you are using Coombs style spats. On my car, I changed to a Mk1 rear end to be able the run 6" rims which would have fouled my fender skirts. The Mk1 rear is 3" narrower, but not posi. I’m running Cooper 205-70R15 tires, which work ok. It is possible that there is now a lacing which would allow this, but I’d want to verify that before buying. There were no 6" wheels available with more offset that the standard ones for e-types when I checked, but that was 10 years ago.
Gary, if I had it to do again, I’d stick with the stock 5" rims and tires. I like the looks of the meats on the back, but not so much on the front, and I don’t think the car needs the wider tires.
I don’t run any spats on the back, you’re right the tires are too wide.
I ha e Coombs spats on the rear, and I do prefer the wider 6” look, guess I need to do more research 
I haven’t tried Coombs spats. They will likely work with the 6" wheels. I just haven’t tried them personally!
I plan on running 205/70-15 on my 6” MWS wires on my Mk2 when I get to that point in my restoration. I have Coombs style spats. Why do you guys think 205s are too wide?
I know a 205s won’t fit in the spare well, I’m contemplating options for how to deal with that.
My rationale for 205s are based on looks (filling up the wheel wells better) and availability of options (185s options seem limited). Whatever I do I want to maintain the correct overall diameter and my preference is to run a period correct looking tire (again due to aesthetics…just looks more correct).
Hi Gary
I have a 3.8 mark 2 and since 2008 I have been running 6K chrome wires from Dayton Wheels
which I believe are supplied in the UK by SNG Barratts You can buy them in the US from Dayton Ohio.
Part numbers were JW156 and were tubeless fitted with 205x15 tyres from XJ6 models which I used to break up so good tyres were plentiful.
The Coombes spats allow the needed clearance on the rear and also allow you to remove the rear wheels without taking them off
The fronts had to have the camber angle altered
to a slight negative with a couple of shims to avoid the tyre rubbing on the wheel arch on deep potholes which we have many in my part of the UK.
If you want photos I can send them. Since fitting I have driven more than 20,000 miles
Cheers
Brian
The way I dealt with the spare tire issue was to buy a narrower spare for a 5" rim that was sized to the same diameter as the 205-70r15s. Your local tire rep could help you with that. That way, it fits in the boot, and won’t wear the diff if you have a flat on the rear. It would gives some issues with steering in the front, but it’s only for temporary use.
I have no issues with rub in the front wheelwells. That said, I’m considering going back to 5" rims in the front at some point. I’m not crazy about how far out the front tires extend.
That would be the simple way to solve for this. I already have five 6” rims. Anyone know if a 185HR-15 on a 6” rim will fit in the spare compartment with the lid on?
I have a good local tire shop who cooperates with me for wire wheel balancing and will sent me home with a mounted tire to test on the car. If it doesn’t fit, we try something else, no money until we figure it out. It’s a good reason to have a relationship with a local shop if there is such a thing in your area.
I don’t think the 6" with 185 fits, but I’m not certain. Maybe try one and let us all know.