Magnesium wheel question

[xracerbob]

This might be a dumb question, but I believe that the current wheel manufacturers like PSE, Vintage, Trigo, etc. only do aluminum reproductions of the original magnesium wheel. I haven't found anyone that makes a true magnesium wheel for these cars and am curious as to why.

I understand that they would cost more, but their weight is I believe 35-40% less than aluminum. We used them on the Indy Lights car and they were very light and could take a pretty good whack (don't ask how I know). Maintenance of them was no more than aluminum.

Edit- Just found these guys- http://www.macastings.com/products.html

Who sells their wheels?

[double ugly]

Good looking but you could call them and find out who sells them.

[elric]

they make the wheels for Halibrand. I'm very happy with the set i bought.

steve

[Sal Gerace]

Steve how much were your wheels and are they magnesium?

[Sal Gerace]

MA castings will makes vintage wheels for distributors. They do not have the halibrand Cobra II wheels in the original Cobra size but sell a GT 40 wheel that looks like it in a 9 1/2" and 12" width. To produce the original width Cobra II's they would have to have an original front and back Halibrand and then make a mold from them. Initial startup would be very expensive and you would have to sell a lot of wheels to get your money back.

[elric]

hi, was told by halibrand that they made their wheels. they are magnesium and look great; check my gallery. i think they were around 675/wheel; not cheap but worth it to me.

[xracerbob]

Eric-

I checked the Halibrand site and don't see these wheels on there. Did you get them directly from Halibrand? Do you recall the sizes you have? Your car looks awesome by the way.

[Larry N Johnson]

I bought a set of Magnesuim 5-pin 427 S/C Cobra II rims direct from Halibrand in 2002 and was told they were the last set they had. They ran out of adapters so we used Trigo adapters and spinners. Pictures and details are at Project 427 S/C.

The magnesium is a chore to keep up. They corrode if any moisture is near them. Polish back fairly good but a serious hassle.

Since bought track tires for these rims. For the street now use Trigo, chrome plated. There is a large difference in weight, about 20 lbs each as shown on the link above.

Not sure anyone will sell us real magnesium Cobra II rims these days. Let us know if a source is located.

[SantaFe66]

elric,

Ummm. The motor, the motor.........forget the wheels.....the motor.

Awesome!

[SantaFe66]

xracerbob,

A word of advice....

If you get mag wheels, don't let the luddites at the local tire mount tires on them without protectors and supervision. Magnesium is more brittle than aluminum and will crack if improperly levered.

I know this since that happened to me on a set of mag race wheels for my motorcycle. Several changes later, the edge of the rim broke off. Race bikes get a lot of tire changes so that certainly increased the risk, but you wouldn't want that to happen to magnesium Halibrands, or any other brand.

Paul

[RedCSX1]

Originally Posted by elric

hi, was told by halibrand that they made their wheels. they are magnesium and look great; check my gallery. i think they were around 675/wheel; not cheap but worth it to me.

What wheels? I could not get past the pictures of the cammer!

[kris-kincaid]

At SEMA, Halibrand had mag 427 wheels. They said $3000 a set retail. This where identical to originals.

[1985 CCX]

Larry,

Love the look when they arrived, dull and oxidized.........
Great looking FFR.

[Larry N Johnson]

$3000 a set is less than I paid 5 years ago. At that number they should sell fine.probably adapters extra.

They come with brushed outers oil coated. The inners are powdercoated a metal color.

So they don't oxidize.

[kris-kincaid]

Larry, $3000 was quoted for a set of six pin wheels, identical to originals. I don't anything about adapters ???

[Larry N Johnson]

Ok, if you have 6-pin hubs, no adapters needed! 6-pin rims and go!

A lot of us have 5-lug hubs that need an "adapter" to get the 5-pin rims to fit right.

[bobcowan]

This is the rumer I heard. Could be false.

Racers stopped using magnesium wheels because of the fire hazard. In case of a blow out, the wheels will drag on the pavement and create sparks. If the magnesium catchs fire, it's almost impossible to get out.

[Power Surge]

Originally Posted by bobcowan

This is the rumer I heard. Could be false.

Racers stopped using magnesium wheels because of the fire hazard. In case of a blow out, the wheels will drag on the pavement and create sparks. If the magnesium catchs fire, it's almost impossible to get out.

I do believe this holds true to current day, in certain areas. I know that the C6 ZO6 Vette uses a magnesium chassis, and it's not allowed. The C6R race cars use the C5R chassis to compete because of this (was told this by a ZO6 buddy, don't shoot me if it's wrong).

[bobcowan]

That's interesting, I didn't know that. But a quick google search reveals that the front cradel (engine and suspension attachement points) is made from magnesium. The rest of the car is standard materials - alum, steel, composits.

[xracerbob]

All Indy cars, F-1 cars, and many lower series still use magnesium wheels. I raced on them from 1990-1996. Even some club racers use magnesium wheels as well.