Modern Magnesium Halibrand Wheel Quality

RodKnock · #1 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 11:34 AM

Chas, how often do find it necessary to polish your wheels? Do they ever leak air, at least a greater rate than that of aluminum wheels? Do you know what is the weight savings? Over the years, how often have you tracked your car? Do you bother checking for stress cracks on a regular basis?

Thanks for all the info.

ERA Chas · #2 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Chas, how often do find it necessary to polish your wheels? Do they ever leak air, at least a greater rate than that of aluminum wheels? Do you know what is the weight savings? Over the years, how often have you tracked your car? Do you bother checking for stress cracks on a regular basis?

Thanks for all the info.

Rod,
I mis-spoke earlier, my wheels were bought in 1991 when Barry Blackburn owned the company and just before he sold it-so they're 18 years old.

My local area is generally damp most year 'round and I'm less than 4 miles away from salt water and oxidizing was really a problem. If I didn't polish twice a month they'd get to the point that 0000 steel wool and polish was necessary. I hated the hand polishing but letting them turn just slowly destroys them and I can't replace them. A tip from Cobraviper-99 on here led me to try the Powerball and Mr. Buffer. They literally have not turned cloudy since December-over three months. And it's so much easier, so corrosion is just not a problem for anyone anymore.

These wheels have always had bias Hoosiers which leaked 2-4 pounds per week, Billboards which leak the same and very briefly, Dunlop radials which never leaked.
As razer suggests, epoxying the inners is a good move but mine were never coated. All of my air losses have been from the tires.

Never weighed the individual rims but the combined weights of wheel and tire with Billboards is 35 pounds front, 41 rear. I never had aluminum wheels to compare so I don't know how much lighter the mags are but it's substantially noticeable. A friend has PS aluminum FIA's which are significantly heavier. I had them on the car briefly and they look super on a 427 car but even wearing Billboards they were freakin heavy by comparison. They too do not leak air with Avon radials.

Bridge Hampton and Westhampton are gone so I haven't been to a track since '04. Yes, I'm all over the wheels frequently for cracks visually (don't have a Magnaflux) especially the inner hub face contact area. Nothing. I do have a couple of dings from missed hammer hits and that's with a lead hammer so they are soft. Street driving has not hurt them. They balanced pretty well with 2 of them requiring no weight. I have one really bad rear g
G'year with about 4 oz on it-not the wheels fault.

Can't speak for M&A wheels but I have read that they make quality castings. Would like to know more about them. Vintage wheels has an excellent reputation that I've read but they don't cast mag to my knowledge-only aluminum. Wonder why they don't cast mag offshore at friendly prices like their aluminum?

These are my experiences-love to read others mag experiences.

Larry Spillman · #3 (**permalink**) 04-19-2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Rod,
I mis-spoke earlier, my wheels were bought in 1991 when Barry Blackburn owned the company and just before he sold it-so they're 18 years old.

My local area is generally damp most year 'round and I'm less than 4 miles away from salt water and oxidizing was really a problem. If I didn't polish twice a month they'd get to the point that 0000 steel wool and polish was necessary. I hated the hand polishing but letting them turn just slowly destroys them and I can't replace them. A tip from Cobraviper-99 on here led me to try the Powerball and Mr. Buffer. They literally have not turned cloudy since December-over three months. And it's so much easier, so corrosion is just not a problem for anyone anymore.

These wheels have always had bias Hoosiers which leaked 2-4 pounds per week, Billboards which leak the same and very briefly, Dunlop radials which never leaked.
As razer suggests, epoxying the inners is a good move but mine were never coated. All of my air losses have been from the tires.

Never weighed the individual rims but the combined weights of wheel and tire with Billboards is 35 pounds front, 41 rear. I never had aluminum wheels to compare so I don't know how much lighter the mags are but it's substantially noticeable. A friend has PS aluminum FIA's which are significantly heavier. I had them on the car briefly and they look super on a 427 car but even wearing Billboards they were freakin heavy by comparison. They too do not leak air with Avon radials.

Bridge Hampton and Westhampton are gone so I haven't been to a track since '04. Yes, I'm all over the wheels frequently for cracks visually (don't have a Magnaflux) especially the inner hub face contact area. Nothing. I do have a couple of dings from missed hammer hits and that's with a lead hammer so they are soft. Street driving has not hurt them. They balanced pretty well with 2 of them requiring no weight. I have one really bad rear g
G'year with about 4 oz on it-not the wheels fault.

Can't speak for M&A wheels but I have read that they make quality castings. Would like to know more about them. Vintage wheels has an excellent reputation that I've read but they don't cast mag to my knowledge-only aluminum. Wonder why they don't cast mag offshore at friendly prices like their aluminum?

These are my experiences-love to read others mag experiences.

If you clean the wheels and dont apply wax you can spray them with semi gloss clear coat and that will be the end of your corrision problem. Good Luck Larry Spillman

ERA Chas · #4 (**permalink**) 04-19-2010, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Spillman

If you clean the wheels and dont apply wax you can spray them with semi gloss clear coat and that will be the end of your corrision problem. Good Luck Larry Spillman

Thanks for digging out this old thread Larry.

As I stated earlier I have cleared my centers after they were blasted and the clear is still intact today. They have grayed from heat but not corroded. I clean the centers with WD 40 and the brake dust comes right off and the clear is still glossy.

The rims require the most effort on the inner sides as I don't pull them every month. The brake dust kills them after a season and requires med grade steel wool, followed by fine and polish to get them back. The fronts are done much more frequently because it's so easy on the car. Never wax them because it won't do much and heat will eat the wax. Polish with Mothers first followed by Mr. Buffer. Much faster with Powerball.

They stay very nice and only get cloudy and gritty when there's a long wet or humid spell.