Modern Magnesium Halibrand Wheel Quality

[RodKnock]

Halibrand within the past 5-10 years has made (via M&A Castings, at least in some cases) modern magnesium Cobra II S/C wheels. Some people have told me that the magnesium produced in this day and age is far better than from the 1960's, since in today's world, we are able to pack the molecules tighter. So, I've heard from owners of these modern magnesium wheels that they've had no problems with either cracking or oxidation.

On the other hand, I've heard from other folks that would not use them at all. A waste of money and not worth the weight savings. These same folks say that even the modern magnesium Halibrands are impossible to keep clean and they will start corroding very quickly, even immediately. Also, they are extremely susceptible to stress cracking.

I would really like to solicit other opinions from the very knowledgeable people on this forum. Thank you in advance.

[ERA Chas]

More myths to bust.
Mine are 14 years old. You can see their condition in my gallery.
No, they are not impossible to keep clean. They require attention but with the Mothers Powerball and Mr. Buffer polish, that is just not a problem any more. No stress cracks from track or street use.
They are the lighest wheel you will find for Cobras.

[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.

[razerwire]

I have set of newer mag wheels and do not find hard to keep up, I use 00 steel wool on machine surface to hold that look or some times let them turn gray which is a different look. You can bring back machine look with steel wool anytime you want. I used epoxy paint to seal rim where it has to hold air pressure because goodyear slicks would go flat in 3 or 4 days, found out air was going right thru sidewalls of slicks. I have bottle of nitrogen in garage for the shocks on my buckshot racing dune buggy because you want to make sure all shocks on buggy are the same so when you jump you take off and land even. since I already had I tried to fill goodyear tires with nitrogen to see if it would stop tires from going flat but it did not help. I took off slicks and put avons on rims and no more tires going flat. I put the slicks on a set of home made rims which are 1/2 the weight of hilibrand mags and will just use for track use. Used new casting of hilibrand center and jongbloed hats for light weight 3 piece wheel , can get 15" 16" 17" dia, spec depth for inner and outer to make diff offset and width. I have set on my Benett car 16" dia and 14" wide already. I like the looks of hilibrand mags with avons on my csx car the best. I like the rims to have the look of just starting to turn and I like the looks of the original hilibrand knockoffs, the original knockoffs have longer ears and and sharper angle than some of newer ones , when you look at older pictures you will see what I mean. I guess its personal choice. Videos of sand cars on buckshot racing, my next favorite hobby.

[ERA Chas]

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.

[xracerbob]

The biggest problem with Halibrand's magnesium wheels is they won't make them. I know the good people at M&A and have used their wheels in other applications and they have been great. Really a shame we can't get them.

[elric]

I have the newer Halibrands. Maintenance isn't too bad. I sort of like the dark gray color they turn; makes the car look like a period piece instead of a street rod. Opinions may vary but that's mine. I live 4 miles from Lake Michigan so it's pretty humid here. No problems, no leaking, no disappointments.

Steve

[1985 CCX]

What polish magnesium wheels????
The gray look is the best, takes years to get aluminum half way there.

[ERA Chas]

"What polish magnesium wheels????
The gray look is the best, takes years to get aluminum half way there."

-OR about an hour in a blast cabinet with silicon oxide medium and a satin clear coat-see the PS FIAs I mentioned above. They're beautiful.
Many of the unpolished or little-cared for drag race mags made by Halibrand, ET and Anson have become major-league porous before they're as old as mine. That's why I continue to keep the gray away.

[Balance_Point]

Originally Posted by razerwire

I put the slicks on a set of home made rims which are 1/2 the weight of hilibrand mags and will just use for track use. Used new casting of hilibrand center and jongbloed hats for light weight 3 piece wheel , can get 15" 16" 17" dia, spec depth for inner and outer to make diff offset and width. I have set on my Benett car 16" dia and 14" wide already.

Who did the work for you? This option sounds really interesting for track use.

[RodKnock]

So the magnesium Halibrands can leak air, require regular maintenance, frequent cracking checks and ding very easily. What's not to like?

[Hexnut72]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

So the magnesium Halibrands can leak air, require regular maintenance, frequent cracking checks and ding very easily. What's not to like?

I believe that Magnesium is 2/3 the weight of Aluminum. If they use the same molds, then they are 2/3 the weight.

[cobra de capell]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

More myths to bust.
Mine are 14 years old. You can see their condition in my gallery.
No, they are not impossible to keep clean. They require attention but with the Mothers Powerball and Mr. Buffer polish, that is just not a problem any more. No stress cracks from track or street use.
They are the lighest wheel you will find for Cobras.

My experience, also.

Mine are probably 25 years old - not sure, but are in good shape.

Cleaning? Well, after discovering Mr. Buffer as discussed on these threads, plus Powerball - that job has reduced the experience to only slightly irritating. The secret appears to be using Mr. Buffer every week or so.

Also, it's beyond me how a new process using real magnesium can produce a product that stays shiny - magnesium seems to be like rust - it's alive and never rests.

[RodKnock]

The M&A website states that the weight savings is about 36% over aluminum, but the investment in these wheels has to be more than just weight savings since I'm not racing each week or month. I do like "The Look" a lot, but getting out to the garage to buff my wheels each week, doesn't sound plausible for me.

How long does it take to buff all four wheels with Mr. Buffer and Powerball?

Also, are the magnesium Halibrands made in the last 5 years, lets say, better quality than the wheels made 10-20 years ago? Have there been improvements made in the casting process recently?

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

The M&A website states that the weight savings is about 36% over aluminum, but the investment in these wheels has to be more than just weight savings since I'm not racing each week or month. I do like "The Look" a lot, but getting out to the garage to buff my wheels each week, doesn't sound plausible for me.

How long does it take to buff all four wheels with Mr. Buffer and Powerball?

Also, are the magnesium Halibrands made in the last 5 years, lets say, better quality than the wheels made 10-20 years ago? Have there been improvements made in the casting process recently?

Also from the M&A Website

"WITH NEWER HIGH PURITY ALLOYS THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE, CORROSION IS ALMOST NON-EXISTANT."

What's the cost for a set of wheels?

[RodKnock]

Doug, I believe the wheels sold new for $765 per wheel for the fronts and $795 per wheel for the rears, when they were available from Halibrand.

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Doug, I believe the wheels sold new for $765 per wheel for the fronts and $795 per wheel for the rears, when they were available from Halibrand.

So M & A doesn't sell them, they just manufacture them?

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Got the Bug

So M & A doesn't sell them, they just manufacture them?

I'm not 100% sure, but they have made wheels for Halibrand in the past, but I don't think they have made these specific wheels for the retail market. Although they do make and sell other mag wheels to consumers.

[xracerbob]

The patterns are owned by Halibrand. M&A wants to make a run of 100 fronts and 100 rears minimum. If you want to buy a set of the patterns, you can also make them, albeit probably in the same minimum quantities. Halibrand does not have the $$ to lay out for a production run, which is why they have a waiting list which I have been on for 2 years.

[RodKnock]

Well, I sent an email to Karen at Halibrand last Wednesday and I got an email back from Richard at Halibrand today that says that they hope to start a production run on them later this year. I suppose, anything is possible, but given the current economy, I have my doubts.

I'm just curious if the manufacturing process in 2009 will produce better mag wheels than 5 or 10 years ago.