Running magnesium wheels on the street

That car you see in my avatar is running on 40 year old magnesium wheels. They get a heck of a lot more abuse than driving on the street. If you could look close at the back tire in the photo that would tell ya something. Good quality mags are strong enough.

 

Becausre your wheels are 40 years old and still usable doesn't mean all 40 year old mags are still good. I have seen old mags that were so corroded you could break the flange off the wheel with your fingers. I have seen mag parts so corroded internally you could punch through the surface with a screwdriver. Old mag parts need to be checked.

The demands on parts are not all the same between racing and street driving. In various ways, one is more demanding than the other.

Yes, good quality mags are "strong enough". But to keep things in perspective, that still leaves steel and most aluminum alloys being stronger and less brittle.

 

The rear wheels are old magnesium mags I ran on the street for years. Before then, Groucho used them on 5 other cars.

 

Al, What you said is good advice but it can be applied to steel wheels as well as aluminum or kelsy hays bent spokes. All wheels should be inspected prior to use. Some are more delacate than others but all of them are prone to wear.

 

Fair point, there are steel and aluminum wheels known for cracking, and wheels do have limits and a service life. Never the less, I put old magnesium in its own category. I would say that steel and aluminum wheels should be checked, old magnesium must be checked.

 

Good point.

 

Yes! All magnesium wheels that we talk about are old.

 

I drove my 392 blown hemi Willys coupe to York PA one year from NH and back no problems . If you know NY and PA roads , you know what they went through lol .

 

Im running 59 year old steel wheels on my 53..no problems..

the mag's might give you issues if they are not in the best of condition

 

A recent "Stunt busters" show featured this exact topic...they put a piece of RR track across a course, and ran into it first with mag wheels,...which did very poorly....then aluminum, which did surprisingly well, and then good ol steel wheels,....which survived better than the others. After watching that, I'd never run mags on a street machine......But to each their own.......

4TTRUK

 

Ps; The mags were said to be new,...they didn't like the $$ they had to pay for 'em !!

4TTRUK

 

If you end up hitting a piece of RR track while driving your Hot Rod your going to have alot more issues than just your "mag" wheels. Bottom line here is, can you drive magnesium wheels on the street, the answer is yes!

 

Talk to Doc Parsons from Tulsa.
He runs magnesium wheels on his roadster and it is a driven car.
He had some issues with air leaking through the pores when he ran tubless tires, but he eliminated that with coating.
Many of you will recognize his car from the image I am attaching.

 

Sorry, can't seem to focus on your pics, your avatar is staring at me. WOW