Magnesium wheels

[woodsman]

BBS has some mag. wheels that they say are meant for the track only. What about street use? Anybody got experience with these???

[Chard]

I have used magnesium wheels in the past on my Audi.

Magnesium is a brittle material and once it's cracked, it's difficult/impossible to find a welder to fix the rim correctly.

Also, magnesium wheels theoretically have an expiration date.

Is there a particular reason you want to run magnesium? There are other wheels out there that are strong and lightweight.

[Ian c]

Porsche used/sold mg wheels on certain variants of the euro 964 carrera rs for street use .
They where a good compromise between strength and durability .
I personally would have no problem using even a used set on a weekend toy , but the cost of replacement would probably make them unrealistic for a daily driver .
You could get a few good years out of the bbs ones as they are a quality wheel .
The good news is, replacements will be held on stock by bbs .
The bad news is , bbs racing may have no stock and will not retool due to newer designs .

The same as any wheel I guess ...


If every last ounce of unsprung weight matters , go for it .
Otherwise , compromise on good quality lightweight al alloy forged wheels ...

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by Chard

I have used magnesium wheels in the past on my Audi.

Magnesium is a brittle material and once it's cracked, it's difficult/impossible to find a welder to fix the rim correctly.

Also, magnesium wheels theoretically have an expiration date.

Is there a particular reason you want to run magnesium? There are other wheels out there that are strong and lightweight.

I've seen some mag. centers for sale that would bolt into the sport design wheels I have. Thought it would be a neat way to lose a lot of weight. The cast centers are extremely heavy. It sounds like it would be risky to buy used.

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by Ian c

Porsche used/sold mg wheels on certain variants of the euro 964 carrera rs for street use .
They where a good compromise between strength and durability .
I personally would have no problem using even a used set on a weekend toy , but the cost of replacement would probably make them unrealistic for a daily driver .
You could get a few good years out of the bbs ones as they are a quality wheel .
The good news is, replacements will be held on stock by bbs .
The bad news is , bbs racing may have no stock and will not retool due to newer designs .

The same as any wheel I guess ...


If every last ounce of unsprung weight matters , go for it .
Otherwise , compromise on good quality lightweight al alloy forged wheels ...

the term 'fragile' comes to mind. I don't need that, thanks.

[Ian c]

Originally Posted by woodsman

I've seen some mag. centers for sale that would bolt into the sport design wheels I have. Thought it would be a neat way to lose a lot of weight. The cast centers are extremely heavy. It sounds like it would be risky to buy used.

Did you check the weights to see how much you would save ?
On the stock 7.5&9x17 964 wheels , the euro rs saved a combined 23lbs .
On the set of 4 one piece mg wheels ....

As I said , I wouldn't have a problem with them .
I know beetles that are still running mag wheels made in the late sixties .
And 964s running mag wheels made in the early nineties .

The problem is replacements should you damage one ....
The last set of BRMs I saw for sale where 15k , and the last set of speedlines I saw for sale where 10k ......

A little to much to risk on a daily

[woodsman]

The BBS web site still lists these wheels/ centers- E28. And I forgot to weigh mine while I had them apart. I'd be going from one extreme to another and I like extremes, especially when adding lightness!