I read it that Regamaster are magnesium forged right? And you can't powercoat Mg Forged rims cause of the heat and it will crack the rim? That's something I wish to learn more about.

Something else I like to share, I just E-mailed Desmond staff regarding the weight of 15x7 4x100 rim (I can't find it on Wheelweights, or other sites), and he said it is 3.9kg. That's 0.02kg more than 15x6.5 ones. Wider, with the same rim size, and basically the same weight (lighter than Volk 15x7, as a matter of fact, I believe it is the lightest 15x7 on the market), I think this will be a suitable 15" racing rim for 6th gen chasis aside from other 15x7 ones due to light weight.

 

Wheels are a wear item.... if you are racing, get wheels that are cheap, easily replaced (i.e. no 6-8 week wait for the slowboat from the motherland) and arent too heavy. With as much unsprung weight as production tubs have, I dont think its worth worrying about a few extra #s of wheel weight considering the other factors.

 

The nice thing about magnesium is that it burns - and burns hot.

You shred a tire and start riding on the wheel you will start a fire which water won't put out and will be hot enough to melt most of your front suspension.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evil Drew M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The nice thing about magnesium is that it burns - and burns hot.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah but it looks f'in badass.

How cool would it look to see a car going down the front straight with all 4 wheels on magnesium fire? Well, from the pit wall it would look pretty cool....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yeah but it looks f'in badass.

How cool would it look to see a car going down the front straight with all 4 wheels on magnesium fire? Well, from the pit wall it would look pretty cool.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Uhh, real cool until you have to put out the fire, I guess.

I remember about a year ago at this time some magnesium filled plant in the Cleveland area caught fire, and you could see the sky light up every five seconds. Nothing like a fire that only gets worse when you spray water on it, and the fact that it was raining as well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Uhh, real cool until you have to put out the fire, I guess. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats easy, just throw water on it

&lt;/sarcasm&gt;

 

yes magnesium burns when you put water on it. no magnesium wheels are not pure magnesium. magnesium alloy for those that think otherwise. however, driving in the rain with pure magnesium would look really f'in cool.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Maengelito &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes magnesium burns when you put water on it. no magnesium wheels are not pure magnesium. magnesium alloy for those that think otherwise. however, driving in the rain with pure magnesium would look really f'in cool.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I guess you have never seen a magnesium wheel catch on fire have you?

 

Thanks for all the fire catch debate Anyone seen one caught on fire from racing on the track? Or even experienced it first hand?

Anyone knows about powercoating a Mg rim?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evil Drew M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I guess you have never seen a magnesium wheel catch on fire have you?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Magnesium engine blocks and transmission cases are making their way into production cars (and not just exotics).

 

Incase anyone wants to know the burning point of Magnesium...

http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/12.html

and some other info:

http://www.scescape.net/~woods....html

 

When we say "magnesium" in this context, we really mean Mg-Al alloys (with other stuff maybe, like Silicon). We had a shop outside of Seattle burn, that had a bunch of aircooled VW cases in the attic. They lit up and the fire department had a bitch of a time with them. All that was left were the studs, sprinkled in the ashes...

I don't know that I'd assume that Mg alloy wheels couldn't be powdercoated. That would be something that the finishing place should be able to explain.

K

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nova_Dust &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anyone seen one caught on fire from racing on the track?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Or even experienced it first hand?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes. I have also started magnesium fires in my own yard. I used to take magnesium ribbon from the chem lab, set it on fire with a lighter, throw it in a bucket of water and watch it burn.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nova_Dust &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Anyone knows about powercoating a Mg rim? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Powdercoating isn't the only way to change the color of a wheel. You can also paint them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RineRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Powdercoating isn't the only way to change the color of a wheel. You can also paint them.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well seeing as how concerned he is about the powder-coating my guess is that he is buying these solely for the bling factor and in that case paint just isn't gonna cut it.

Drew - Whose wheels are "powder-coated" . . . with 1108 brake dust

 

BMW is working on Mg/Al hybrid blocks. Not just alloys, but actual halves of the block in different materials. There's also a surprisingly large amount of Mg in the new F150, and in other new vehicles coming on to the market. It's really easy and cheap to cast in complex shapes like radiator supports and dashboard supports and such. It's the (lawsuit) wave of the future! Coatings and alloys have come along that make high-concentration alloys much more stable than it used to be in a fire. Get it hot enough and it'll still light off but you'll basically need some other source of fire as hot as magnesium to get the stuff to start burning, so don't smoke magnesium in your car.

I'd rather just paint my mag wheels. With BBQ paint.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evil Drew M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well seeing as how concerned he is about the powder-coating my guess is that he is buying these solely for the bling factor and in that case paint just isn't gonna cut it.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not really. The powdercoating is something I heard so I wish to learn more about as to whether it will seriously crack the rim or not. Bling factor wasn't even considered.

As for the rim itself, well it is lighter than TE37 and cost less, and I will be sourcing used rims first and if they need to be repainted, I want to confirm whether the Mg forged rims can be done so or not. I have no problem with spray painted rims.

Thanks

 

Evil Drew, you also mentioned you have witnessed a Mg rim caught on fire on the track, do you recall the details? Did the car crash and fire started from leaking gas?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evil Drew M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yes

Yes. I have also started magnesium fires in my own yard. I used to take magnesium ribbon from the chem lab, set it on fire with a lighter, throw it in a bucket of water and watch it burn.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

The magnesium ribbon is pure magnesium that will easily burned and very hard to put out.

For wheel application they use other stuff with magnesium so it won't burn easily and not as soft as magnesium alone.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nova_Dust &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Evil Drew, you also mentioned you have witnessed a Mg rim caught on fire on the track, do you recall the details? Did the car crash and fire started from leaking gas? </TD></TR></TABLE>

No the tire shredded, the wheel (and YES it is a WHEEL, not a rim - the rim is just the outer portion that holds the bead) started scraping. Within 2 turns it was on fire.

This was on an Archer Brothers World Challenge Eagle Talon.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Andrie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The magnesium ribbon is pure magnesium that will easily burned and very hard to put out.

For wheel application they use other stuff with magnesium so it won't burn easily and not as soft as magnesium alone.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not refuting that. I sorta said the whole fire thing in jest but the fact still remains that magnesium burns like a **** and I personally would rather lose the negligible .02kg weight savings in favor of the peace of mind knowing that there is no chance my wheel could start a raging carbeque.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evil Drew M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No the tire shredded, the wheel (and YES it is a WHEEL, not a rim - the rim is just the outer portion that holds the bead) started scraping. Within 2 turns it was on fire.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did some research... the dust from even a 50-50 alloy of Mg and Al is still pretty flammable.

common Mg alloys have more like 3-9% Al.

Other than this little fire thingie, Mg has a lot going for it. Cheap, light, easy to machine and cast.

 

If you really want to powder coat them, there are powder coats that melt with UV lamps instead of ovens.

 

I don't really have to powder coat the wheels, if somehow I buy a good used set and just want to change the colour, or touch up, I totally don't mind spray paint, that's if, the wheel cannot be powder coated in the first place.

I just thought powder coating will make the overall finish a little better and last longer.

 

i've never heard that the Regas are of any more exotic compound than any of the other high-end lightweight aluminum wheels....as far as i can tell,mine are powdercoated.seems to me that the amount of heat that a wheel comes in contact with while touching the rotor/hub would be higher than what's necessary to powdercoat them.another thing that leads me to think they're just a regular aluminum alloy is their strength.from what i've seen with aftermarket mag sportbike wheels,they're somewhat brittle-meaning they don't really bend in a hard impact,but break and crack.i've seen some pretty beat up sets,as well as abused mine for almost five years now,and never seen any damage.
Chris

 

Powdercoating is usually done at 450 degrees IIRC. I doubt your rotor transfers that much heat to the wheel.