[DeTomaso] How tough are the 15" factory magnesiumwheels?-UPDATE-"I'm no Mad Dawg"

[Jim Hendrickson]

I just replaced the tires on the wife's car because of the cracks in the
sidewalls. They were only 9 years old and not even worn down to the wear
indicators, yet. Only 70,000 miles. Michelin Symmetry seems to be a good
tire, but with those cracks in the sidewalls, I was afraid to drive it on
the interstate highways.

My trailer sits out in the backyard most of the time. Left side tires only
last 4 years. Goodyear Marathon Trailer Tires. UV light kills them.

My wife's truck blew three tires in the first few months that we had it. It
seems that the previous owner tried to use three sets of tires on the
original valves.

Get new tires and valve stems before you have problems.

Stick on weights are the best, but CLEAN THE WHEELS!!

Jim #04091




-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Kerry Maguire
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 5:12 PM
To: JDeRyke at aol.com; detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] How tough are the 15" factory
magnesiumwheels?-UPDATE-"I'm no Mad Dawg"

I took my wheel and tire to Discount Tire this morning and they declined to
repair the tire because it was more then 10 years old. I am running 8's and
10's on the factory magnesium 15" wheels.
 
As you all know, 305/50-15" tires are made out of "unobtainium". 
 
I was sent by Discount Tire to a "Hispanic owned" tire store that wouldn't
ask too many questions and would plug my tire. Even though my Cat #5606 is
driven enough to keep the tires in good shape, Discount tire was concerned
that if the tire was dismounted, that the bead would fail. So, I had my tire
plugged at the "Hispanic Tire Store".
 
I do not drive fast and competitively like Mad Dawg. 
 
I have plenty of tread left on my 1995 era BF Goodrich tires, so I am going
to make them last a little while longer and drive them with one tire "the
plug" in it.
 
The good news is that a couple of months ago, I was able to source 4-Toyo
Proxies ST in the 295/50-50" size for the rear wheels. In the next year or
two, I will broom the BF Goodrich tires and have the new set of the Toyo's
mounted front and rear.
 
My apologies to all of the performance driver's out there, but I want to
make the BF Goodrich's last as long as possible. 
 
I really like the appearance of the factory 8's and 10's and do not want to
purchase an updated set of wheels and tires at this time.
 
Regards,
 
Kerry M. Maguire

________________________________

From: JDeRyke at aol.com [mailto:JDeRyke at aol.com]
Sent: Thu 1/8/2009 12:08 PM
To: Kerry Maguire; detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] How tough are the 15" factory magnesium wheels?


In a message dated 1/7/09 5:35:55 PM, kmaguire at landrovermiramar.com writes:
snip.....


	I am going to a Discount tire store recommended by an officer of the
San Diego Pantera Club. Also, the wheel weights are mounted on the lip of
the rim. Is this the common wheel weight mounting
	method used on these wheels?
	


Absolutely not! The weights always vibrate a little, chip the protective
paint and then water gets in and dissolves the magnesium! ALWAYS use glue on
weights placed on the horizontal backside of the wheel, with a couple of
protective strips of duct tape over them.
Second problem: be very sure the tire people know that this is a 35-year-old
MAGNESIUM wheel before they use their automatic tire-machine on it. Wheels
have been chipped and broken in two by these machines. When I'm forced to
take a wheel to such places, they often elect to do the disassembly (and
reassembly) by hand once they know what they're dealing with! 
To answer the question in the post heading, Campagnolos are pretty tough but
are quite thin (only 3/16" thick in spots), and as time goes on, mag gets
harder and more brittle. Its best if such wheels are annealed in an oven
every decade or two to remove this brittleness. Good luck- J DeRyke



**************
A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215047751x1200957972/aol?redir=htt
p://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=Dec
emailfooterNO62) 
_______________________________________________

Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA

Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/

DeTomaso mailing list
DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso