Thoughts on vintage magnesium wheels (BBS E50)

[JamesE30]

Found a set of my dream wheels (which turned out to be a fake ad) but it got me thinking.. I’m well aware of people’s concerns of old magnesium rims and their safety.

I’ve heard a lot of people say they are unsafe for racing, some people say they’re not even ok for street, and some people save them just for car shows and displays etc..

What are the e9 community’s thoughts on this? Has anyone here ever actually personally seen or heard of a vintage mag wheel failing?

I could not find any examples of failed bbs e50s.. (not to say they don’t exist) so would be curious if anyone here has experience with them..

 

[JFENG]

(1) I’d judge on a case by case basis. A 50 year old set of mags that have been carefully protected from corrosion from new might be fine to use. I’d get them X-ray checked first.

(2) I thought mags traded off long term durability for lower weight, because they were intended mostly for racing. In racing wheels are a consumable/wear-item. And they are inspected A LOT, and hopefully preemptively replaced when found iffy.

(3) I’ve had race cars with real mags, but have always bought brand new mags and hung the originals up as garage art.

As cool as they are, if I had a set of real mags, I’d relegate them to C&C events and shows. For regular tours and track days I’d want newer or at least DOT/TUV meant-for-road use wheels. The 3 wheel sets I have for my E9 are all over 30 years old. But they have been stripped and checked.

John

PS, I have experienced a street-use aluminum wheel failure before. Over the decades it took a few curb impacts (hits not scrapes). No meaningful bends observed but it finally developed a micro-crack adjacent to a slight indent in the cosmetic part of the rim. I caught searching for a slow air leak via soapy water on the valve stem. Water dribbled down onto the spoke revealing the crack. It was invisible to the naked eye, but would be caught in a magnaflux or X-ray inspection.

 

[JFENG]

BTW, I think it is very cool to have a set of real mags. Those in the photo seem to have conical lug bolt seats. I assume they have steel inserts in there. I’m not, there are probably special bolts you need to use.