Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Any advice as to the life of a racing mag wheel? I'm after racing parts to build a track car albeit it on a tight budget and I've been offered a set of 13x6 mag wheels but I have no idea as to their age, ie could they be a relatively recent repro set through TTR or perhaps they're an old original set of 26R rims in which case I assume they are of no use to anyone ?? In short whats the lifespan of magnesium parts?
Thanks for any info...Pete

Pete,

Its not just the age of Mg parts, but where and how they were stored or used. And are they bare or painted. When I started vintage racing in 1989, there were no reproduction wheels for my Lotus Eleven, so I raced on the originals, and would do so today. When I tried to have my wheels checked by an aircraft maintenance company, I was told Mg parts are so brittle, that if I had a wheel with a crack, I would be able to see it. I found that to be true and over the years, I found a tiny crack near a lug on one of the rears. After the next session, the crack grew and I ceased using that wheel. Today, I race a Lotus 20/22 and part of my preparation, I examine the wheels carefully while cleaning them and retaping the balance weights.

One of my Elan projects was converted to 26R spec by the original owner back in period. I have a couple of sets of sets of wheels for it and I will treat them the same way.

Your biggest issue with the 26R wheels will be that you probably don't have the proper hubs to mount them. And even the alloy K-O spinners have a different thread from the normal brass ones used on standard Elans.


Roger