Weight of 15x6 original minilites ?

[southbay356]

Hi

I am looking at a set of 15x6 original minilites,

were they all magnesium or were some aluminum ?

these were powdercoated so its hard to tell,

the only marking I can see on the back is B4 85M

I only need the weight to figure out what material these are made from

Thanks for your help

[BAPhotowerks]

I never weighed mine bare, but my (aluminium) 6.5 x 15 Minilite Sports weigh 40 pounds with a tire. Hope this helps...

[BAPhotowerks]

There is a cool article from Hemmings on the US Minilite site that might interest you...

http://www.minilitewheels.com/pdf/Th...ne_Article.pdf

The article mentions that Minilite switched to aluminum in 1973. On my wheels the date stamp is on the front, it reads '7 75 D', which represented 1975 production. My wheels also require mag lugs with washers, so I would guess that if your wheels take a more modern taper or ball seated lug, than they are aluminum.

[southbay356]

Hi

where were they marked on the front ?

these are powdercoated and maybe that was covered up

Thanks

Dave

[BAPhotowerks]

Yep, on the front, 90 degrees from the MINILITE ENGLAND stamp. Actually, stamp is not accurate... the letters are raised in the casting, so even with powder coating I would think you could make them out. Check the lug seat though, I think that's the easiest indicator.

[andyjboy]

The style of the centre of the wheel is different between magnesium & aluminium versions.

I would be very careful when/if buying original (35 + year old) magnesium Minilites if they've been powder-coated - it will be very difficult/impossible to gauge the condition of the magnesium...

[ttweed]

I only need the weight to figure out what material these are made from.

I had a set of the original magnesium Minilites on my Formula Ford at one time. They were 13" x 5.5" and weighed 8.5 lbs. each. The aluminum ones weighed 12 lbs., so the mag wheels are almost 1/3 lighter. Extrapolate to 15" x 6" Porsche wheel size if you can....

HTH,
TT

[gruen911]

There is a cool article from Hemmings on the US Minilite site that might interest you...

http://www.minilitewheels.com/pdf/Th...ne_Article.pdf

The article mentions that Minilite switched to aluminum in 1973. On my wheels the date stamp is on the front, it reads '7 75 D', which represented 1975 production. My wheels also require mag lugs with washers, so I would guess that if your wheels take a more modern taper or ball seated lug, than they are aluminum.

BAP,
Do you need spacers for the 6.5 Minilites on either the front or rear of your 70 911? What size tires are you running?

[pu911rsr]

A Mg mahle gasburner weighs about 9.5 lbs FWIW.
Phil

[BAPhotowerks]

They are 205/55 and there is no rubbing front or rear, and another no on the spacers.