Magnum 500 manufacturer

[jscott]

I am looking to change my rear wheels from 15 x 7 to 8 inch.   My wheels were new when a shop put them on shortly after I bought the car, they had a set of new 215 /60 tires which I traded some parts I did not need.  So now looking at an 8 " wheel for the back i want to make sure they match.  I just pulled one wheel to see if there was any info.  Only info I found was 15 x 7 and, made in you know where, China.   Will a steel Magnum 500 from any vendor match. 

 

[Stanglover]

Mine are Wheel Vintiques (or however it's spelled) I bought them from Summit Racing. Pretty sure they are US made good quality, but not like the original which I believe were made by Motor Wheel.

 

[jscott]

Well searching the 'net it looks like I will go with the Wheel Vintiques from Summit and hope they match my current wheels to complete the set....I can always buy two more Vintiques if needed, best to go good then try to match ones made in China.  Will mate these up with 255 x 60 tires.   https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wvi-54-5812042

 

[Stanglover]

Well searching the 'net it looks like I will go with the Wheel Vintiques from Summit and hope they match my current wheels to complete the set....I can always buy two more Vintiques if needed, best to go good then try to match ones made in China.  Will mate these up with 255 x 60 tires.   https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wvi-54-5812042

Those are the ones I bought about 5 years ago. From using sockets, there has been a small amount of black paint knocked off, but easy to touch up. You might want to consider buying new correct lug nuts and center caps, but that's another expense.

A WORD OF WARNING, Do NOT ever use an impact wrench to tighten the lug nuts on these wheels. They are centerless and by using an impact gun, you'll egg-shape the holes and the wheels will run out of balance. ASK ME HOW I KNOW!!! Also, these wheels MUST be balanced on an adaptor by someone who knows what the hell he's doing. Use only stick on weights as well. 

When I do mine, I do use a small electric impact to remove the nuts, but after breaking the nuts loose with a Johnson Bar. Going back on, I start every nut by hand and then use the 3/4 socket and a 6" extension to tighten each nut in the usual criss-cross manor, until just hand tight with my 24" Johnson bar. Lower the car, then I torque the first step to about 60 ft/lbs, second to 80, third to 90ft/lbs.

This might be stating the obvious and I do NOT mean to be condescending, so I hope you'll take my suggestions as intended.

Good luck and enjoy your new wheels.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I did a big write up on why you do not want magnum 500 on facebook and it crashed about time I finished. 
A short brief. No center locator all other wheels carry the weight on the center hole not there on 500.
Hydrogen embrittlement takes place within 24 hours of plating unless the put in furnace and anneal. Causes the chrome to crack and steel to become brittle.
They rust from new no way to pull the chrome between the layers of metal so they rust.
If there was an unsafe at any speed item this is it. I have a 72 Q code vert that had 500 on it. You cannot use them even as rollers. They leak air due to cracks in chrome and nothing can stop that. Ditch the 500 or any chrome wheel.
 

 

[jscott]

I have had chrome, aftermarket wheels on my 1999 F150 since new, 21 years and still going strong.  

 

[jpaz]

I’ve got aftermarket 500 wheels on my car with No problems. Been on for almost 10 years, no leaks or rusting. I’ve had the car on the highway and hit 100 mph many times, and again, no problems. If you pay attention to putting them on properly with the correct torque, then you will have no problems. If you just slap them on with an air wrench over and over again, then ya the holes will eventually get rounded. I have about 15k miles on them and again No problems.

 

[Stanglover]

I’ve got aftermarket 500 wheels on my car with No problems. Been on for almost 10 years, no leaks or rusting. I’ve had the car on the highway and hit 100 mph many times, and again, no problems. If you pay attention to putting them on properly with the correct torque, then you will have no problems. If you just slap them on with an air wrench over and over again, then ya the holes will eventually get rounded. I have about 15k miles on them and again No problems.

 I'm not saying there could possibly be the odd occasion when problems occur, but if there was a consistent problem, the wheels would have been pulled from the market years ago. I do agree that making these wheels centerless, was a bad choice and no doubt cost was involved, or possibly to make the Magnum 500 usable on other brands with the same bolt circle. As for rust, my new ones do have slight surface rust showing up in spots, but mainly where there was less plating due to "shadowing". I too have had my car up to 100 and I do not worry about my wheels falling to pieces, just keeping the damn car on the road.

I've mentioned it before many times, I had to replace all my old 500's that were on the car when I bought it, because all the lug holes were egg shaped due to improper use of impact guns. I say all, I kept the best one just as a spare.

 

[TheRktmn]

I've been running Magnum 500s since 1979 on 4 different vehicles on both street and strip.  No issues at all.

 

[LOUHABY]

Bought 4 mag 500 from cj's with tires, had to send 1 back, now later, im sure out of warranty, just got the car back on the road, now have terrible vibration at 60 mph, what to do ??

 

[jscott]

Are you sure it is a wheel?  

 

[Stanglover]

Bought 4 mag 500 from cj's with tires, had to send 1 back, now later, im sure out of warranty, just got the car back on the road, now have terrible vibration at 60 mph, what to do ??

IF they were not balanced on a lug centric adaptor, chances are they are out of balance if they were ever balanced at all buying from CJ. You should not assume they were. 

Do two things, 1 inspect the lug holes for out of round ware i.e. egg shaped. If they are you'll never get them balanced properly. 2, have them rebalanced by someone who knows what he's doing with a lug centric adaptor. You CANNOT balance these wheels on a standard wheel balancer. 

There are of course other reasons for vibrations. Drive shaft U joints for example. I'm no mechanic, but if it were me, I'd start checking everything.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I guess wheels that do not get driven or change tires do not leak. But it is a fact that chrome wheels leak air due to cracks too many factory recalls to say different. I will never run them....
Even in the tooling industry they had huge issues with nitrogen leaking through the chrome on cylinders in dies. I guess you guys are all special not to ever have a leak.
Or have you ever changed the tires on those wheels. First time mounted no cracks and each time you get more.
I will believe you if you can show me data that says that chrome does not leak air. I have furnished data that says that it does. Data that shows that it causes early rust. Show me data not your personal thoughts.
I stood at Discount Tire while they were telling the customer that they are going to leak on his Corvette. Nothing they could do about it. Go talk to a tire dealer that has been in business for a while and see what they say.
Steel or forged aluminum will always be way ahead. and no wheel that does not have a center hole to fit the hub is made to carry a load.
 

 

[c9zx]

"Bought 4 mag 500 from cj's with tires, had to send 1 back, now later, im sure out of warranty, just got the car back on the road, now have terrible vibration at 60 mph, what to do ??" You have to start somewhere so, put them on a balancer and check for balance and run-out (bent). Chuck

 

[Sheriff41]

Not to argue with those that have different experience, but offering my experience as a point of reference.  I'm still running the original Magnum 500s on my 72 Q-code convertible with 244,000 miles.  I bought this car in 1977 from the original owner (the Ford dealer's daughter) and it served as a driver for many years and is now a weekend cruiser.  I've never had balance or leaking issues with these wheels.   Being in AZ most of its 49 years may be a factor, too.   I used to use an air impact on the lug nuts, but for the last 15-20 years have only used a torque wrench to tighten them.  With age comes wisdom?

I've had several other Mustangs with original Magnums.  I used to buy them from the Ford parts counter.  I never had a problem with any of these wheels and never had problems with lug-centric wheels on my Mustangs.

 

[jscott]

Not doubting your experience sheriff, maybe some of us just have better luck.  The 1999 f150 I mentioned, in the 21 years I have owned it (with those aftermarket chrome wheels) has only had one mechanical issue (other then normal maintenance) which cost $245.  I guess I am lucky with chrome wheels also.

 

[Don C]

We had a '55 Willys 4x4 wagon for 35 years, 20 years with one set of chrome wheels. Never had any air leaks, just the 1 or 2% monthly loss through the rubber. They did have some rust in the crevices between the rim and center section,  but not in the tire bead area, had several different sets of tubeless tires on them.

 

[Stanglover]

Well, I WAS going to leave this one alone, but considerable air leaks on my Magnum 500 wheels has never been a concern. Yes, I expect some leakage especially with air filled tires, but nothing that I worry about. I check the tires regularly on all our cars, just as I do oil and coolant. On the Mustang, when I put it up for winter, I up the pressure to 40 psi, supposed to help stop flat spots from sitting in one place for months. When I pulled the car out yesterday for the first drive, I checked my tires and they were down to around 34 psi, right where I keep them. They were all within a pound or two. I don't call that a problem due to chrome wheels. Talking of chrome wheels, none of them are of the same quality they once were, period.

 

[PNWMach1]

I replaced my factory steel wheels in the late 80's with Magnum 500s that I bought through the local Ford dealer so they are factory parts, not aftermarket. Probably been on the car for about 25k worth of miles? Long story short, I've never had any problems with leaking and there has been at least 3 sets of new tires installed on them over that time. I can say that I have had issues with getting them balanced. Had the last set mounted and balanced at Goodyear and they were WAY off. Took them to Les Schwab and the tire tech said they were so off he couldn't fathom how Goodyear could have thought they were correct. Just my two cents.