Engineers have experimented with different wheel materials and shapes since the beginning of the 20th century. The first European cars were equipped with wire-spoked bicycle-style wheels with rubber tires, while the earliest Ford automobiles had wooden artillery-like wheels. In 1927 Ford switched to steel wheels. The history of magnesium wheels begins in the 1930s. In fact, the first alloy wheels were mostly magnesium while aluminum alloys were rare and presented several issues, such as low ductility. Magnesium wheels remained quite popular until the 1960s, when more practical aluminum alloys were developed. The main enemy of retro magnesium wheels was corrosion – they were not weather-resistant and didn’t last very long; but still outperformed their aluminum rivals in many aspects, including acceleration time and braking distance. In the old days, magnesium wheels were produced by Halibrand, American Racing, Campagnolo and other companies. Being at least 20% lighter, they remained the top choice of racers and auto and motorcycle drivers, for whom performance was more important than longevity. H/T>
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