SPF Halibrand Wine Glass Style Wheel Casting Pin Holes Leaking

[Leonard L]

Have had two SPF Halibrand GT40 Wine Glass style wheels leaks through porous pin holes in casting. Is this a common problem?

 

[Morten]

To which Quality standard/spec are these SA wheels certified ?

Normally X-Ray of low pressure aluminium castings is a bare minimum, as porosity is a fail.

Morten

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

This is the first we have heard of on the SPF wheels.

 

[Randy V]

I don’t think that’s quite the norm or acceptable by today’s standard…
Back in the day, it was not uncommon to have wheels that leaked. But given that the racing tires used were mounted as tubeless and those tires were porous, leakage was common and actually expected. I recall cleaning the wheel rim inside with lacquer thinner and painting them with oil based enamel (Rustoleum) to stop the wheel from contributing to the leak. To slow the leakage from the tires, we would wipe down the inside of the tires with Ivory Liquid dish soap. We were only running 23-25 PSI in those tires, so it would not take but a handful of hours for the “untreated” tires to go flat. Oddly, we had no issues with flats while the cars were on the track..

 

[Leonard L]

The wheel shown the the posted photos was the replacement sent to me from SPF, as the original wheel that came on the car would only hold air about 7 days and looked to have been repaired. These photos are of that wheel are of the original wheel that came on the car. Hard to believe I could get two leaking wheels. The replacement wheels held air for only 20 minutes after being mounted and balanced. If I can find someone local to x-ray them I will have it done to see just how porous these flawed castings really are. I do have a set of the Forgeline Halibrand style with Falken tires on them and it seems best not to use these cast SPF Halibrands at speeds and rear wheel torque, just for show.

 

[Neil]

The wheel shown the the posted photos was the replacement sent to me from SPF, as the original wheel that came on the car would only hold air about 7 days and looked to have been repaired. These photos are of that wheel are of the original wheel that came on the car. Hard to believe I could get two leaking wheels. The replacement wheels held air for only 20 minutes after being mounted and balanced. If I can find someone local to x-ray them I will have it done to see just how porous these flawed castings really are. I do have a set of the Forgeline Halibrand style with Falken tires on them and it seems best not to use these cast SPF Halibrands at speeds and rear wheel torque, just for show.

Back in the Can-Am days we painted the inside of our magnesium wheels with GE "Glyptal" to seal their porosity.

 

[Randy V]

The wheel shown the the posted photos was the replacement sent to me from SPF, as the original wheel that came on the car would only hold air about 7 days and looked to have been repaired. These photos are of that wheel are of the original wheel that came on the car. Hard to believe I could get two leaking wheels. The replacement wheels held air for only 20 minutes after being mounted and balanced. If I can find someone local to x-ray them I will have it done to see just how porous these flawed castings really are. I do have a set of the Forgeline Halibrand style with Falken tires on them and it seems best not to use these cast SPF Halibrands at speeds and rear wheel torque, just for show.

Yeah, 20 minutes is a bit excessive…
If the manufacturer is not willing to exchange them, I would first ensure that they are reasonably safe. Aircraft Engine Inspection companies used to use a dye process called Zyglow inspection. Contact a local Aircraft FBO for recommendations. As Neil also points out, leaks were common with Magnesium and Alloy wheels.
Meanwhile - Your plan to use the more modern Forgeline wheels sounds like a good one.

 

[Leonard L]

Would like to have one of the wheels x-rayed or Zyglow as you described before shipping them back just to know what the actually look like inside the casting...out of pure curiosity. The Falken-Forgeline set up is primo and changes the car in many ways especially the ride and steering. The Halibrand-Firestone looks the most amazing strikingly period for the as the car was done to emulate the Andretti/Bianchi car. I posted a couple of photos that demonstrate the similarities and differences also. Lance at SPF is being very proactive in taking care that I get a tested wheel to me and ready for the Avantas on the Green Event June 30th and the 60th Reunion in July. it sounds liked my 2 wheel experience is very rare and I am grateful for this site to at least get feedback that it does seem to be the case that these wheels are predictably safe and trouble free. I did include a video short just to show that when they leak you will for sure know it!

 

[Ryan L]

Great looking car in both guises Leonard.
I hope you get it sorted. Good to hear that SPF is looking after you as well.

I wonder could you get some liquid latex sealant to add into the tire carcass. I know on my MTB we run a sealant that congeals when exposed to and air pressure change. It is able to plug leaks and holes in the tire.

This is the bike stuff. Generally we don't get much above 80km/h

Sealant - Tubeless - Shop | Stan's NoTubes

NoTubes sealant, the product that revolutionized tubeless technology, virtually eliminates flats. Available in a variety of sizes, our sealant has you covered.

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I don't know if someone makes an automotive equivalent. I'm not sure how reliable it would be at the rotational speed you get in a car wheel.

I like the idea of treating the wheel in some way to seal in small porous holes. Would be better than getting a flat and destroying a tire due to low pressure. Guess you need to assess the risks.

Ryan

 

[Stephen Ducker]

Impregnation Solutions Ltd | Porosity Casting Sealants

Porosity Casting Sealants manufactured to ISO/TS16949 International Standard for Automotive Quality Management Systems

www.impregnationsolutions.co.uk

 

[Leonard L]

Great looking car in both guises Leonard.
I hope you get it sorted. Good to hear that SPF is looking after you as well.

I wonder could you get some liquid latex sealant to add into the tire carcass. I know on my MTB we run a sealant that congeals when exposed to and air pressure change. It is able to plug leaks and holes in the tire.

This is the bike stuff. Generally we don't get much above 80km/h

Sealant - Tubeless - Shop | Stan's NoTubes

NoTubes sealant, the product that revolutionized tubeless technology, virtually eliminates flats. Available in a variety of sizes, our sealant has you covered.

www.notubes.com

I don't know if someone makes an automotive equivalent. I'm not sure how reliable it would be at the rotational speed you get in a car wheel.

I like the idea of treating the wheel in some way to seal in small porous holes. Would be better than getting a flat and destroying a tire due to low pressure. Guess you need to assess the risks.

Ryan

Hi Ryan, Funny you mention this as it seems, as an added protection, even on wheels that are not currently leaking, some kind of rubber wheel band like the ones Coker has to keep spoked wheels from leaking and a barrier to the spokes in case a tube is used. it would just need to be wider than what their selling so that it can cover more of the inner wheels at 8 and 10 inches,

 

[Cliff Beer]

Had the same problem on the magnesium wheels on a Bizzarini 5300 we had in the 1990's. We painted/coated the rim with a catalyzed marine resin (West System Epoxy Resin) and that solved the leaking.

That said, that was a Sunday driver. Would have never taken it on the track with that porosity in the wheels.

 

[Dave]

Back in the early 80's when I built my ERA 427 Cobra (# 076) I had Halibrand pin drive knock off wheels. I used oil based paint to brush coat the inside of the wheels, inboard of the tire beads and never had an air leak. Might have used 2 coats but that was a long time ago...