Cuong Nguyen Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 I've owned a couple sets of steel wheels and now I'm considering moving on to aluminum wheels. What are the pros and cons between the two? Reason I'm considering the switch is because of weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Steel wheels don't require re-torquing like aluminum wheels do, but they do weigh a bit more. Steel can only be chromed, aluminum can be polished or chromed...lemme see...hmm. Steel wheels are almost always cheaper. Next! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 (edited) Don't forget... If you smack your steel wheel on a rock :o it'll just bend, and you can always bend it back... We all know what would happen with aluminum wheels in that situation... :X Edited July 6, 2005 by TrailChaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 So how much does your typical 15x8 steel wheel weigh? I know the an aluminum wheel weighs 19-20 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 The way aluminum wheels are made today I havent given a second thought to purchasing them, they cost more, but you save about 5lb per wheel(correct?) and they look way better than painted steel. Ive had mine for almost 3 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 My aluminum rims a great. More maintenance than chrome as far as keeping the polish, but no worries about rust and they look great. I did manage to crack one on a pothole back in the day, but that was in my lowrider in high school. That did suck though. But you should be fine and hapy with aluminum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 With today's wheels I think it basically boils down to which you think looks better... Generally, both will get the job done and both can look good doing it... depends on what you like... Oh and what you can afford. Unless your a serious rock crawler or truck trasher, aluminum will do every thing a steel wheel will do... Aluminum does ussually weights less, but on the other hand (as TrailChaser mentioned) in the off chance that you did bend one on a trail you can "persuade" an steel wheel back to it's general shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 My 15 x 8.5" wheels weigh about 15 lbs each. The tires, on the other hand...60 lbs each. Ow. And yes, I weighed them separately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick1716 Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 yea i have the steel rock crawlers on 32s, and my buddy has some alum ones with 33s and let me tell ya id much rather have the alum! just cuz the weight diff and mybe get some more power back haha.. but i just cant afford them yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelmanLS1 Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 I think it depends on your off-road style. If you are a serious off-roader, go with steel because more than likely you'll bend or break one... and steel is easier to fix or cheaper to replace than aluminum. Aluminum looks very good, but the price is up there in the clouds. I want aluminum, just because polished aluminum rims look real good with a black truck, and I drive on the street much much more than off on a path. Some people think the black steel wheels look better than chrome anyways. It just depend on your preference. I know I haven't said anything that hasn't been said already, just thought I'd add my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 88path, what wheels do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Deze ones. Generic Outlaw II style. I dunno who made 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 88, quit posting pics of your truck already, I'm trying to concentrate on work here... *smirk* I went with steel wheels, only because I didnt want to mash the hell out of my stock ones... I had a hard time deciding to change them up, as I liked the ones it had, they were nice & shiny. But the black wheels make my pathy look mean (well, IMHO) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dank Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 88, quit posting pics of your truck already, I'm trying to concentrate on work here... *smirk* I went with steel wheels, only because I didnt want to mash the hell out of my stock ones... I had a hard time deciding to change them up, as I liked the ones it had, they were nice & shiny. But the black wheels make my pathy look mean (well, IMHO) Hey I agree. I like my black steel wheels! They stick out just the right amount IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n0cturne74 Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 On my knees in the yard with a 12 pack and a box of SOS pads scrubbing the rust off my 11 year old stock steel rims for 4 hours used to be remotely amusing...almost tradition. I haven't gotten around to doing it this summer yet and I'm not real enthusiastic about doing it at all. My buddy just picked up some sweet high polished aluminum rims and i'm rather envyous...not only cause they're sweet and will never rust...but they're probably saving him major gas milage also. So in my opinion...if I had the 600 bucks...I'd more than likely go with aluminum also :sniff: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 (edited) A set of 4 aluminum wheels new go for around 360. I'm trying to find those wheels of yours, 88path. The ones I'm seeing are like 19-20 lbs and not 15. Edited July 7, 2005 by Cuong Nguyen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 One other nice thing about aluminum rims is that you can easily modify them if you want. The Centerline rims for my bug were just barely rubbing on the caliper bodies, so I spent an afternoon at a friends shop and machined a relief in them... Yes, you can obviously machine steel also, but it is more difficult and there is rarely much material that you can/should remove anyway. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 One other nice thing about aluminum rims is that you can easily modify them if you want. The Centerline rims for my bug were just barely rubbing on the caliper bodies, so I spent an afternoon at a friends shop and machined a relief in them... Yes, you can obviously machine steel also, but it is more difficult and there is rarely much material that you can/should remove anyway. B Given that the steel rims are not as thick as the alloy, you more than likey would not have had the problem in the first place. I have bent a fair amount of rims (steel). I would have been changing the wheel had they not been steel. The flat black sunnies look good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 (edited) Back in the day (when I was about 16) I had a toyota starlet dune buggy. I had some sweet aluminum racing mags on it. They worked out great, but when I put new brake pads on I couldn't move the car... Turns out the pads being thicker because they were new where now being squeezed between the mag and the rotor. We came up with a quick solution... We had to loosen the lug nuts so the car would go without power braking. Then we would drive it for about 200yrds till the grinding got quieter, then get out and tighten the lugs a little more. The metal on the calipers ground down those aluminum mags pretty easy. We did do it as safe as we could being teenagers... Ohhh that car was alot of fun... It would pop a wheely or do donuts anywhere anytime... It wasn't street legal but I drove it to school and everywhere else till I rolled it 3-4 times(still not sure which it was )on the beach jumping wooopty doos at about 40mph... sssh don't tell my mom what really happened... Edited July 7, 2005 by TrailChaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 I'll stick with steel off-road, I kiss too many rocks and can take a little wobble from a bend, but would be breaking aluminums all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Given that the steel rims are not as thick as the alloy, you more than likey would not have had the problem in the first place. It's all about the backspacing VP. I knew it would be close, but not that close.... Were they steel rims with the same BS, I'd be fubared and looking for other rims. A bit of modifying to fit a set of 4 rims AND tires I got for $140 is fine by me... LOL TrailChaser, I get exactly what you did. Personally (at this age), I just put the rims on a rotary table on a verticle mill, got my numbers, and cut the radial face clearance... Cars like the one you described are a blast. I built a 65 VW convert dune buggy that was street legal and pulled wheelies... Ahh, the memories ! Still have the rolling chassis, but is project #11 so it sits... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 (edited) It used to be steel wheels were much "tougher" (more prone to bend versus break) than aluminum, and that lead to the conclusion that aluminum wheels had no place on serious off road vehicles. The aluminum wheels tended to have a lot of voids, porosity, contaminates, and just plain bad metallurgy and design. A sharp impact or fatigue would lead to dramatic failures. Things have changed in the world of aluminum. A lot. But the perception lingers. Aluminum wheels are MUCH tougher now, and the old problem of "shattering" or breaking wheels is almost gone - they are now more likely to bend than break. My wife hit a chunk of sharp steel (ripped a 3" gash in the tire) rapidly followed by a pothole at 75 mph. The 17" Borbet was bent up something horrible - but no cracks or breaks. In fact, I have seen some articles that say the catastrophic failure rate of aluminum wheels is now about the same as steel. They do still occaisionally break, but at about the same rate as steel. It is not unheard of for steel wheels to fail - usually a problem of the center section tearing out or welds failing. Bottom line: Disregarding the cheesy imported crap segment of the wheel market (steel and aluminum), they are all about equally tough. It's OK to make your decisions on price, weight, appearance, and maintenance requirements. "Chromed aluminum" is one exception - the chroming process embrittles the aluminum making it less suited for off roading. A couple manufacturers are claiming to have found a way to overcome this (at major $$$), but I'm not buying it just yet. As far as maintenance, most aluminums need much more than steel if you want them to remain shiny. Painting or clear coating reduces need to polish every couple months, but then you have the issues of the coating scratching or flaking. Always a trade off... Personally, I like powder coated steel for minimum fuss. Polished aluminum for maximum eye appeal. But I'm drive on dingy old unpolished aluminum for now... need to get a shot of energy (and some time!) some weekend and drag out the polish... Edited July 8, 2005 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 Also figure the price, which would you rather pay to replace $35 for a Steely like Rock Crawler vs $150 and up for a "good" aluminum wheel? If you really care that much about having a bling bling wheel offroad, go ahead. Like I said before I'll take the plain jane steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted July 8, 2005 Author Share Posted July 8, 2005 I guess I'll just stick to the steel wheels until I hit the lottery someday I wanted something light and changing from street to offroad tires sure get boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth1 Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 88, quit posting pics of your truck already, I'm trying to concentrate on work here... *smirk* No kiddin. I want to touch that truck someday. sly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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