Steel Wheels Vs Aluminum Wheels

[Westy]

I too have been contemplating swapping back to alloys for the same reasons as Scott. I was thinking of getting these:

Similar to the AR's but without the teflon.

They're basically a black powdercoated Mickey Thompson Classic II. I've heard of somebody with an 01-04 tacoma that has classic lock (w/faux beadlock) II's in 15x8 without having to shave the caliper. I have yet to confirm this though.

Those are some sweet wheels.
What brand wheels are those? Where did you find them at?? I'm interested!

 

[Scott Brady]

Those are some sweet wheels.
What brand wheels are those? Where did you find them at?? I'm interested!

http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/toyblackalloys.htm

Wheelers is a quality supplier with good service and resonable prices.

 

[Mlachica]

Scott's right. I've ordered from them before and never had any problems.

 

[jim65wagon]

I have always liked steel wheels,

My current steel wheels are not factory, and are much heavier, and do not balance (at all).

My steel wheels also do not balance well, they do better on a haweka type lug adapter, but it still takes a lot of weight to limit the vibrations to acceptable levels on new tires; after the tires wear a bit and they get rebalanced the become quite a bit smoother, not perfect but at least they look good!

 

[Grim Reaper]

Going Aluminum. The factory steels are so ot of round there is no balancing them. I have never seen so much weight on a small tire (235 75 15) in my life. The 35's that were on my 7ft tall K5 on a new set of AR 767's took less weight to balance then the factory wheels on my Toyota. That 35 on a steel rim was 90lb.

For expedition set up with a lot of higher speed potential I think Aluminum is the way to go especially if its a vehicle driven on the hwy. Less mass unsprung and less rotating working against the brakes. Thats why I am going with the 33x10.5 is to cut down the weights.

If it was a dedicated rock crawler then steel would be my choice.

 

[SOAZ]

To revive an old thread. Here are a couple of questions and observations.

I weighed my Factory Toyota Steel wheel and tire. 16x8 on 255-85-16 BFG KM1
76.2 lbs
I then weighed my alloy Toyota factory TRD 16x8 on 255-85-16 BFG KM1
75.5 lbs

I'm amazed that it is not even a pound different!

Now I'm wondering, is it just factory alloys that seem to always weigh more. A set of American Racing Outlaw II's are an extraordinarily strong wheel that is pretty darn light. I just don't have one mounted on a similar tire to mine to compare grapefruit to grapefruit.

So, has anyone done some testing or have feelings about what kind of weight difference they experienced when changing from one to the other and how big of a different it made. In other words, did you experience a 10 lb change and feel a lot or a little. Did you experience a .5lb change and feel nothing etc?


On the topic of straightening alloy wheels, we regularly do it to our American Raicing Outlaw I wheels on our desert racing buggy.
We tend to curl the bead over enough to pop the bead. (a couple inches) and as long as its no more bent then that it can be repaired by a local shop and then we are racing on it again never to have issues again.
Bent wheel still holding air, and consequently getting us to the finish line of the Baja 500.

Bent and no longer holding air. Apparently we had plenty of spare film, but not enough to get me a tire. Hehe!
Actually the commercial TA's are such a stiff tire and the buggy is so light in front it was faster to just do the last 40 miles on a flat than to stop. It didn't slow me down, except the corners were... interesting...

 

[SOAZ]

Just an update:

As anyone might have guessed, Alloy rims are not created equal. Not even close when it comes to weight.

I searched all over and found out mostly that folks don't take the time to weigh their wheels. There were all sorts of guesses as to the weight of wheels. So, I contacted the manufacturers on three different wheels.

Alloy:
American Racing Outlaw II. 16x8. This rim weighs 23 pounds and is a very high load rating rim. Very strong.

Toyota FJ Cruiser TRD Special edition 16x7.5. This rim weighs in at 31lbs each. :yikes: That is quite a difference in rolling weight! (thanks TRDparts4U for the info)

Toyota Steel spare wheel. 16x7. This rim weighs 32lbs.



So basically there is an 8 lb difference between the Toyota Factory Alloy and the American racing wheel.
Now here is the kicker. I would like some actual, factual evidence about what sort of difference this would make to the handling, fuel mileage, acceleration, deceleration etc.
I can say that I bet my empirical Rear End meter could feel that amount of difference, but what say you?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I've been around this argument with cars a number of times, and I'd bet there's absolutely no way you could feel, or probably even measure, any difference between wheels of those weights. It's just not a big factor.

I've seen all the light weight wheels that the ricer crowd use fracture, and in some cases bend from *driving forces*. I'll always choose a heavier wheel from a reputable manufacturer, and I like OEM wheels because they tend to be stronger than most aftermarket wheels.

To me, saving 5-10lbs just isn't worth it.

This never happens with OEM aluminum wheels.

 

[SOAZ]

I've been around this argument with cars a number of times, and I'd bet there's absolutely no way you could feel, or probably even measure, any difference between wheels of those weights. It's just not a big factor.

I've seen all the light weight wheels that the ricer crowd use fracture, and in some cases bend from *driving forces*. I'll always choose a heavier wheel from a reputable manufacturer, and I like OEM wheels because they tend to be stronger than most aftermarket wheels.

To me, saving 5-10lbs just isn't worth it.

This never happens with OEM aluminum wheels.

Thanks. Thats the kind of experiences I'm looking for. Although you are talking about feather weight car wheels and I'm comparing three wheels that all are stronger than needed. None of the ones compared would ever have strength issues.

That being said, have you switched out rims of different weights. I'm not worried about a lb here or there. I was thinking that 40 lbs of weight 32 of which are unsprung would actually make a noticeable difference.

I wonder if ExPo and its vast resources has a vehicle engineer or something that could let us know what they feel a noticeable difference in wheel weight is?

 

[pete.wilson]

hey

Personally I think it has more to do with personal taste than it does with real issues with either one. I have run aluminum and steel both and normally have never had much problem with either; the two that I did have issues with was a steel rim that was warped from new and was replaced and another in which I folded the rim nicely that I doubt if an aluminum would have survived either. I'm running a factory Ford aluminums now and they are fine, but I like the looks of black steel. Maybe those aluminun teflon black ones would be nice. Use what you have, replace if you want to. Have fun!

Pete Wilson

 

[Antichrist]

The repairability of steel whells sounds like a great benefit for rough trails in isolated areas where you will be for long periods of time. But in order for the repairability to be useful you need to know how to do it. I would imagine that if you pound one back into shape that you need to have som skill in making it true enough to hold a bead again. So skill, tools, and time to work on it all become additional factors.

Maybe yes, maybe no. I bent a steel wheel bad enough that it wouldn't hold air. I beat it back out enough to hold air with just a 2lb hammer.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Thanks. Thats the kind of experiences I'm looking for. Although you are talking about feather weight car wheels and I'm comparing three wheels that all are stronger than needed. None of the ones compared would ever have strength issues.

That being said, have you switched out rims of different weights. I'm not worried about a lb here or there. I was thinking that 40 lbs of weight 32 of which are unsprung would actually make a noticeable difference.

I wonder if ExPo and its vast resources has a vehicle engineer or something that could let us know what they feel a noticeable difference in wheel weight is?

Well, I guess I'm questioning those American Racing wheels. 23lbs... that's about what my car wheels weigh in a 16x7. IIRC. It's been a long time, but I believe all my wheels are over 20lbs. I avoided the ones under 20. So, you're basically talking about running wheels on your truck that are the same weight as car wheels.

Now, I know that weight has little direct correlation to strength. But, with nothing else to base our decisions on, I look at the weight, and just a gut feel. I buy affordable, good reputation wheels that are not marketed as being light weight. I avoid wheels that are affordable and light weight, and it's served me well. Now, light weight and expensive (=forged), that's another matter.

That's why I tend to stick to used OEM wheels for the truck. They are strong and cheap, if ugly. I can live with ugly, because they're going to get damaged offroad anyway.

I used to be a vehicle engineer (powertrain, not suspension) but am friends with an engineer at an OEM, who's a truck suspension guy.

I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are you guys doing to bend wheels anyway? Are you driving fast and hitting rocks? Just curious, because with that much sidewall, and the speeds I travel, I just can't imagine bending one?

 

[michaelgroves]

I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are you guys doing to bend wheels anyway? Are you driving fast and hitting rocks? Just curious, because with that much sidewall, and the speeds I travel, I just can't imagine bending one?

A fair question

 

[MaddBaggins]

Black steel wheels are all the bling I need. Much cheaper than any decent alloy.

I've bent the edges of mine a couple times. Rocks my friend, rocks.

 

[hoser]

With this particular wheel, the caliper came loose and caused the spokes to bend. If you look closely, you'll see some 'burring' on the spokes.