Land Rover Aluminum Wheels vs Steel Wheels

[cooter]

I think the steel wheel thing is BS. Land Rover alloys are some of the strongest alloy wheels ever made. The old rangie 3-spoke alloys are nearly indestructible, and no aftermarket steel wheel is going to hold a bead like a factory LR alloy holds a bead.

So many people make ditching their factory wheels a priority over, primarily, aesthetic reasons. I'm still waiting to see evidence of all of these cracked and bent alloy rims that everyone is so fearful of. It's a load of BS. There are more cracked series steel rims than you will ever see alloys.

I'm waiting to be educated myself by the peanut gallery on this nonsense. the only place some of you are going to be out there banging out a steel rim with a hammer while wheeling in the US is your stupid wet dream fantasies you have while making these dumb posts to justify your own material excesses.

cheers
-ike

I don't know about the D2 rims, but the D1 alloys did crack. I've had three crack and I'm sure if I dug deep enough I could provide pictures (have posted them before in forums).

It still does not keep me from running alloys, though.

 

[benlittle]

I've broken several alloy wheels on various cars over the years. It sucks.

Roverdoc pointed it out although it wouldn't do any good for stolens 04 or any DII for that matter. The ability to pull half shafts without taking off the wheel is a huge advantage. Especially for those who are still running stock shafts and carry spares.

The other advantage IMO is being able to potentially hammer a steel wheel straight enough to keep a bead. An alloy would most likely just break.

 

[Scott Brady]

I moved to steel wheels entirely for aesthetic reasons. A simple, understated white/black Rover is pleasing to my taste. Going to black steel wheels seems to immediately reduce the bling factor of the Rovers.

Of course, the argument can be made about field repairs, but I have never experienced an aluminum wheel failure, even is serious competition and use. What I do find is that aluminum wheels scratch pretty deep and gouge on rocks. The black steel ones seem to look better and hold up better in the long run.

 

[SeaRubi]

No, it's as easy as sand blasting them again, and painting them with silver paint.



That's a little harsh. The problem with alloys isn't restricted to the potential for total destruction. I doubt I'd ever bend one of my alloys. But they are getting destroyed quickly. Death by a thousand cuts. They're just getting ground up on rocks. The "spokes" are all scarred, which I'm fine with because "it makes people think I'm all hardcore and stuff. " The problem is the lip getting ground off. Nobody will put new tires on these rims because it would destroy their machine. I don't even know if I can get this rubber off.

pics? if they're just boogered up a wheel shop can clean up the lip.

one thing I will concede is that some of the newer alloys might be more susceptible to damage than the older ones. the deep-dish 16" rims that were fitted to defender, range rover, and the Disco castor alloy wheels all have the spokes inset to the rim. the later designs where the spokes come out flush with the wheel lip is not nearly as optimal. I have also compared the castor wheels from the disco side-by-side to the rangie 3-spokes and they did seem a tad lighter and the material isn't as thick around the lug holes. Unfortunately, the 3-spoke rangie wheels look terrible on a discovery. I know one defender 110 hybrid that runs the rangie alloys and it looked a lot better on that truck. The early 16" 5-spoke disco II alloys were also made such that the spokes inset to the rim, then later they switched to the flat faced wheels.

Cooter, I'd be interested to know what wheels you had and where they on the wheel they cracked. Additionally, was there any evidence that the lugs had backed off? lug torque for D1/RRC/Defender alloys is 90 ft/lbs. Over or under tightening the lugs could cause problems. I hate using impacts on these trucks for this reason. I've always torqued the lugs by hand.

cheers
-ike

 

[JSQ]

Shockingly, despite the usual suspects' clamor of impossibility, evidence to the contrary abounds.

I've broken three LR alloys.

This is just one of them:

I had one crack in the middle.
There are arguments for the alloys. Superior strength is not one of them.
I think a welded and riveted ANR4636 is much tougher.

 

[cooter]

Cooter, I'd be interested to know what wheels you had and where they on the wheel they cracked. Additionally, was there any evidence that the lugs had backed off? lug torque for D1/RRC/Defender alloys is 90 ft/lbs. Over or under tightening the lugs could cause problems. I hate using impacts on these trucks for this reason. I've always torqued the lugs by hand.

They all cracked between the inner bead "bump" and the outter bead seat, not at the lugs/hub. They were the "Deep Dish" style found on the D1's. I suspect this type damage came from either side-loading the wheel or grinding the wheel into the rocks with the weight of the truck bearing down. Who knows...

It is argued that steel wheels can be hammered out if this same type damage occurs. It might not be straight, but at least it will hold air.

My problem with most steel wheels is they're a cheap universal fit. I've ran the Trek wheels, Procomps, and Marsh Racing wheels that fit the Rovers. They all appear to be basically the same wheel probably made by American Racing, but who really knows. One thing they did have is common was that they are all lug-centric.

The alloys, steel spare, and the Defender steelies are all hub-centric.

It's makes a difference.

I'm just not a fan of any of the hub-centric steel wheels available to fit the Disco's so I run alloys despite the cracking issues.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

The alloys, steel spare, and the Defender steelies are all hub-centric.

D1 or D2?

My LR alloy wheels, WhateverTF they are, are not hub centric. Came off a P38.

 

[cooter]

D1/RRC/Defender for sure. But I think you're right about the D2's because of the funky D2 hubs. One more reason I hate D2's.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

How big are the D1 wheel studs? D2 is an M14, fairly substantial.

 

[SeaRubi]

Shockingly, despite the usual suspects' clamor of impossibility, evidence to the contrary abounds.

I've broken three LR alloys.

This is just one of them:

I had one crack in the middle.
There are arguments for the alloys. Superior strength is not one of them.
I think a welded and riveted ANR4636 is much tougher.

There are some people, too, that can break a steel ball in a rubber walled room. :sombrero:

that looks like the result of a heavy load, a drop-off, and an unfortunately placed rock. The link references Dusy trail - where did the other failures occur? can you tell me a bit more about the circumstances? ledge? PSI? how loaded was the vehicle? etc. was speed a factor in any of the breakages?

I think the 4636 is the defender rim, yes? Aren't those like 5.5" wide? Also, I believe older ones were riveted and later ones were welded (but not both). working off memory which is fuzzy at best. fuzzy memory is also telling me that the riveted wheels are for use with tubes only.

The reports of radial cracks are indeed impressive. I'd love to see a photo or two. For any wheel to crack like that I have to believe that heavy loads, high speeds and impact were big factors in the failure.

cheers,
-ike

 

[JSQ]

It's impressive how much grandstanding you can do while constantly revealing how little you know. How about we learn the basics before we make authoritative statements? Give that a try.

There are some people, too, that can break a steel ball in a rubber walled room. :sombrero:

that looks like the result of a heavy load, a drop-off, and an unfortunately placed rock. The link references Dusy trail - where did the other failures occur? can you tell me a bit more about the circumstances? ledge? PSI? how loaded was the vehicle? etc. was speed a factor in any of the breakages?

SeaRubi wants to get all CSI on this one so he can uncover the secret corruption conspiracy. Well there isn't one. That happened on Dusy. That's all there is to know. It can happen anywhere with rough terrain. The tire had 30psi and it was just a rocky section. No ledge. No jump. It was October. Around 10:15am. It was about 45 degrees outside and the sun was shining. A little breeze was blowing from the southwest. There were four other trucks nearby. Also squirrels may or may not have been present at the scene.
None of this stuff matters.
Hit the trail enough times with enough Land Rovers and you will see an alloy break or bend. Sometimes it's catastrophic other times it just leaves a tire that won't hold air.

I think the 4636 is the defender rim, yes? Aren't those like 5.5" wide? Also, I believe older ones were riveted and later ones were welded (but not both). working off memory which is fuzzy at best. fuzzy memory is also telling me that the riveted wheels are for use with tubes only.

Yeah, your memory is fuzzy alright. And blurry. And hazy. And wrong.
The ANR 4636 is a Series rim that's 5.5" wide. It is not the so called Defender 110/130 rim, ANR1534. Yes there are welded AND riveted ANR4636s. These are designed for tubed tires but work just fine without them. Plenty of people run them this way.

 

[SeaRubi]

.... you were wheeling Dusy @ 30psi? "ok". If you say so!

Keep schooling us on the wheel part numbers. Tell ya what - if you want, you can spend at least two paragraphs flaming me some more if, in a new thread, you'll give us back a nice breakdown of all the steel wheel p/n's, what they were originally fitted to, tube/tubless, offset, backspacing, and a picture. I've been wanting this info to put in a faq somewhere for a while because it comes up alot and dropping part numbers without describing what it represents is pretty useless to most people.

cheers,
-ike

It's impressive how much grandstanding you can do while constantly revealing how little you know. How about we learn the basics before we make authoritative statements? Give that a try.

SeaRubi wants to get all CSI on this one so he can uncover the secret corruption conspiracy. Well there isn't one. That happened on Dusy. That's all there is to know. It can happen anywhere with rough terrain. The tire had 30psi and it was just a rocky section. No ledge. No jump. It was October. Around 10:15am. It was about 45 degrees outside and the sun was shining. A little breeze was blowing from the southwest. There were four other trucks nearby. Also squirrels may or may not have been present at the scene.
None of this stuff matters.
Hit the trail enough times with enough Land Rovers and you will see an alloy break or bend. Sometimes it's catastrophic other times it just leaves a tire that won't hold air.



Yeah, your memory is fuzzy alright. And blurry. And hazy. And wrong.
The ANR 4636 is a Series rim that's 5.5" wide. It is not the so called Defender 110/130 rim, ANR1534. Yes there are welded AND riveted ANR4636s. These are designed for tubed tires but work just fine without them. Plenty of people run them this way.

 

[michaels]

lol. why the hell would you be wheeling at 30 psi? i usually drop to 13-15psi. i know east coast wheeling is way different, but it's not that different.

 

[muskyman]

Back to rims

I guess I am not following you guys here attacking Jack for posting that pic of the rim? Jack is 100% on the mark. Alloy rover rims tend to crack and bend if you wheel them in tough situations enough.

case and point:

This is a rim a destroyed in Moab. I was running about 25-30 psi at the time. Higher pressures make the tires carry a load more stable, presserve ground clearence and allow the tires to slip before something in the drivetrain fails. These are all good things when you are far away from home and want to get back with as few issues as possible.

Instead of attacking someone like Jack for sharing information, maybe understand he is one of the guys actually out doing what he posts about and you should listen.

Get a clue guys!

 

[JSQ]

Raise your hand if you've run the Dusy-Ershim trail.

The rest of you just keep on telling those of us with our hands up all about what it's like.