Steel Wheels Vs Aluminum Wheels

I often here of people changing to steel wheels but I have never fully understood the benefits of doing this.
So I'm curious to hear what you all think are the pros and cons of Steel and Aluminum wheels.

From what I understand the steel wheels have two benefits
1 - they are steel so they are stronger and less prone to denting, bending and warping
2 - they are heavier so they will lower the vehicles center of gravity and provide more stability.

The cons I understand are
1- they are heavier so they hurt fuel efficiency
2- their weight adds to the unsprung weight of the axle -- but I'm not sure I fully understand the "unsprung weight" thing!

Any knowledge to pass on?!

Another big concern is that steel wheels will bend, and you can bend them back on the trail.

Aluminum can crack if bent too far although forged aluminum will bend, but is expensive.

Also, even though it lowers your center of gravity, I don't think you would want to add weight for weights sake on a loaded vehicle.

I always just liked steelies because they were anti-bling

:beer:

I think the biggest advantage of steel wheels is the fact that you can beat them back to a semi-round shape if needed.

Here is a perfect example of what is great on technical trails being not so great for expedition travel. Aluminum will not bend as easily as steel. On extreme technical trails, it is not uncommon to slide off of a obstacle with one wheel catching much of the weight and inertia of the vehicle from the side. This can easily bend the center section of a steel wheel, but not likely with an aluminum wheel.

On the other hand, if you run off the road at speed with a aluminum wheel, you run the risk of literally breaking the wheel at the bead seat, where as steel will simply bend, allowing you the chance to beat it back into submission.

Yep, alloy is more brittle than steel and will tend to crack if hit really hard. Steel will bend and stretch, and can be bent back. I was glad I had steel wheels for a couple of reasons. The wolf wheels I have are millitary wheels and are made of 1/4" thick steel! Yes, they are heavy! But at the various roadside tire shops we stopped at in Africa, the boys who change the tires tend to hit stuff really hard with hammers and long pieces of steel (to break beads etc). They don't see many alloy wheels, so they don't care to be careful.

In this day and age I'm sure you can get away with alloy for most, if not all, expeditioning. And take advantage of the lower unsprung weight, which will improve handling. I like steelies, for the look and the beatability, others will disagree.

cheers

There's also another major factor missing from this discussion... $$$$$$$$$

There is not that much of a price difference between basic steel wheels ($50 each), and basic alloy's ($85 each). The steelies that you see advertized for $34.95 are really crap, and you don't want them (trust me....been there, done that....2 of the 5 I bought had bent center sections when I bought them (new), I bent one more on a very easy trail (Miller Jeep Trail) in SoCal).

Personally, I prefer alloy's....but that is a reflection on the type off trails I generally drive.

I'm going to chime in on the other side here.

First, if I were planning a long, unsupported trip through the third world, I would certainly choose steel wheels. However, for virtually all other remote travel I think modern aluminum wheels are worth considering. Note that the following comparison deals with split rims, the heaviest type of steel wheel there is - standard steel wheels are significantly lighter.

I ran split rims on my FJ40 for several years, and while, yes, it was fun to be able to break down a wheel and fix a flat with hand tools, the tubes caused many more flats than I had encountered with standard rims (an experience echoed by the Sahara explorer Chris Scott, who not long ago also abandoned split rims). I finally put on a set of aluminum wheels, probably half the weight of the split rims, and was astonished at the transformation in the feel of the vehicle. The ride improved, handling improved, and compliance went way up. I'm sure I could detect a slight increase in low-speed acceleration as well. The vehicle floated over washboard it had previously crashed over.

Everyone talks about breakage in aluminum rims, but how many broken aluminum rims have you actually seen - especially considering the millions of trucks now equipped with factory alloy wheels? On radical rock crawling trails perhaps, but on normal, rough, expedition-type roads and trails? I think if you buy a wheel with the proper GVW capacity the chances for trouble are slight, and the benefits worth considering.

I recently got an extra Toyota stock aluminum rim for our Tacoma, off a totalled truck. The wheel in question had been shoved into a curb hard enough to burst the tire mounted to it, yet the rim was still perfect. Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but reassuring.

Brian: Unsprung weight is all the weight not supported by the suspension - or everything under the suspension if you prefer: axles, brakes, wheels and tires. Reducing unsprung weight reduces stress on springs and shocks, and enables the suspension to react faster to road irregularities.

I do wish someone would invent an aluminum wheel with a nice flat black finish cast into it, however!

Thanks for explaining "unsprung weight" Jonathan!

in terms of expense...i have found that if you decide to stick with the factory aluminum wheels then spares are practically a dime-a-dozen.

i picked up a whole set of four wheels for extremely cheap from a local idiot that blinged out his jeep with dubs

FWIW, I have seen a Land Cruiser alloy rim damaged beyond (practical) repair by a pothole! Tires were aired up, etc. Excessive speed and a teenager in Daddy's truck were involved, though. A steel wheel in the same circumstance may have survived after being straightened, but I would not have trusted it except as a spare. The owner tried (unsucessfully) to have the rim welded, but liability issues as they are, was unsucessful.

My preference is steel. I nothing back this up with, though, except I've been able to straighten a few. Just what I like. Aluminum always seemed to be higher maintenance to keep looking good, too. Too much road salt in NJ, I guess. Also a lot of salt in the sand (beaches.)

Jonathan Hanson said:

I'm going to chime in on the other side here.

Everyone talks about breakage in aluminum rims, but how many broken aluminum rims have you actually seen - especially considering the millions of trucks now equipped with factory alloy wheels? On radical rock crawling trails perhaps, but on normal, rough, expedition-type roads and trails? I think if you buy a wheel with the proper GVW capacity the chances for trouble are slight, and the benefits worth considering.
I do wish someone would invent an aluminum wheel with a nice flat black finish cast into it, however!

Click to expand...

I think the issue is not so much the normal, day to day use, but what happens under extreme circumstances. I have seen aluminum wheels break when they suffer from a large impact with a high angle of incedence(suburban took a corner to tight, clipped the left rear wheel on a tall curb at some ungodly speed...she blew out the tire and broke a chunk out of the wheel)....and I have seen steel wheels get bent to hell and not break. Under normal circumstances, I think you are right....but there is always that one in a million chance that you are travelling alone in a remote area, break 2 aluminum wheels (remember, you replace the first broken wheel with your spare), and have to walk 75 miles to get help. Of course, that is assuming your vehicle is still drivable after taking that big of a hit....

so, IMO, there is some validity to the "steel wheels are better" arguement, when extreme circumstances are applied. That said, I'll stick to aluminum and take my chances.

Oh, there are a couple of aluminum wheels that are available in black and dark gray...or you can simply have yours powder coated in whatever color you like.

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.

Does the size of the openings in the rim make a difference? Steel wheels tend to have a number of small holes, while aluminum ones have 5 or more spokes with larger openings between them.

I read of one case where the steering arms of a sport ute were damaged by a stick that got caught in a wheel. Admittedly the wheels this case were after market ones with particularly large openings.

paulj