I’m looking at different automakers websites on the internet. I notice the base model always comes with steel wheels (rims), and they always offer an upgrade to alloy wheels (usually an inch or 2 larger as well). My understanding is that the steel wheels are basically functionally better i.e. last…

I’d be equally amazed if the average driver ever cornered hard enough for wheel flex to matter. It was embarrassing to have to go back to retrieve the wheel covers for my Plymouth after a hard turn. I replaced the plain steel wheels with rally/styled steel wheels, no more chasing wheel covers. I su…

That’s true… the average driver doesn’t slide around corners in a Plymouth Fury… or any other daily driver, for that matter. Nobody should be driving on public streets in a manner that would cause the wheel material to make a difference. I should add that if you’d had some of the lightweight afterm…

Steel or alloy wheels?..Doesn’t much matter to me. My Versa has steel wheels and they work fine. Alloy wheels are nice, but you have to be careful to not scrape them up on curbs. That said, I would NEVER want to go back to the days of econocars with 13" wheels. I had a 1987 Escort with 165/80/13…

@doubleclutch Almost all of our trucks at work have stamped steel rims. They work just fine, even if the truck as 11r22.5 tires I’m not talking about fuel economy savings I’m just saying that stamped steel rims work just fine There are cases where one truck has stamped steel rims, whereas its t…

My point was that if you don’t take cornering to the limit, you won’t notice the difference. However, it’s easy to imagine differences to suit our biases and prejudices. (the placebo effect) As the wiser hot rodders of old used to say “don’t mistake noise for horsepower”.

Whoops, once again the conversation has moved faster than my ability to keep up. Yes, my current (primary) car is an econobox, and on its last legs to boot. My previous comment was meant to both inspire a chuckle and burnish my image here as a curmudgeon and a tightwad. :tongue: Response to @Neva…

On motorcycles, the weight of the rim can make a remarkable difference in how the bike feels to the rider. Also it’s amazing how much difference REAR tires make in how easy a motorcycle is to steer.

Because of the desire of people for low price and the alloy wheel look many of the alloy wheels weigh MORE than the standard steel wheels. I hate having to pay for things I don’t want or need, I did want power remote locks because my wife is short wit short arms and cannot lock and unlock all the d…

@oldtimer Twenty-five years ago a (different) old timer told me custom wheels were once made of magnesium but this was discontinued due to fire hazard, once ignited magnesium is difficult to extinguish. I heard tales of people placing broken VW blocks in the campfire for entertainment, the old block…

Steel Vs. Alloy Wheels (I Thought Steel Was Better?)

General Discussion

Rod-Knox February 6, 2016, 8:09am 70

Yeah, @B.L.E. I recall friends flipping the air filter lid on the family sedan with a 4bbl. When leaving a light at WOT it sounded like they had unleashed a beast. Truth is the engine lost power due to the loss of the velocity stack on the breather. It did sound good though.

Topic		Replies	Views
Steel vs alloy wheel weight Maintenance/Repairs wheels	48	24558	August 5, 2014
Alloy wheels? upgrade? Maintenance/Repairs	19	3783	August 24, 2007
Aluminum V Steel Rims Maintenance/Repairs	5	993	September 13, 2007
Aluminum Wheels Maintenance/Repairs	8	957	June 1, 2013
Explain to me, the concept of "wheel performance." What is it? General Discussion	20	2182	March 19, 2015

Steel Vs. Alloy Wheels (I Thought Steel Was Better?)

Related topics