Wheels - Forged aluminum vs steel, what are the advantages?

[tschwab]

In regards to the forged aluminum wheels DC offers vs the stock steel wheel, I was wondering what the advantages there were to forged aluminum vs steel.



Lighter?

Stronger?

Disapate heat better?

Better fuel economy?

??



Or is it just cosmetic?



Any advantage to the steel wheel vs the forged aluminum?

 

[thejeepdude]

The reason I wanted the aluminum, is because steel has more of a tendancy to bend slightly when being tossed violently over rocks, and they are also made with looser tolerances and can even be out of balance from the factory as the one on my '99 were. The good part about steel is that it is more likely to bend rather than break when it is pushed past its limits. For example if you hit a big rock with a cast aluminum wheel, it will crack not bend, usually taking a chunk of the edge out, making it so the bead won't seal and your tire goes flat. With the steel wheel you can at least get home on the bent rim. However with a good forged wheel, they should bend quite a bit before cracking, giving you both the benefits of steel and the benefits of the lighter more exacting tolerances of aluminum. Of course all of this can vary a bit, and it remains to be seen how the new forged AL wheels hold up, but I'm sure going to put them to the test!

 

[Bertram65]

I prefer chrome steel for a couple reasons, steel will bend in a severe impact cast aluminum will shatter. Could be the difference between driving away and going a flatbed. The aluminum wheels are clear coated no matter what you do the clear will always start to peel around the wheel wieghts. I do not have chrome now, I have the stock set of grey steel wheels with Michelins and a set of H2s with BFG 315s.

 

[y-knot]

There are many more reasons to buy one type or the other. The main advantage of the aluminum wheel over the steel wheel would be weight. I never weighted my Alcoa's, but they are atleast 10lbs lighter then the steel wheels. Un-sprung weight is hard to reduce, and the best method is usually aluminum wheels. There is a formula that says for every 1lb of un-sprung weight you loose, it equates to 5 HP. This is a lot of free hoursepower, but like I said, un-sprung weight is hard to reduse. Other methods that are popular in this quest to reduce un-sprung weight, include lighted rotors, and light weight calipers, aluminum drive shafts, and lighter tires. The added performance to a dually after switching to aluminum wheels is noticable, the truck feels lighter and take offs are quicker.

Steel wheels are cheap! That is why the come standard on most truck models. They are trouble free, and easy to make. Factory aluminum wheels are clear coated, and yes they will peal after some time. It's a shame too, clear coating is none solely to apeaz the lazy. Most people don't want to take the time and clean there shiny aluminum wheels like they should. So the factories and many aftermarket wheel manufactories offer clear coated wheels. They do look good for away, and since we live in a time where most rent (lease) there vehicles and only care about the 2,3 or 4 years that they will have it, this is the solution that seems to please most people. I would never buy an aluminum wheel that has been clear coated, you are stuck. You can not polish or repair the wheel unless you first remove all of the clear. Good aluminum wheels are actually very easy to maintain, just wash them when you wash the car, and apply some polish every once and a while.

Also, we are talking about FORGED wheels not CAST. Cast wheels are getting phased out, they do have a bad habbit of leaking and cracking. They are much cheaper to make, which is one reason they have held on for so long, but no-one makes a cast wheel that will carry the load needed by the 2500-3500 HD trucks. Forged wheels are very tough, they will deflect and hold together. They are also repairable it damaged. The forgeing process elliminates most of the purosity, which was responsible for the leaks, and is also the part that makes them strong. Forged wheels are usually better balanced, and give less trouble. The wheel weights can be and is most often, stuck on to the inside lip area of the wheel. This perserves the outer lip and will also help with coated wheel.

There is alot to be gained by switching to aluminum wheels, our trucks are some of the most heavy steel wheel users, and the switch can be binafical. Are the steel wheel that much tougher? I don't think so, most every off-road desert racing team I have seen uses the forged aluminum wheel, the benifits from their use far out weight any concerns.

Factory wheels are for some people a great option, for me... I would go with an aftermarket wheel once the truck was bought.

 

[BRayls]

"There is a formula that says for every 1lb of un-sprung weight you loose, it equates to 5 HP. " I think you really mean rotating weight. general rule of thumb for ever pound of rotating mass you lose is equal to 7 lbs of stationary weight.

 

[thejeepdude]

for me... I would go with an aftermarket wheel once the truck was bought.

Just keep in mind that the only aftermarket wheel that fits as the facotry designed is the T-rex Weld wheel. Yeah I'd like to have those eventually, but talk about serious $$. For the under 100 bucks the factory charges for forged aluminum rims instead of steel, it's a bargain that can't be beat. I'll stick with my stockers for a while until I can afford aftermarket rims that truly fit.

 

[y-knot]

No, I did not mean ROTATING weight, Like I said UN-SPRUNG. Which is anything that is not held by the suspention.



Yes, I think the factory wheels are priced fairly. And if I was bying a truck that had the option of aluminum wheels, I would pay the differance. I can sell them for much more then I paid for them, after I get the wheels I realy want.

Also, with a little care and effort, the factory wheels clear coated and all, can be maintained to look nice for some time, just have to show the effort.

 

[thejeepdude]

No, I did not mean ROTATING weight, Like I said UN-SPRUNG. Which is anything that is not held by the suspention.

That really makes no sense, because if I took 200lb of lead and put it in the bed, versus 200lb or lead and attached it to the axle, it's going to affect you the same, as far as HP goes... not taking into account traction or squatting of the suspension, etc. Rotating mass, on the other hand, makes a big difference...

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

If you live in an area where they salt the roads aluminum wheels are a PITA - clearcoated or not. If they are clearcoated they'll corrode under the clearcoat and be trashed after a few seasons. If they aren't clearcoated your going to be cleaning them constantly. When I ran aluminum wheels on my truck I only ran them in the summer and I kept the factory steel wheels and put them back on during the winter.

 

[BRayls]

That really makes no sense, because if I took 200lb of lead and put it in the bed, versus 200lb or lead and attached it to the axle, it's going to affect you the same, as far as HP goes... not taking into account traction or squatting of the suspension, etc. Rotating mass, on the other hand, makes a big difference...

exactly,prove to me that by adding weight unsprung will give you power?I will give you a lil insight to my background,I have raced stocks/modifieds and wrenched sprints for more than 10 years. working in gaertes dyno room for 3 years. and unsprung weight will affect handling but not give you power,unless it is rotating unsprung weight. it takes the same hp to move that weight forward sprung/unsprung. not to argue but if you have facts to prove your point I would be glad to say your right,I doubt thats the case. I am sure you can find another person whom you find very knowledgeable to back my claims. Barry

 

[thejeepdude]

If you live in an area where they salt the roads aluminum wheels are a PITA - clearcoated or not. If they are clearcoated they'll corrode under the clearcoat and be trashed after a few seasons. If they aren't clearcoated your going to be cleaning them constantly. When I ran aluminum wheels on my truck I only ran them in the summer and I kept the factory steel wheels and put them back on during the winter.

Good point! However some clear coatings are better than others... I should say, some manufacturers use a better clear coating than others. A good quality clear powder coat should seal out the elements pretty well. The problem is when you use the wheels offroad and get some nicks and dings in the coating, then that gives the salt a place to attack. That's why the painted clears usually don't fare as well, because they're more prone to chipping. Time will tell on the polished Dodge wheels... luckily there's not too much salt around here... only in the winter when it's snowing in the mountains a lot, and usually they just use gravel unless it's really bad.

 

[FDrake]

I have the chrome coated steel wheels with load range "E" tires - 3415# per tire@80PSI. I looked at aluminum wheels and found NONE that would take over 60PSI !! If those wheels are put on my 1T SRW and pumped to the same PSIs as I run now, the tires would more than likely be blown off the rim or the rim would fail. The ONLY ones that will take the pressures of load range "E" tires (I am told) is the Alcoa forged aluminum wheels. I will keep my steels.

Frank

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[thejeepdude]

I have the chrome coated steel wheels with load range "E" tires - 3415# per tire@80PSI. I looked at aluminum wheels and found NONE that would take over 60PSI !!

The stock wheels are in fact forged, and handling 80PSI is no problem.

 

[FDrake]

I am talking about replacing the steels with aluminum.

 

[jchapin]

Sprung vs Unsprung weight

On the discussion of sprung vs unsprung, it's not a gain in power that you're after (although a drop in overall weight doesn't hurt that algorithm), it's the reduction of mass of unsprung components. It's basically a suspension advantage; unsprung components (wheels, control arms, bottom half of shocks & springs, etc) react much quicker to changes in the terrain, vehicle direction, and force when they are lighter in weight. In racing, traction is everything (and a bit of HP. . ). Suspension controls traction so whatever you can do to improve your suspension will make you faster and reduce tire wear.



Although most of us ain't racin' our CTD's, lighter unsprung weight through AL rims may have a positive effect on handling...



8/18: Also wanted to add that lighter spinning bodies such as wheels are easier to spin up, which is probably what Brayles' function is addressing, and he's had experience at the track. Me? I'm just an armchair auto racer but have experience on motorcycles where the topic of unsprung weight is constantly discussed.

Cheers.

 

[EEdmondson]

In my experience driving to the snow for over 35 years, steel wheels rust and aluminum wheels don't. My Ford was almost 13 years old with only a touch of rust on the chrome lug nuts... the aluminum wheels looked pretty darn good. My CTD has the factory aluminum wheels. Let's compare to steel in 5 years.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I've got the factory chrome steel wheels and after 6 years of Michigan winters they look like brand new. Traveling to the snow and living in it every day are two different things. Also, they don't use salt out west like they do here in the northeast. Sometimes there's more salt on the ground than snow. I wish they used sand here like they do out there. My brothers S-10 that had factory aluminum wheels with clear coat on them looked horrendous after 4 Michigan winters - about 20% of the surface of the wheels was pitted and corroded underneat the clear coat. My wifes Jeep which had bare aluminum rims on it I'd have to spend about 8 hours every spring polishing them to get them back to looking good and that's with spraying them off twice a week (and after every storm) to keep salt from sitting on them.

 

[y-knot]

PLEASE FORGIVE ME FATHER, FOR I HAVE SINED!... ... ... Ok I went back and looked it up, and yes you were right. The conversion states for every one pound of rotating un-sprung weight you save= 5 HP.

 

[LightmanE300]

Rickson makes 19. 5" wheels that fit our trucks, and offer them in steel or aluminum. The weight difference is huge. The steel wheels are 60lbs a piece and the aluminum wheels are 35 lbs! I'm guessing that difference in rotational mass would make a noticeable difference in performance and mpg's.



FWIW, I've had clear coated aluminum wheels in salty Cleveland winters for years without problems. In my experience, any little nick or ding in the steel ones starts them rusting almost immediately. .

 

[SMorneau]

I read an article several years back that compared weight of steel and aluminum wheels vs. the strength of both. Aluminum is not a hands down winner for weight when you also consider strength.