STEEL vs ALLOY rims Off-road Wheels 

I had steelies and didn’t realize how out of balance they were until I switched to alloy. I always thought my tire installers couldn’t balance well, but it was warped rims all along

No one

@@gaellopez6108 u dont kno style or u just like mawcrawlers

I'm thinking of replacing my alloys for steel rims , cheaper plus tyres fit better in the grove , I have to inflate my tyres every week because they have a habit of leaking at the rim as they age.

Hey Carl , man that doesn’t sound good at all. Having to constantly air the tires up , leaking at the rim edge or how. Man I’m seriously curious, I’ve never heard of that off an alloy. Also I run steel on all my off-road vehicle’s. Hell exact same as he had

My Jeep is built to be an off roader! It’s not in a beauty contest. I prefer steel.

You had me up until you smeared that mayonnaise shit on it 🤢🤮

Yup-

titanium rims would be nice

@@Bluelightbandit I wouldn’t have wanted to ruin it by putting mustard or ketchup on it. It was already bad enough.

@@liammiddleton3064 or unobtanium.

search YT for wheel straightening vids and equipment. hammer to a bent steel on is not that far fetched

I hammered a dent out of my rim in the back of a Sonic when I clipped a curb in my POS sedan that I was cursed with back then. Some of the employees were impressed with my "ingenuity" as they apparently saw it. Wow, I don't spell out the word ingenuity very often. It looks a bit funny. I suppose that's to be expected when you live in an area where most people think "injunuity" is a racial epitaph...

so i recently learned most australian vehicles for off road are heavy. lots of gear and so on. i am never far from help or a ride home so i run empty and less spare tire even for now. my Jeep is 3500 pounds roughly. i saw ronny posted his is 8000 pounds or just over as i recall. i realize the remoteness and climate can kill you, and you need to be prepared. but i try and keep my junk as light as i can. a lighter vehicle is less stress and wear on the drivetrain for sure. and u joints

Just upgrade to 36inch tires

This comment tells me a lot of your self esteem.. People think too much what other people think about them or their vehicle. Lol.

@@FmR16 Interesting take on this situation. You may be correct.

Yes Ronny was confusing me on that one.

eh, close enough. Steel is also an alloy but I think thats just shorthand for many when they mean aluminum alloy.

Correct Patrick. In the context of automotive wheels, such as this video, alloy does equal aluminium. And given that magnesium alloys are so rarified that the owners will happily refer to them as "magnesium" and let aluminium folks eat their alloyed cake.

Jesse, do they make purely Aluminium rims? My understanding was rims were alloyed i.e. mix of Aluminium and something else.

I am pretty sure that nothing is made of pure aluminium. I think it is super brittle. To be clear, I was talking about semantics not chemistry; But yes, all "aluminium wheels" are alloyed... but not all "alloyed wheels" are "aluminium". The case here is that probably 98% of all commercially available "alloy" wheels are what you would call and aluminium alloy. Being that wheels don't have feelings, it is perfectly safe to generalize here.

+Chris Milne I did think about that but left it out due to the rims being nearly the same weight.

This matters a lot less here because so much of the unsprung weight comes from the tires and possibly axles.

Nice.

They're all neccesary mate ;)

;) Good on ya mate.

Aluminium

Actual it's old scottish slang for thief.

Unless it's sitting on 46 inch military tires

Ben Lorentz I have 18s with 33s and that’s still way too much rim.

Sven Rasmussen hahaha so true.

Yup

18" plus. 17" is the max that looks good, and frankly that includes all cars as well. Wagon wheels and rubber bands for tires look like ***t on everything!

Narrow Road Adventures Your extra rotational mass is very useful off road. You now have 4 significant flywheels. Especially with open diffs, heavy wheels make a big difference to how fast a wheel stalls when its brother on the other side suddenly has a big traction advantage. In realistic terms, the only improvement you will ever have to make is in braking. A softer pad compound is usually enough to give the bite back. I have done this myself after I bought a very heavy set of 60 series sahara chromies. Even then, it was a feel issue. The brakes still had more than enough to exceed the friction of the tires. If you want to be very specific, you will add more rotational mass by going from 31x10.5 to 33x12.5 as you have put all the extra weight in the tread area where velocities are highest. In any case, the weight difference in 4x4 wheels is not as significant as on cars. Alloy 4x4 wheels have a shit ton more volume of metal in their construction. The centre disk is always very thick as is the outer rim. They have to be as most mechanical engineers are well aware that aluminium is brittle amd will not survive 5 seconds with the shock loads that a 4x4 is guaranteed to put through them. Not to mention the lateral loading that a 3 ton truck puts through the centre disk in cornering. Alloy wheels also have much more drag. The heavy, thick spokes are rotating at a significant speed. The spokes are moving alot of air. Steel wheels with their thin centre disk do not have this problem. All factors considered, you would be pushing to find even 1% increase in fuel usage by using steel wheels.

I guess if you're concerned about high end and top speed then rotational mass is an issue- otherwise gear yourself correctly and you won't notice any difference between the 5lb more steel rims over the alloys. I mean my new tires weigh in nearly 70lb, that's where my real weight comes from not some 22lb vs 27lb rim.

Don't Forget where to weight is. It's in the centre, which has less centrifugal force. So your 10% heavier steel rim does equate to 10% extra rotational mass (10% for example only). Also I think you'd be hard pressed to find a set of (4) 16 inch steel rim that are 32lbs heavier. Maybe 20-25lbs? Not saying you're wrong, it was a good point in fact.

@@freefall0483 hahaha open diffs? If you dont have atlease one locker you are doing it wrong. I would rather walk than put up with an open diff getting stuck at every bog hole, rock shelf and hill climb. Been there done that and its shit.

you look like you like to calculate your stuff and that's great. In dynamics the "rotational mass" is know by the name "moment of inertia" and it's it tells how much work and work is needed to change the angular velocity in the specified axis. Sorry for being a year late.

Diesel vs Petrol is a project I've got waiting to be filmed ;)

Diesel costs more, that.s not great. Diesel engines cost a /lot/ more. That's not great. Diesels tend to make a lot more torque than an unleaded (though that is changing) and do so at /much/ lower RPMs which is great for off-roading. That's good. Also diesel freezes at a much lower temperature than petrol and is much more difficult to ignite. I look forward to Ronny's take on this - should be a fun one.

It's always about opinion and personal preference in the end. You do you.

thx

I put black steel on the 79, with offset on the rear, so cheap and easy to maintain and keep the Toyota ones looking like new for resale

Each Day but alloy painted black looks better than that

I have black steel wheels on my Jeep. Looks much better than alloys i had before.

thanks mate

Never really thought about between hub and wheel, I guess there may be some truth to this.

You'd find that your bearings don't heat up much at all. All that heat comes from your drivertrain. Feel the wheel bearings on a fully loaded trailer unbaked. Lucky to be 10 degree above ambient.

We have the Toyota "Hilux" in Australia which is comparable to your U.S "Tacoma"

Exactly, all the rest is for posers

SpectreOZ or buying a better set of tyres.

It’s easy to reshape the steel rim !

a lot to ask for in a remote area

@@liyakadavhsegar Not really, if you go off road you should at least go prepared with a basic tool kit. I can't count how many times welding with 12v battery and jump leads saved the day for me.

Availible everwhere! 2:43

This is why I need an assist to check my work as I'm just managing to pump it out in time :|

hahaha assistant*

Ronny Dahl Don’t stress mate! Still the best content out there. Love your work

Ronnie just say its aussie slang and no one will bat an eye

I think stainless steel is the best choice for cooking. I like aluminum on cooling appliances.

michael close huh that list of brands is useful, till now I thought you couldn’t find forged truck wheels in anything but mall crawler sizes.

a lot of forged wheels still come in 15,16 and 17" because they are used on comp vehicles where function is more important than posing.

In the US many of the OEM aluminum rims on the full size Utes Are forged. Often people replace them with inferior cast rims just for the looks.

Tim Roach not me, I kept my factory rims, I think they look pretty good

Southern Nevada offroading and back country yup, me too.

If you're talking about a heavy 40 inch tire the difference in weight by going alloy is not a significant savings .Things like aluminum wheels and suspension links don't save much unless you are building a buggy and shave on the entire build not just a link or a wheel .

when you are only goin in daily routes with minimal load use lighter material it will makes sense in economy run... but when dealing with heavy load and fun games why think of the expenses when you can enjoy your time without any worries on your ride

@@yerwrng its approximately 10 lbs difference per wheel. My 20 inch steel rims weigh 46 lbs and the 20 inch alloy rims on my other truck weigh 38 lbs. So, add tire weight to that and its easy to see why alloy rims are better from a performance stand point

P.s. i have 40x15.5r20 nitto grapplers on both trucks

@@hanksadventures4132 yeah I only go about 5-10 mph on my 42s so it's not that big for me .I guess if you're going fast it is . I aksi have enough axle to not care so much . I will say a nice set of bling looking race lines do look better than their steel cousins I have with the allied bead locks.

interesting question, I've pondered this one a few times myself and ended up back with steel each time.

Ronny Dahl yeah is that cuz of the price and strength. Cuz I’m getting a custom tray and still unsure wether to get alloy or steel

In my opinion Steel as the base, can be repaired anywhere, stronger but heavy. Alloy can be strong but prone to cracking if done by someone who has no real off-road proof building experience. Alloy is only 30% lighter than steel as well. perhaps consider steel frame tray with super thin alloy checker boards as the floor. will save some good weight there as you can rely on the frame and not the floor.

UNLESS you're going to stock a welding kit you aren't going to know if something is repairable until you speak about density you can't actual discuss the rigidity factor because you go from 1mm -100mm thick and each metal you work with has different properties when you heat it and submit it to cold.. I always think thicker the better light gauges in any metal tend to fail over time.. Whether you use use a ute or up to the troop platform i always recommend in installing exoskeleton roll cage because the simple to save cost in weight and rigidity they build everything out of aluminium the bull bar is there to protect the 4x4 not that so what you hit walks away and wipes you out from continuing your travels. I think most safety features built into motor vehicles today may have a usable sense on road conditions however off road you are likely to get yourself killed ..

Ronny Dahl thanks alway great advice

Wurthit 123 I just brought a 2012 Hilux. I really like it.

+Wurthit 123 opps hahahah

that was a factory Nissan Patrol Rim

the alloy one

T4nk, too many variables to conclude anything definitively. Each manufacturer is different. I believe that aftermarket wheels get anecdotally labelled inferior because they generally are made with thinner, wider spaced spokes and thinner rims for aesthetics. This does not inherently make them weaker, but in the case of 4X4s, it can safely be assumed so, especially when you are 3 days into a 7 day excursion. Any conclusions from the torture tests you've seen referenced are only valid for the specific wheels included in the test. I would safely wager any aftermarket wheel could match an OE when the variables are as similar as possible. That being said, a $70 reproduction will likely not stand up to a $700 OE. Short of acquiring the metallurgy and manufacturing specs from everyone, the rules of thumb apply: 1. Thicker is stronger, 2. Cheaper is weaker, 3. Forged is best.

🔨🔨🔨🔨🔨🔨 -reshaping it.

i had to replace 3/4 OEM aluminum wheels after a quasi-offroading trip, two of the wheel hub barrels were cracked all the way thru, the third was bent/cracked and that was lesson enough for me. STEEL wins

Why is it so freaking hard to get steel wheels for a Tacoma?

I’m gonna go with some FJ steelies.. they’ve got that MilSpec look goin on, Ugly as hell, but durable and easy to find for a reasonable price

brienb1770 that’s either very shit quality rims or shit driving. In years of working exploration with all our vehicles coming standard with aluminium wheels we have never had an issue. The one time I’ve seen one break was when an operator drove a light truck into a hole at 110km/phr and the wheel that hit first crack.