Alloy Wheels vs Steel Wheels

What do you consider when weighing up what rims to have on your ride?

There's what your Dad would say-

"Cheap, safe, functional. What's wrong with that, son? Don't go fixin' what ain't broke."

You pull a face, saying nothing but speaking volumes.

So he goes on to say-

“Steel wheels are easy and relatively cheap to produce, stamped out of sheet metal as they are. They are immensely strong and easily protected by a few coats of paint and they were put on your car for very good reasons in the first place.”

Still, you look unhappy and leaf through your copy of Car Magazine.

If he’s a bit of a boffin, he might very well go on to say-

“Alloys are more complicated to make than steels, they use much more expensive metal combinations and processes that all only increase the cost of production, sometimes many times that of steel wheel production. Why spend when you don’t need to? Besides, it’ll only add to your insurance.”

He’d be right in some aspects:

Unlike steel wheels, alloys are die cast, gravity cast, or forged. Forging is by far the most expensive method, however, the resultant wheel is also lighter and stronger than any other wheel, justifying the additional cost, especially in racing, where weight is such a concern. Casting in general tends to be more costly than stamping sheet steel too.

To counter his thinking, it’s overridingly important not to go straight to the central point, namely, that alloys simply look boss, but to come across with a more considered argument, that at least takes on his concerns and answers them with something approaching a considered -or even- pseudo-scientific response.

Stuttgart 19x8.5

On the subject of cost, alloy wheels in general tend to be much lighter than their steel counterparts, providing better heat conduction, by taking brake-generated heat away from the disks more efficiently than steels. Lighter wheels also greatly improve the operating suspension, which also increases fuel efficiency and safety, on top of the fuel saved by the weight reduction alone.

Something else that may appeal to him is that they can also add to the resale value of the car, improving as they do the appearance and styling of the vehicle.

And finally, putting alloys on your car doesn’t necessarily add to the car insurance premium at all, although it’s necessary to declare it to your insurance provider.

If he’s an aesthete, then the first thing to do is show him the designs that can be achieved with alloys that can’t be using steel.

Of course, Dad might not be part of the decision process at all in which case, you are presumably having this exact same conversation with the voice inside your head. Be aware though, that the voice inside your head is actually what your Dad would be saying, if he was privy to the conversation in the first place.

The important thing to remember here is that it’s your job to be the Next Generation and take that fact by the scruff of its neck, for all it’s worth.

What your Dad says on the subject should only be a spur to you doing the exact opposite. Unless of course, he has no objection whatsoever to alloy rims, inwhich case, you should definitely stick with steels. Obviously.

Anyway, steel wheel production and style has come a long way since the Dark old days…