Steel Rims vs Aluminium on trucks

Okay so, am I only one who finds Tacoma SR steel rims better? compared to aluminum sporty rims that comes with current SR5+?

I feel like truck should have steel rims. Has anyone swapped out their alloy wheels for steel rims? and did it have any impact on towing/hauling?

I dont care about MPG, I am talking about for towing/hauling. Thanks

 

Only relevant factors(for this topic) are load rating of the rims, weight, and cost.
Less rolling mass, better braking performance. Aluminum wins.
Wheels will match load rating of OEM door sticker(or better). So, the SR steelies provide no benefit over the SR5+
If Aluminum wheels can handle the load of a semi...

 

AL rims are bitch to keep clean. The theory is it takes less power to turn them. Yeah there AL rims on many big trucks I just wonder how much they gain for the expense.

 

Aluminum alloy wheels are usually stronger than steel counterparts. Work trucks have them because they're cheap, not because they're better at anything specific. If you do decide to switch, it shouldn't affect your load hauling or towing at all....that will come down to the tires. You can run either wheel type just fine.

Personally, no way I'd trade any stock aluminum wheels for anything steel on my vehicles.

 

I got both right now, but as soon as that other check comes in...............

 

Everyone saying there is no benefit to steel wheels is not exactly correct. If you do hardcore offroading, or just like hitting potholes at speed, steel wheels have the benefit of denting instead of cracking. Steel will still hold air and could likely be bent back to shape, whereas aluminum would be hosed.

https://youtu.be/lWM3o2v46KI?si=07cRfGvZn_mF-96v

 

The only real advantage I have ever experienced with steel wheels is they can be bent back into shape if you bend one out of shape. That said, give me aluminum wheels every day and twice on Sunday.

 

there is the new trend, alloy wheels that look like steel

 

My personal opinion - neither adversely affects towing/hauling capacity.
Steel wheels will rust.
Aluminum wheels will corrode.
Both require maintenance with respect to rust or corrosion.
The alloy wheels on my '06 TRD OR exhibited serious corrosion (thanks to CT DOT's use of deicing chemicals). At about 10 years I had them blasted, baked & powder coated. Looked like brand new when they were done.
I have a set of steelies for Winter use (not that we've had a REAL Winter in several years). They also underwent the same process. After about 5-6 years one can find pits & breaks in the powder coating.
Powder coating the wheels is not perfect - there will be tiny locations where the coating fails and rust/corrosion starts to gain a foothold. So, the process will need to be repeated if you want them to look sparkly new year after year.
I measure my vehicles life in decades, not years, so maintenance is mandatory.

 

I’ll have you know when I potholed and made an oval out of my lame M35 alloy sport rim on the BQE, the old school freaks at Hilna in Brooklyn heated it up and brought it back to true. “It’ll do,” they said with a shrug. Looked like this one. Scary! What a stupid rim to run in NYC…

 

Here is a car I would never put aluminum wheels on, errr, if I was lucky enough to own it.

 

Back in the days that my friends and I would frequently visit salvage yards - accumulating hot rod parts - one of the places we often went campaigned a modified and had a for real mechanic. He and the owner of the place had a "wall of shame" with a big display of factory aluminum wheels - that had flunked being cleaned and coated with dye penetrant. Some didn't even have a scuff .......

 

aluminum rims aren’t any harder to wash than steel rims, there’s no difference

 

Does not make any difference for towing or hauling. Alloy wheels are plenty strong. However, if you offroad, you can straighten a steel wheel and not an alloy wheel if you hit a rock.

 

Go carbon fiber and never worry about rust or corrosion, it’s easy to keep clean, and weighs less than either steel or aluminum.

Bonus: You probably won’t see another Taco with the same wheels!

 

AL rims are far more obvious when dirty.

 

My 2015 SR5 came with steel wheels with skinny tires so I wanted a nice set of alloys. I replaced the 15X6 steel rims with 15x7 alloy wheels and was surprised how heavy the steel wheels were. They are very thick and look strong. I put the largest 15" size tires I could with the almost same diameter (BFG Radial TA's P245/60/R15) that didn't rub on steering and it makes the truck look far better. The stock steel rims with the skinny tires weighed 49.5 lbs, and the aluminum with the BFG tires and alloy rims weighed 50 lbs. - slightly more. The alloy rims were a lot lighter in weight but the BFG tires were heavier. Hope this helps.

 

You guys know that dented alloy rims can be repaired, right? They're also less likely to dent on the rim vs. the thinner edge of steelies. (Now they are more likely to shatter if they are cast, in a collision that would also mangle a steel wheel).

Looks are subjective, but alloys always look better to me. Steel rims remind me of cheap cars with plastic or stamped chrome hub caps from 2000 (although the aftermarket ones donlook much nicer).

 

17" wheels can accommodate a front brake upgrade (like the popular 5th gen 4Runner brake swap) which benefits towing/hauling. 17" steelies are way too heavy, so I chose aluminum. I picked matte black so it doesn't show dirt as easily, and easier to touch up when gouged on the trail.

 

This has nothing to do with the material the wheel is made of - more to do with the color of the wheel.