Steel VS Aluminum wheels

In the market for new wheels and tire setup. Will I lose that much power and acceleration with the weight of the steel compared to the aluminum? How much difference is there?

 

Some aluminum are as heavy as steel, so that depends. Steel tend to not warp in general.

I prefer aluminum over steel.

 

Aluminum hands down for me, been in both worlds and I'm a big fan of a light wheel that won't bend on me.

 

I went from stock steel wheels to aluminum. The aluminum weight only 10lbs less than the stock steel wheels. Haven't had any issues so far. I would try to stay around the Stock weight though. not any heavier and not significantly lighter either.

 

It's much easier to bend a steel rim back into shape. Much nicer looking wheels are aluminium.

 

before you decide look at the stud lenght on the hubs front and back. Some aluminum wheels are much thicker and with stock length studs you might only get 5 or 6 turns of the lug nut before it bottoms on the seat of the rim.

 

Truth, I've debeaded a tire and bent a steel wheel and in a pinch I hammered it back to shape and rebeaded it and it was fine, aluminum wheel in the same situation and it broke rather then bend.
So it depends on useage, lighter wheels are certainly nice

 

Unsprung weight is never good, lighter is always better. Wheels/tires fall in the unsprung weight group.

On my 2400# Solo II car a good driver could detect a 3-4# weight change per corner.

I'm sure it would be a higher number on our trucks, but not sure how much higher.

Add to that fact a taller tire, which impacts final gear ratios, and a wider tire, that impacts friction surface, and you will see MPG and drive-ability changes.

If you need that for off road work, or want to look sharp at the mall, that's fine. Just know what to expect.

 

I've always heard 1 lb of unsprung weight is like 10lbs of sprung weight, so figure going from stock wheels and small tires, to steel wheels and bigger tires, say you gain 10 lbs per corner would be like adding a constant 400 lbs of sprung weight, pretty huge

 

In all the chassis/suspension stuff I studied I can't recall reading that number. And it seems a bit ambitious.

All I know for sure is that it does matter.

 

Ambitious like it would be that big of a difference? Or even bigger? No idea where I've heard it, but from multiple sources. But yeah it's a pretty general idea so a big grain of salt

 

Yes.

No doubt there is some physics factor there. I just don't know what it is.

If it was that high, I think all the chassis building book chapters on unsprung weight would open with that formula, followed by the line 'nuff said.

 

Bent a steel wheel in asuza canyon and appreciate that it being steel, was easy to find a shop to round it out, and if it was worse I could pound it out on site. But I would love to reduce unsprung weight- tough decision to make OP. Wheel enough to worry about strait wrecking a rim, or are MPGs more important?

 

I would just get both. The aluminum wheels with 265/75/16 weigh 67 lbs, the steels and the 33/10.5/15 weigh 73lbs.