Why do all cars have alloys now, rather than steel wheels?

[CoolHands]

If you've ever picked one up, (esp with tyre), they're freakin' (blame the nanny swear filter for the americanism ) heavy. Because of the thickness of them (for strength and anti-potholing specifications) I don't think they're lighter than an equivalent size of steel rim (of which I've lifted many over the years - hundreds). The steel used is fairly thin, because it's strong, and resists impact better. I know that original 18" VW alloy wheels weigh around 12kgs each, without tyre. That's pretty heavy. 18" tyres are generally around 10kgs, so you're looking at 22kgs per wheel in total, and aftermarket wheels (cheap ones) are generally heavier unless you spend a mint and get decent ones.

So, bring back steel wheels with nice wheels trims

[kambites]

Bling!

The 18 inch OEM wheels from our Octavia weigh an absolute tonne, I suspect significantly more than 22kg including tyres. I actually couldn't manhandle them up into the loft space of our garage on my own when I put winter wheels on. I don't think I'll be putting them back on, the cheap second-hand 16 inch (still alloy) wheels that I bought for winter tyres completely transform the car.


The Elise's wheels, on the other hand, are reasonably light.


Anyone know where I can get some reasonably light (say <10kg) 17 inch VAG wheels from for a reasonable amount of money?

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 31st January 10:09

[Amateurish]

I bought a new car last year with steelies. That's because I am a cheapskate and went poverty spec.

[Zod]

Weights vary enormously. The 19" wheels for my Aston are very light and so were the 19" wheels for my M5. The 20" wheels for my wife's X5 on the other hand are unbelievably heavy - they must weigh over 30 kg each.

[Codswallop]

I rather like a good set of steelies with some nice wheel trims. Bigger wheel trims look quite cool sometimes too

[CoolHands]

Amateurish said:

I bought a new car last year with steelies. That's because I am a cheapskate and went poverty spec.

The sign of a true petrolhead

[CoolHands]

Lets start a revolution

[Lordglenmorangie]

When they are salting the roads , I would much prefer hub caps when washing the car !

[8vFTW]

Vanity.

Look better than wheel trims, usually anyway.

[markCSC]

My dad bought a Vauxhall Insignia ( I know!!) that had steel wheels but instead of the normal disc the wheel had spokes and with the cover on they looked like alloys

[thinfourth2]

But if you fitted a golf diesel with steel wheels and big squishy tyres it would be 5 seconds slower around the ring


and you can't have that for the daily slog to the office

[thiscocks]

under 6kg each. Boom!

[LotusOmega375D]

Steel wheels? Pah.

Bring back wooden wheels I say. At least they don't rust.

[V88Dicky]

Do NASCAR still use steelies?


'cos they look the dog's bks

[Fastdruid]

thinfourth2 said:

But if you fitted a golf diesel with steel wheels and big squishy tyres it would be 5 seconds slower around the ring


and you can't have that for the daily slog to the office

I'd have one in the snow though. One of the best cars I've driven in snow was a 1.6 golf auto with big aspect ratio tyres on steel rims.

[kambites]

Zod said:

Weights vary enormously. The 19" wheels for my Aston are very light and so were the 19" wheels for my M5. The 20" wheels for my wife's X5 on the other hand are unbelievably heavy - they must weigh over 30 kg each.

That's the thing isn't it - in terms of weight, you get what you pay for. However you can make a wheel that looks just like a decent one but is twice the weight and a tenth the price, and most people seem to choose looks over ride and handling.

If, for example, hot hatch manufacturers offered a decent lightweight set of wheels for an extra couple of grand over the "standard" wheels, I wonder if anyone would buy them? If it was on the options list, I'd take 5kg off the weight of each wheel over some rubbish integrated sat-nav any day.

[jagnet]

Because the general public for the most part have no idea how much their wheel/tyre combo weighs, and even if they did they have no concept of sprung versus unsprung mass ratio and its effect on handling or ride quality. What they do understand is the importance of maintaining the appearance of wealth to Jeff in sales, or Sandra at the school gates.

Seeing as how we're now in an era where the harsher and harder the ride is the more "sporty" the car is perceived, I can't see it changing any time soon. Audi have done particularly well at tapping into this in even the most basic models.

[havoc]

kambites said:

Anyone know where I can get some reasonably light (say <10kg) 17 inch VAG wheels from for a reasonable amount of money?

I don't think VAG understand the term 'lightweight alloys'...after all, can you think of a car they sell where weight is a concern to them, or one where improving unsprung weight wouldn't really help the ride/handling? Of all the manufacturers they seem most wedded to the 'sledgehammer' approach to engineering...


You could try the OE MkV Golf wheels - they're probably going to be the lightest ones VAG offer...assuming you're after the modern 5x112 PCD.

If 5x100 PCD, then maybe see if Corrado rims went up to 17"?

[mrmr96]

CoolHands said:

I don't think they're lighter than an equivalent size of steel rim

The alloy is bigger but the tyre is smaller as a result. The fairest comparison would not be "rim for rim" but rather "wheel for wheel", i.e. compare the total weight of the alloy and tyre vs. steelie and tyre.

Don't underestimate the difference that tyres make. On my Evo I have 235/45/17 road tyres and 235/610/17 slicks (the 610 is not a sidewall profile of course, as for slicks they specify a measure of circumference). But they both fit on the same rims. The slicks are CONSIDERABLY lighter than the road tyres.

So I'd imagine that the tyres on a 19in alloy would weigh a chunk less than those for a 15in steelie (with the same width).

[kambites]

havoc said:

kambites said:

Anyone know where I can get some reasonably light (say <10kg) 17 inch VAG wheels from for a reasonable amount of money?

I don't think VAG understand the term 'lightweight alloys'...after all, can you think of a car they sell where weight is a concern to them, or one where improving unsprung weight wouldn't really help the ride/handling? Of all the manufacturers they seem most wedded to the 'sledgehammer' approach to engineering...


You could try the OE MkV Golf wheels - they're probably going to be the lightest ones VAG offer...assuming you're after the modern 5x112 PCD.

If 5x100 PCD, then maybe see if Corrado rims went up to 17"?

I didn't mean OEM VAG, I just meant something that will fit the standard VAG hubs. Something like the rear wheel from my Elise would be perfect if they made it for the VAG stud pattern and offset.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 31st January 10:47