Steel or Alloy wheels

[Turtle61]

Just a thought - thinking of changing the wheels and tyres combination on the Flandie when my Coopers AT's will need replacement.

What do people think - should I stick with the original steel rims or should I go for 15" or 16" alloys?

Any thoughts of the advantage of one over the other? We are talking about city and touring family 'car' taken on dirt tracks / unsealed roads etc. It will never be used where my old SII would be taken...

Cheers

- Irek

[LandyAndy]

Hi Irek
They look nicer with the alloys.
They pop up on fleabay quite often.
Andrew

[JDNSW]

From a practical point of view, except for real offroad, there is probably little to choose. Alloy wheels are possibly a little lighter, usually don't have paint to chip and usually don't have hub caps, and may provide better brake ventilation. On the other hand, there are possibly more faulty alloy wheels about than steel ones, although they both exist. Alloy wheels tend to use special nuts that may be hard to get replacements for.

To summarise - up to you.

Really helped, didn't I?

John

[101RRS]

I think that for freelander type use, steel or alloy is not really an issue - personal preference.

As you would appreciate the standard 15" tyre for a freelander really has a limited range of tyres that are available. !6" rims give far better choice and options plus in my view the 16" alloys look better.

16" genuine alloys to come up on ebay regularly and are resonably cheap. I changed mine to 16" and they have been great - using 225/70 BFG AT and you could possibly go to 235/70 or 225/75. The extra ground clearance comes in handy as well.

Garry

[camel_landy]

Like Garry says, it's more to personal preference... Just remember that if you switch to alloy, you'll have to do the wheel nuts too.

Personally, I prefer the alloys... It's also handy that the 16" ones cost almost nothing over here. :D

M

[Stepho_62]

Mate

I'd go for a good quality alloy every time. I got rid of the steel rims on the 110 and purchased 6 RR alloy rims and then fitted them with cooper ST - C.

The assembled weight of the tyre and rim 7kg per corner LIGHTER than the steel ones and the coopers are a heavier tyre than the BFG that were on the steel rims.

IMHO the lower dynamic weight must save wear and tear on the bearing/axle assemblies.

[dungarover]

They're both good, I buy what is cheaper at the time and curently I have steel S1 Disco rims on board. Bloody heavy with the Silverstones but can take a hell of a lot of punishment off-road :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Rangie 3-spoke alloys are a tough set of rims as well, have used them off-road for years previous and never had any issues with bending, etc..

Trav

[JDNSW]

.........
The assembled weight of the tyre and rim 7kg per corner LIGHTER than the steel ones and the coopers are a heavier tyre than the BFG that were on the steel rims.

IMHO the lower dynamic weight must save wear and tear on the bearing/axle assemblies.

This, of course is why alloy wheels were introduced in the first place. More importantly (in the 110 anyway) than wear and tear on the bearings and axles, which have plenty of reserve strength, is the reduction in unsprung mass, giving better adhesion and ride and reducing the work the shock absorbers have to do - and there is a lot less reserve capacity there. But 14kg is not a very large proportion of the mass of a 110 axle, although significant.
But it is a mistake to assume that all alloy wheels are necessarily lighter than the steel ones! They should be, although there are good engineering reasons why it is possible to make steel ones just as light - because they are cast, it is easier with alloy to have the metal just the right thickness everwhere. But that doesn't mean every wheel is made that way - some are designed more for looks than engineering!

John

[Stepho_62]

some are designed more for looks than engineering!

John

Oh yeah, I was out at my friendly t mart the other day and some "kid" was looking at some 10 x 21 inch rims for his lowlux :o

I'm assuming he would have fitted them with 40 profile rubber. I had a close look after he left and the were cast chinese aliminum. The finish on the unmachined bits was crappy, I just wouldn't have used them :eek:

Should have them melted down and turn them into VB cans :D

[JDNSW]

Oh yeah, I was out at my friendly t mart the other day and some "kid" was looking at some 10 x 21 inch rims for his lowlux :o

I'm assuming he would have fitted them with 40 profile rubber. I had a close look after he left and the were cast chinese aliminum. The finish on the unmachined bits was crappy, I just wouldn't have used them :eek:

Should have them melted down and turn them into VB cans :D

And this is the other problem with alloy wheels - not so much that the engineering design of some of them is not too good, but that some of them are just plain badly made - much less likely with steel wheels, although it does happen (with pressing and welding it is easier to control quality than it is with casting); sitting next to my shed are a set of wheels off my son's Kia that were eventually subject to a recall - after we had replaced three of them because of cracking.

John

[Bigbjorn]

Pressed steel wheels can be straightened by heating and hammering sufficiently to get you home. I have used a gidgee fire a number of times out in the bush, and a plumbers blow torch at home on one occasion.

[olbod]

I would only have steel's ! Cant repair alloy's.
Best of all I really prefer split rims in the bush but
dont have them on the Disco.
I just rub them back when they get a bit kacky and
paint them with white rust proof paint. Looks like a bought one !
Cheers.

[101RRS]

Hey guys I think we are missing the point in the original post which is for a Freelander not a rock crawler crossing virgin country
[quote=Turtle61;594455] We are talking about city and touring family 'car' taken on dirt tracks / unsealed roads etc. It will never be used where my old SII would be taken.../quote]

I don't think the ability to bash out a steel rim roasting over a bush camp fire is high on the priority list.:D

Garry

[olbod]

Thats true Garry but a rim can be damaged just as easily and more likely, on the kirbs in the city.
I dont like the look of alloy's after they have been scraped along a gutter.
It's a matter of choice tho. The Freelander would probably look silly with my Disco wheels onit without
some bling to top it off ?