Back when I had my Hemi Ram, I went through three sets of rims. Two were steel and one was aluminum. The first steel set was the chrome stockers. I got rid of those because I don't like chrome; it's really overdone in the truck scene. The first set of aftermarket rims were black, 17" Cragar Soft 8's. Three of the four of them bent because steel wheels are thin and bend rather easily compared to aluminum wheels (which will crack or even break in extreme cases). Typically, aluminum rims are much stronger and lighter than steel wheels.

How much lighter? When I replaced the steel Cragars with some aluminum rims, they easily weighed half of what the Cragars did. We're talking about twenty pounds versus forty pounds (keep in mind we're talking seventeens here and not the typical fifteens that Jeeps run). Each pound of unsprung weight (wheels and tires) is equivalent to four pounds of sprung weight (anything in or on the car itself). If you do the math, by replacing the steel wheels on my Ram with aluminum, I reduced the same effects of having an extra eighty pounds in the truck per wheel. That adds up to the equivalent of 320 pounds of weight reduction. This affects both acceleration (which I felt immediately), deceleration, and handling.

I know that 99% of Jeep owners aren't concerned with street performance, but when you add the big tires that we tend to like, the added weight can really affect all kinds of performance and even gas mileage in a negative way. Instead of trying to gain some of that power back with intakes, exhaust, throttle bodies, and programmers, you could have just kept some of that performance by going with lighter rims in the first place. I'm going to upgrade to aluminum wheels on my XJ to try to reverse the negative effects from larger tires. I'm picking black because I like it better than any other color of wheel.

 

jeremyxj, not to argue with you or anything, but steel is heavier and stronger than aluminum.

"Aluminum in general is a third as light and half as strong as steel, or the inverse, steel is twice as strong but three times as heavy. It is also softer and more prone to fail over less deflection cycles than steel."

steel wheels are cheap, hold up to some good abuse, and are normally stocked at most your 4x4 shops, so finding a replacement is easy. As for the black over chrome thing, it all comes down to personal choice. black is the new thing right now, but you can find chrome wheel for right around the same price. I paid something like $35 for my black steelies, but I think they told me I could do chrome for the same price

 

where did you get them for 25?

 

the 22s look SICK lol post up more pics its deff different

 

IMO black wheels look better when used on a 4x4 with big tires. They're cheaper and easier to keep clean. You cant beat a brand new rim for less than 50 bucks.

 

i will never in my life have spinners.

the only chrome i have is on the vette... and those where stock

 

but wouldnt it be great to show up to an off road outing with 33in swamper mounted on some 15in 100 spoke daytons. if i could afford it i would so do it just for fun (and spoked wheels are incredibley strong)

 

id be willing to bet 100 spoke, or 150 are much stonger then steels. i mean look at low riders and jumpers. those things take a beating

 

and knock offs would make for quick tire changes on trails

 

I don't know what kinda wheelin that guy does, but since when does wheel weight matter. Unless your in baja or a pro rock crawler. They look sick and are cheap. End of point

 

yea id like to see somebody rockcrawling in some spinners lol

 

It seems they're not that strong. A friend of mine bought a Tahoe that had 33s mounted on some 150 spoke Daytons. One of them was hammered when he bought it, he replaced it. Over the next two years he had to replace three more of them, they kept beating the spokes out of the hubs. He never drove the thing off road either. Add to that the fact that it just looked ridiculous and it took ten forevers to remove and install one with the stupid lead hammer down inside the dish of those things... I would have traded them for just about anything else!

 

cause chromiez look like poop on jeeps and belong in urban areas. black or painted bottom line

 

I know steel is stronger than aluminum. I spent a good amount of time going over that. Steel rims would be stronger than aluminum rims if they were cast like aluminum. They are instead pressed into shape from comparatively thin pieces of steel. Aluminum wheels are either cast or forged, which makes them way more rigid and an overall stronger design than steel wheels.

 

well i ran a crager 15x10in wheel and now im running a mickey thompson classic lock wheel and the weight difference was incredible, the crager (steel) weighed like 26 pounds and my M/T wheel weighed only 15 pounds, the power difference was incredible. i couldn't even spin the tires on the road with the cragers. got worse worse gas mileage too. got 13 consistenly and sometimes less, i'm getting 18 with the M/T's. just my opinion. they are expensive, 151 plus tax a wheel. i did damage my right front simulated bead lock, so if i wanna fix it its 40 bucks for another....ridiculously expensive i know.....slid across a rock....