hey,
so i know i have posted many questions earlier and yes i know this question has been asked before but i read all of the other articles and didn't find the answer i want.
so i was thinking of buying a cragar d shape wheels for my jeep but then thought because of the weight i want to go with aluminum.
however it seems i cant find any with a back spacing greater than 4 since i am buying 31x10.5 tires on a 3.5 in lift on an xj 95 and iwill need a 15x8 rim.
and i will be mostly offroading in sand so i thought the lighter the better am i right or not.

 

Realistically, the lighter wheels probably won't make a difference in the sense of their "dead weight" on the vehicle (ie, toolbox in cargo area, fat person in passenger sear) They probably won't cause your Jeep to sink any more than with aluminums. However, I would consider the "dynamic weight" (engine has to work harder to turn the heavier steel wheels) of the wheels to be the important factor. steel rims will generally negatively affect gas mileage, and they might limit wheel spin (in sand) more than an aluminum rim, because of dynamic weight; however, since the XJ's use dinky little 15" rims, for most applications, steel rims would perform the job perfectly fine when compared to aluminums.

Since you said sand, one thing to consider about the steel wheels, if the sand you plan on contacting is on a beach is rust, which could certainly be an issue if exposed to salt water.

 

in my experience, aluminum wheels corrode faster and worse bc of the salt than steel.

 

fact, once the clearcoat wears off, its all downhill from there. same with steel, but the steel wheels don't corrode at the bead leading to leaks as nearly as bad as aluminum.

you should get a few trouble free years or more out of either though.

 

1 pound of unsprung weight is worth 10lbs of sprung weight. Same goes for rotational mass.

 

ok so guys do you advice me to buy the cragar wheels or go with the aluminium wheels any suggestions thought for the aluminium

 

i disagree. There is no “1-10” rule (or any other ratio) where 1 lb. removed from unsprung weight “has the same same effect as” a higher amount of sprung weight. a lighter wheel simply takes less mechanical energy to move forward. a pound is a pound in that respect. lighter wheels/tires affect handling more than anything. heavier wheels and tires overcome or disturb the suspension components easier because they have more inertia. your springs and shocks are able to halt/dampen the movement of a lighter setup easier. in a lot of cases, moving to a significantly heavier wheel and tire set would also mean a possible increase in spring rate and shock dampening.

 

If you buy cheap alloys, you might as well just get steeliness instead. Even my H2 wheels are leaking around the bead. I plan on going with some big $$ aluminum beadlocks in a couple years though.

 

ok i dont mind paying a 100-130 for a wheel not 300 for a wheel

 

Get steelies or run stock alloys

 

Factory Canyons and Ravines should be easy to come by. Prefer the look of the Ravine.

 

I have a set of 31s on AR Outlaw IIs (alloy aluminum whatever) and some 31s on stock steelies. They feel like they weigh about the same. Granted they're not the same tire. I don't think its enough of a difference to buy alloys JUST for the weight thing.

I'd say if you're buying new just get steelies or browse CL for some used alloy wheels. Unless you just want a cooler looking wheel.