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February 22, 2011

Steel Wheels

Is it really worth it to spend so much time, money and effort to put steel wheels on one's car? I recently looked into how much and how heavy steel wheels are. Unless you're driving a truck in treacherous Alaskan winter your better off not buying them at all.  Sure steelies are inexpensive however there weight is an incredible turn off. Aftermarket low offset steel wheels at 17 inches usually weight in at about 30-35lbs. Not only is this going to effect your mpg, but will increase stress in your bearings and joints. But who cares about that when it looks cool right? Is it worth getting high fives from guys that post 12 times a day in car forums?


3 comments:

DaveT said...

30lbs? Seriously? I have no idea they weighed near that much. :/

Super Terrific said...

Yes, I was in a Jeep 4x4 forum and people were discussing about them as offroad tires. They said they did see a dip in mpg and that they were heavier than stock. I was seriously interested in a set and did research. I should have saved the links and threads I encountered. They are made of steel and come in low offsets. So there is no point in putting so much time and effort to fit these.

sakone said...

For the sizing I wanted (15") it was about $90 a wheel in my specified offset. Which comes in at about 18lbs just for the rim. For guys who just drive to a parking lot and do "video" shoots these are fine. I think companies just recently (within 2 years) came out with the 17" sizing for steel wheels. I wanted these a few years back because I could just choose my width and offset, but now I can get alloys with for just about the same pricing. To buy it just for boba shop parking'is ghey.