Alloy Wheel weight

kluivert

Do alloys weight more than steel wheels, or do alloys weight differently depending or maker.

I recently got new alloys and I think that they feel heavier than the previous ones.

Could this be right.

I got 15" Wolfrace Katanas

I always thought that Alloys where meant to be cheaper than steel wheels etc

oleras

kluivert wrote:

Do alloys weight more than steel wheels, or do alloys weight differently depending or maker.

I recently got new alloys and I think that they feel heavier than the previous ones.

Could this be right.

I got 15" Wolfrace Katanas

I always thought that Alloys where meant to be cheaper than steel wheels etc

weigh less and are not cheaper.

unkel

Alloys generally are lighter but more expensive to manufacture than steel

willah

Depends on which brand of alloy. Replicas are heavier and bend easier. Weigh an alloy and weigh your standard wheels!

peasant

Aluminium-alloy weighs about 2.7 kg (per cubic decimeter) whereas steel comes in at 7.8 kg. On the other hand (depending on the stresses and shapes involved) steel is about two to three times stronger than Aluminium, so Aluminium wheels need to be twice as thick as steel wheels to take the same forces, almost negating the weight advantage.

Often puney little 15" steel wheels are replaced with big 17" or 18" and the finished wheel (rim plus tyre) might end up weighing more than the original factory fit.

The main advantage of alloy rims in comparison to steel rims are the achievable shapes and designs. Alloy is cast, giving much more options than the pressed steel in regards to style and shape.

Also the tooling cost for steel press dies is immense, compared to a casting mould for Aluminium, so coming up with all sorts of fancy designs for steel wheels is just not commercially viable.

Wishbone Ash

kluivert wrote:

I always thought that Alloys where meant to be cheaper than steel wheels

Why then, would they be considered as an extra or be available with a higher spec in many models?

mmenarry

Generally, as alloys are cast, they can form a more "effcient" shape than plain pressed steel, usually size for size, alloy works out lighter than pressed steel.

Main reason for alloys is purely cosmetic though, they look much nicer than plain black pressed steel. Steel wheels are dirt cheap to make though, hence they're used as "base" on most models.

There are big advantages putting lighter wheels on (part of the "unsprung" weight of a car). The suspension can work much better then. Losing 1kg from the unsprung weight is considered to be as effective as removing 4 times as much from the car itself, in terms of improved handling.

M.

VeVeX

willah wrote:

Depends on which brand of alloy. Replicas are heavier and bend easier. Weigh an alloy and weigh your standard wheels!

A slight contradiction. Replicas are not all made by the same manufacturer either. There are some decent quality replica wheels.

Wolfrace in general aren't great but probably from the whole range the katana in particular is made with very cheap materials. Hence the price I suppose. Its possible to pick a set of 17in Katanas with tyres for under €700.

mmenarry

True, there is a large variance in alloy weights, but generally, if you go up a few sizes from stock steelies, with lo-pro tyres, you'll be punished with weight.

Good comparisons here (bottom, underneath the mazda ones)


As a small bit of info, the 14" BBS alloys fitted to certain Mx5's are the lightest wheels ever fitted to a production car. Literally featherlight (OK, I'm being a smug git 'cos I have them )

M.