Aluminum vs Steel Wheels (1 Viewer)

[fiskfinancial]

So I just took my Dads 72 for resto last week and I need some help on what wheels to go with. I plan to wheel it some and the terrain will often be sandy. I plan to run 33x12.50x15 tires and the drive train on my FJ is stock. My question, is there any felt performance difference between using steel wheels or lighter aluminum? I am sure on a site as large as MUD this has been discussed before. Please point me to the thread or show me the way.

 

[Downey]

Three thoughts from me:
(1) To get enough strength, some aluminum wheel manufacturers make their wheels as heavy, or heavier than a steel wheel.
(2) Yes, aluminum wheels do corrode.
(3) Back in the day the Baja race guys quit running aluminum wheels because when an aluminum wheel hit a rock and cracked it could not be repaired out in the middle of nowhere, but if they bent a steel wheel on a rock they could bend it back, air it up, and keep going.

 

[69LC]

Cast aluminum wheels will crack. Forged will bend like steel.

Whatever you choose be mindful of the backspacing so there is enough as not to add too much positive offset and not too deep as to interfere with the tierod ends.

Lots of this decision really depends on how you want it to look.

 

[fiskfinancial]

Cast aluminum wheels will crack. Forged will bend like steel.

Whatever you choose be mindful of the backspacing so there is enough as not to add too much positive offset and not too deep as to interfere with the tierod ends.

Lots of this decision really depends on how you want it to look.

Thank you for the insight. What back spacing do I need on a 10" wheel 69LC

 

[69LC]

Early 40s have a pretty shallow backspacing requirement. It’s somewhere around 3.25”.

Do you have any stock wheels to measure? If you’re not certain of how to determine what you have, place a straight edge across the back lip of the rim and measure from the straightedge to the wheel mounting surface.

 

[jim land]

Why 10" ?
8" wheels is all you need for 33 x 12.5

 

[Downey]

Ivan Stewart use to run 35" or 36" diameter tires on 6" or 7" wide rims. Why: because when you run a taller tire on a wider rim it somewhat flattens out the side wall, so you don't get as much terrain cushioning. A tall tire on a skinny rim gives you a lot of tall vertical side wall, more height to bounce/cushion on. Seems like that makes sense to me, and must have made sense to him since he got fewer flats when using the skinnier wheels..

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Resto=OEM steelies.

 

[fiskfinancial]

I would say it depends upon what you are trying to do for a look. I prefer plain 'simple' looking rims whether they are aluminum or steel. Here is the three rims I've used on two of my FJ55s:
View attachment 2029190

Brown is an aluminum beadlock. Mainly picked up because of price. A tire at 43" doesn't matter over weight of steel vs aluminum. It is still over 150lbs per assembly

The upper right is what my green 55 currently wears. They are an old American racing. Again, cheap. Mostly clean looking. They are 17x8 for 35x12.5 tires.

The lower right is what my green 55 was GOING to run. Black painted Sequoia rims. Again, cheap. VERY clean looking but required spacers. I forget exact size other than 17". The tires are a p-metric version of a 31.

My newest 55 is going with a steel white wagon wheel. I'm going for a VERY 80s retro look/build. I will more than likely end up with a 16x8 rim for 35x12.5 tires.

My old FJ40 ran white spoke rims that I really liked the look on:
View attachment 2029209

I saw mentioned rim width. Tire manufactures usual provide a minimum and maximum rim width for their tires. I usually follow the 2/3 rule for tire vs rim; take tire width, multiply by 2, then divide by 3. That resulting number is the rim width. Ex: 12.5x2 = 25 divide by 3 = ~8. Thus all the above rims for my 35s are 8". My 43" tire is 14.5" so it is running 9" rims

That is some great information, Thank you. Lil John does back spacing become less important if I go with a 16" or 17" wheel?

 

[ryanwk628]