benebob Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 Anyone know the difference in weight of steel wheels vs alloys of the same girth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 I've looked at a few sites selling wheels and weight is hard to locate. I DID find one site where some alloys were in the 15-20 pound range and one manufacturer were down to 11 pounds! I have a lot of questions about wheels; weight to strength to cost wise. I'd imagine an 11 pound wheel would be a bad choice for rallyX but? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted December 5, 2003 Author Share Posted December 5, 2003 Yeah I know, hard info to find huh. I would be more than satisfied with steel if it in only a few lbs heavier as they'd be easy to get ahold of for like $20 for 4 instead of $100+. An extra 5 lbs per wheel really isn't that much considering the tire weight can vary by abotu that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outback_97 Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 http://wac.addr.com/auto/obs/wheels.html ^ This link might help. Steve :wave: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 steelies are 20-26lbs alloys are 15-17lbs and i've rallied on both... the OE steels and the OE Legacy Outback rims are perfectly safe for rallying/rally play hope this helps a bit. cheers Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 I realize you're posting on the newer gen side of things, but wouldn't it matter more depending on the size? I.E. - 13", 14", 15"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuwan Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 if you're looking at performance driving note: - steelies will weigh more than equivalent sized alloy (high unsprung weight not good) - steelies are horrible for allowing air to cool brakes - they flex more than alloys which will take away from your cars responsiveness - however; if you smack a curb they're great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 The only way to go for off-road, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROSSTBOLT Posted December 7, 2003 Share Posted December 7, 2003 I cannot quantify it but when I rotated tires on my '01 Forester with the full-size spare on a steel rim, that spare was red-faced, white-knuckle, compound hernia HEAVY and the alloy road wheels with the same tire on 'em practically floated! I know it was more than 5 lbs difference. Dat was one heavy spare wheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alias20035 Posted December 7, 2003 Share Posted December 7, 2003 Originally posted by CROSSTBOLT I cannot quantify it but when I rotated tires on my '01 Forester with the full-size spare on a steel rim, that spare was red-faced, white-knuckle, compound hernia HEAVY and the alloy road wheels with the same tire on 'em practically floated! I know it was more than 5 lbs difference. Dat was one heavy spare wheel! It feels like my winter tires on steel rims for my 01 Outback weigh about 20lbs more than the alloy wheels with their all season tires. Also when the steel wheels/winter tires are on, the steering is much heavier, and the car rides a lot rougher, part of this is because of the tire design , but I think the weight plays a more significant role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma-fia Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Originally posted by Nuwan if you're looking at performance driving note: - steelies will weigh more than equivalent sized alloy (high unsprung weight not good) - steelies are horrible for allowing air to cool brakes - they flex more than alloys which will take away from your cars responsiveness - however; if you smack a curb they're great! Perfectly agree with everything, short and sweet; especially loved the comment about the curb! Here's another question though: what is lighter: -- 14" + 185x70x14 or -- 16" + 205x45x16? (both wheels are alloys and have relatively similar amount of metal in the spokes) By the weight I can't really tell, both seem pretty darn heavy to dance around with, and I didn't get THAT curious to drag out the scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 No way to know without a weight figure. IF they are the same design,alloy, manufacturer then the 14" will weigh less. Probably not even 10% difference though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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