Steel wheels and gass mileage
 

I currently have an option to do a direct swap of my 15" alloy wheels for a set of 16" steel wheels.

Firstly i'm thinking of investing of new tires so that's not an issue really.

The thing I was wondering about was that steel wheels must be considerably heavier than alloy wheels which would decrease your gas mileage? My car already has a bit of an overheating problem on long climbs so i'd like to keep the engine load as low as possible...

Anyone have any figures for gas mileage after changing from alloy to steel?

Thanks

I would take the swap. Twice in my life I had a vehicle with alloy rims and tubeless tyres. Both times I had problems with them sealing and numerous sudden flats. Never had it with steel rims ever.

Welcome to the HUBB

Firstly, what are you driving ? will you have enough clearance with the larger rims/tyres ?

The steel rims will be heavier, but they are much stronger and can be beaten back into shape with a hammer and welded.

Alloy rims can (and do) crack after hammering them along corrogated pistes with a well laden vehicle and cant be field repaired.

Fuel consumption losses will be minimal and would not concern me compared to the durability of the heavier rims.

If you are experiencing overheating then look at your cooling system first.

Cheers
Grif

Ah sorry, thought my car would be in my signature. I'm driving a 1992 Hilux Surf 2.4TD. They have notoriously inadequate cooling systems. It only overheats slightly when i'm carrying a big load up long steep hills. I've checked all I can in the cooling system and have a few mods planned to help with the cooling.

I'm also planning to fit some ball joint spacers and a body lift to give me about 4" more room for some bigger tires (which won't help fuel consumption either!)

Anyway, thanks for the advice, looks like steel are the way to go alright.

Yes. 16" steel wheels are the future! Much more availability for tyres and like Gipper said they are much stronger.

For the overheating fit a Kenlowe (or other) additional elec fan kit.
pic her of one we fitted a while ago,
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Cheers,
Matt

I think larger tyres will give you a better milage as well!