New wheels.. steel or aluminum?

[luvrbus]

2  hole or 5 hole wheel Wayne the ones I have weighed there is not much difference in the weight of aluminum vs steel you put all the holes back in a aluminum wheel it would probably weigh the same as a steel wheel lol

good luck

[belfert]

If you guys get off the key board and the internet and weigh a 5 hole steel wheel vs a aluminum wheel you won't find a 50 lb difference in the 2

Pretty hard for me to do since I have neither a steel wheel nor an aluminum wheel.  I just know, Internet or not, that it would nearly impossible for a 22.5" aluminum wheel to weigh 50 lbs less than a steel one.

[wayne]

Ok, I couldnt resist so we dug up another 22.5 with more more holes, this time 76 lbs. I guess I am 100% wrong as Tom put it but there is definetley not a 50 lb difference. I would love to know how a weight difference of that small amount saves you thousands of dollars per year and if it savthought much why do steel wheels exist. I just purchased 8 brand new alcoas for $350.00 each $2800 total. It doesn't make sense that any highway truck has steel wheels when the claim of saving thousands Of $ more than pays for them in less than a year, that's the best savings that can be added to a truck driving 250,000 miles/ year.

[buswarrior]

the internet trumps scientific methodology?

The vendor will have located the heaviest steel rims available, and is putting one up against its newest lightest offering.

We have not weighed either, we have weighed something on hand.

So, now that we've discovered vendor advertising may not represent our specific results...

Now what?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[TomC]

Let's talk wheel holes. Accuride makes a 10 hand hole steel wheel that looks almost exactly like a aluminum wheel (except it is painted).
10 hole steel wheel 22.5 x 8.25- 66lbs
10 hole Alum wheel 22.5 x 8.25-45lbs.

On a 18 wheel truck, if you use the super singles (445/50R-22.5) you'll have a 300lb savings on the tractor and a 300lb savings on the trailer-and that's comparing with aluminum wheels with 18 wheels compared to 10 wheels. Not only do you gain 600lbs of load carrying, but the less rolling resistance of the super singles will give you about 3% better fuel mileage (on a big rig truck).
You can run super singles on the drive axles of buses (445/50R-22.5=295/75R-22.5; 455/55R-22.5=11R-22.5 in diameter). But, you'd have to run a 2" offset wheel. We no longer offer that in trucks since it was causing outer wheel bearing failures. We now offer a DualTrac axle that you run a 0" offset wheel, and can put duals on-the duals would just be at 102" wide. Good Luck, TomC

[chessie4905]

One thing I've noticed that very few people say "nice looking steel rims". How about having them chrome plated?