Yes - its the reduction in unsprung weight that improves the handling.
In addition, they are generally cast rather than forged, which gives the designer more freedom the match the properties of the wheel to the suspension.
They also look good.
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Agreed - they are worth the hassle of cleaning. Even on my scruffy '95 Cavalier, once the alloys have been cleaned the whole car looks really quite respectable - even with a flaky alloy! Surprised myself, as I am an idle so and so, and would never chose to pay the extra to have them fitted if I ever bought a new car.
Jono
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The unsprung weight saving is largely a myth. Aluminium alloys fitted to road cars have to be much thicker than steels and thus weigh much the same. Don't confuse them with the ultra light (and fragile) magnesium alloys fitted to F1 cars where weight really matters. Next time you are at tyre depot, try picking up similar sized steels and alloys and you'll see what I mean.
Alloys look great when new and clean but in the real world I'd rather have a much more robust steel and plastic wheel trim. Life is too short to be cleaning alloys with toothbrushes or paying £50 upwards each to get them refurbished after a few years of salt exposure. The same argument applys to spoked wheels. But I might be tempted by an E type Jaguar for sunday use.
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You can get alloys refurbished for well under £50 each. I did a survey not long ago and I think I found one source at under £30.
One other possibility is to fit shields that stop the brake dust getting onto the alloys. Opinions on the advisability of this do vary ? interferes with cooling process, etc. ? and they are not available for some cars (e.g. my Golf VR6). I'd be interested if anyone has anything to say about them.
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Daft question of the day: can you fit hub caps to alloy wheels? I've got alloy wheels but certainly wouldn't have paid extra for them. At least you can replace hub caps when they start to look tatty.
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I'm sure there are plenty of people who would swap your alloys for their steels and covers. try an online forum four specific car, or maybe ebay. I think you would get money too.
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I'm sure there are plenty of people who would swap your alloys for their steels and covers. try an online forum four specific car, or maybe ebay. I think you would get money too.
I had thought of that but I don't think they'd appeal to the sort of person who'd retrospectively put alloy wheels on a car: they're only 14". People who like alloys tend to go for ones that fill the wheel arches.
Two of them also have slight scrapes on the surface, the result of an argument with a high Cornish stone kerb, my reason for regretting not having good old-fashioned hub caps.
The current obsession with alloy wheels seems to be a relatively recent thing: even quite prestigious cars that are a few years old don't necessarily have them.
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The current obsession with alloy wheels seems to be a relatively recent thing: even quite prestigious cars that are a few years old don't necessarily have them.
I suspect that in five or ten years time, the current fad for shiny alloy wheels will start to look as dated as the 1970s craze for vinyl covering on the roofs of cars.
They are remarkably similar phenomenon. Alloy wheels and vinyl roofs both add little or no functionality, and in some ways actually impede use of the vehicle. The vinyl roofs probably had a negative effect on aerodynamics (albeit small), while the alloy wheels are less robust -- and both are high maintenance items.
My guess is that it will take another three or four years before enough buyers start saying "nice car, but take off those silly shiny wheels" -- and then manufacturers will be happy to save a few quid on the cost of their product.
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I suspect that in five or ten years time, the current fad for shiny alloy wheels will start to look as dated as the 1970s craze for vinyl covering on the roofs of cars. They are add little or no functionality, and in some ways actually impede use of the vehicle.
>>The vinyl roofs probably hada negative effect on aerodynamics (albeit small),
My 1600E, secondhand ex company car, had an expensive looking vinyl roof with stiched seams.
It had some sort of padding under the centre section.
I thought and still do that it improved the look of the car.
It certainly made it a significant amount quieter especially in heavy rain. After 12 years it was in perfect condition unlike the rest of the car. I recall lots of peeling roofs in that era.
I seem to recall a vinyl roof was a standard feature of ex police cars.
It was Rostyle wheels then. Pretty steels that needed chrome cleaner on the spokes. Very nickable in those days. Procedure was to collect a set of spares from 4 boots so the owner, like me, usually did not notice for days.
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I suspect that in five or ten years time, the current fad for shiny alloy wheels will start to look as dated as the 1970s craze for vinyl covering on the roofs of cars. They are remarkably similar phenomenon. Alloy wheels and vinyl roofs both add little or no functionality, and in some ways actually impede use of the vehicle.
Even closer to the vinyl roof phonemenon is the current fad for fitting Lexus-style transparent light clusters. I can't help wondering whether they're less safe than the originals. These look particularly odd on certain cars: the strangest I've seen so far was on a Focus.
Maybe this is a topic for another thread.
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I suspect that in five or ten years time, the current fad for shiny alloy wheels will start to look as dated as the 1970s craze for vinyl covering on the roofs of cars.
Current fad? They've were standard fitment on some cars at least 25 years ago. Remember the XR3 (which was before the XR3i, for the benefit of younger Backroomers), for example?
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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So if the 'lower unsprung weight' is a myth (and I wouldn't be surprised), must we assume that alloys are just another means to extract money from impressionable owners by appealing to their vanity? Especially if you include the cost of the necessary locking nuts.
Personally, although I wouldn't order alloys on a new car, I prefer the look of the wheels even though it can be a pain cleaning them. Battered wheel trims can look as bad as rusty steels.
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For cleaning, I spray my alloys with a proprietary alloy wheel cleaner solution (alkaline - e.g. Nielsen), leave for just a few minutes, then Jet Wash with my (modest power) Kärcher. Problem solved.
Oz (as was)
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Alloy wheels perform one function, and one function only, on the majority of road cars: Look good. Period. As another BRer rightly pointed out, the weight saving is precious little, and the car would handle identically on a steel wheel of the same dimensions. Some alloys make help with brake cooling, but even this is in the minority.
Remember the Austin Maestro?
Hideous device... Until you stuck a spoiler on the back and gave it some half decent alloy wheels. Yes, the MG Maestro actually looked half reasonable in its day.
Likewise a colleague of mine in Sweden runs a basic spec Volvo V70 with 16" alloy wheels, in the summer. These are the 'baby' size, but even so, look so much nicer than the 16" steel wheels and trims that his winter tyres are mounted on.
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On my Peugeot 405 (94 M) with standard fit alloy wheels,the tyres loose pressure, presumably leaking between the tyre and the rim. The're fine when new tyres are fitted, but after 2.5 years (as now) I have to check and adjust the tyre pressures at least twice a week. The same happened to the previous set of tyres. Oh for boring, reliable steel wheels!
Are there any tips for reducing this problem (I shall be having new tyres fitted soon due to wear and would appreciate any advice)? Last time, the garage used some kind of adhesive sealant on the beads and they held pressure quite well for about two years.
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Unfortunately not all alloys are easily refurbishable.
I bought a used car in May 2003 and all 4 alloys are scuffed to a certain degree. The spare is scratched and scuffed beyond belief - it was apparently the front nearside before it got punctured judging my the yellow "chalk mark" on it.
I got a mobile co that sorts out scratches, dents, wheel blemishes etc to come and have a look at the wheels and was told that as they are polished, machined alloy and NOT painted, they can only be done by taking them off the car and machining the surfaces. This will be expensive and will deprive me of use of the car for a few days - hence it won't get done and I'll just have to learn to live with the scratches.
I was against alloys before, and even more so now! Unfortunately they come as standard on the car I wanted so I had no choice.
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Again, there have been threads on this. Early alloys tended to develop surface corrosion, making the bead prone to leaks, especially where any balance weights were fitted to the rim. When new tyres are fitted the rim is cleaned up but the corrosion returns.
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It seems to be agreed then. Alloys look good in the pub car park.
Likewise sun roofs, especially when the car has climate control too!
Spoilers are the makers way of preventing you using the car wash.
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