Question for experienced 4-wheelers/off-roaders regarding Steel vs Aluminum wheels

[Studawg]

Ive wheeled in rocks a lot over the years but not near as much as some. I have bent steel wheels on rocks and they have held up well and not leaked air after the damage.

My question is, how often do people wheel with aluminum wheels in rocks and have they cracked aluminum wheels in the rocks resulting in loss of all the air and a wheel that is basically rendered useless?

If these wheels had been aluminum when they suffered these impacts, would the aluminum wheel have just cracked?

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[rtaylor]

Ive wheeled in rocks a lot over the years but not near as much as some. I have bent steel wheels on rocks and they have held up well and not leaked air after the damage.

My question is, how often do people wheel with aluminum wheels in rocks and have they cracked aluminum wheels in the rocks resulting in loss of all the air and a wheel that is basically rendered useless?

If these wheels had been aluminum when they suffered these impacts, would the aluminum wheel have just cracked?

Forged aluminum wheels are very strong and suitable for extreme offroad. Cast aluminum wheels are less suitable for extreme offroad. Any wheel can be damaged, so spare is required offroad.

Forged wheels are expensive. The factory beadlocks are forged, and part of the reason the Sasquatch package is expensive.

 

[Studawg]

Forged aluminum wheels are very strong and suitable for extreme offroad. Cast aluminum wheels are less suitable for extreme offroad. Any wheel can be damaged, so spare is required offroad.

Forged wheels are expensive. The factory beadlocks are forged, and part of the reason the Sasquatch package is expensive.

Yeah Ive got a set of the TRD forged aluminum on my 200 Series LC, awesome wheels and light too.

So you think a cast aluminum wheel would have cracked in the above pics?

 

[MaverickMan]

I havent done alot of rock crawling but I did wheel a few jeeps and a 84 bronco real hard(they were total mud beaters)when I was back in ohio. I basically would go out every weekend and try to break stuff. Over the years I had some rusty narrow steel wheels, a set of factory outlaw type aluminum wheels, a set of american racing outlaw IIs, and a set of vintage 1980 15x10 firestone wagon wheels(the kind the put on CJs with the widetrack width change to keep people from rolling over all the time). In my experience the steel wheels got bent more, except the firestones. However they did still hold air well even when aired down to 10-15 psi. I only ran bias ply TSLs and Boggers. I took a set of MTs on one outing and popped em on a root at the bottom of a hole. Bias tires do leak more than radials. But even with bias tires, the steel wheels with out grease on the bead always held air for atleast a few weeks if I let it sit. The aluminum ones never lasted as long as that. None of them got bent or cracked just some good gouges. But they just didnt have a good enough bead surface to hold air on well abused boggers. If I put axle grease on the bead they would hold for up to a week sitting in the driveway.

I preferred the steel 15x 10s they were very solid wheels. I dont have much experience with the newer wheels but I am not enthusiastic about their diameter or backspacing, I like a 15 or 16 inch deep wheel.

Let me reiterate these wheels were all beat on. I was wild. Id jump curbs, slam em
against trees all day long, I would try to get air on the fronts popping up over riverbanks. I would get the tires tangled up in submerged tree roots that would require me to winch up trees sometimes.

These may be ugly but they are very tough.

And this is a more modern style hardcore steel beadlock.

 

[Hey19]

Steel wheels can be beat back into shape on the trail, seen my son do it. I feel cast wheels would crack and then it's done. No experience with forged, but would assume they are able to be straightened.

 

[rtaylor]

Yeah Ive got a set of the TRD forged aluminum on my 200 Series LC, awesome wheels and light too.

So you think a cast aluminum wheel would have cracked in the above pics?

I don't know. OEM cast wheels are pretty strong and usually just get scraped up or bend. But unlike steel, you can't rely on a hammer as a bush fix.

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