What are the benefits of alloy wheels?
Alloy wheels are obviously more pleasing to look at than steel wheels with hubcaps. They can also cost several thousand dollars to upgrade to, while a new set of hubcaps cost less than 50$. The most important thing to remember is that your wheels and tires are the only part of the car that contacts the road. Without quality wheels, you will not be able to get the most out of other upgrades you add to your car.
The most obvious benefit of an alloy wheel over a steel wheel is that they are lighter. Wheels are a part of your vehicle that is classified as unsprung weight. Unsprung weight is any portion of the vehicle that isn’t supported by the suspension, and is most susceptible to cornering forces and shock transmission. Anything you can do to decrease the unsprung weight will improve your car’s cornering characteristics, increase the precision of your steering input and decrease road feedback.
Even though alloy wheels are lighter than steel alternatives, they are also stronger. The stronger materials can reduce tire deflection in hard cornering, which is critical in cars that have high performance tires, and during evasive maneuvering where gravitational forces are multiplied.
Almost all of the physical properties of quality alloy wheels are preferable to steel wheels. Since the product is superior in almost every way, the high prices are justified. It has also increased the use of alloy rims as standard fare in the auto industry. All high performance vehicles and high end models come with alloy rims standard.
Besides the constant contact with the road and their location below the suspension, wheels are also subject to constant spinning. Your car has to start the weight of the wheels spinning every time you accelerate, and stop that weight every time you break. The lighter rotational weight of alloy wheels can give you a slight increase in acceleration, and since it takes slightly less power to get up to the same speed, better overall fuel economy. This effect will be greatest during city driving where you are subject to more full stops.
The other benefit of the alloy material is their heat conductivity. The metals help dissipate heat from your breaks, which can increase their practical service life, their effectiveness, and also reduces the likelihood oh break fade during hard breaking.
The quality of standard auto parts such as wheels, break-pads, and tires has increased significantly in the last two decades. Even though your current wheels are probably suitable for everyday driving, alloy wheels will still offer plenty of benefits. If you plan on going to alloy wheels, you will want to keep your overall diameter the same. A larger rim with a lower profile tire is optimum, and can increase performance as well as appearance. Whether or not the price of an upgrade to alloy rims is justified is highly dependent on your normal driving habits, and the conditions you drive in daily.