Alloy wheels vs Steel wheels

[maestro dave]

Just after I bought my maestro a few years ago I bought a set of silver lattice alloys then sprayed them white as I think they go well with the red paintwork on the car , which a lot of people have said much the same . The reason I bought them is I have always thought the one thing that can improve the look of any car is a good set of alloys as long as they are period to car as I think new style large alloys don`t look good on a old car , anyway I have just put back on my old steel wheels while my alloys get powder coated as the white paint is now starting to fade , and have to say the steel wheels look just awful from the side view they look far too small and from the back view they look like bicycle wheels too thin but I suppose its down to personal taste .

[E_T_V]

Who is doing your wheels and how much? As I need a few sets refurbed too.

It is funny that steel wheels are now the rareity on the roads rather than alloy ones. I often wish I'd not got rid of my steel ones on my 600 as they are far less hassle than alloy ones!

[Simon]

I used to love the style and the exclusivity of alloy wheels, but nowadays everybody has them fitted and some of the styles look, frankly awful (especially the black ones). To be fair I now quite like the exclusivity of owning a car with steel road wheels and the plastic wheel trims these days. No need to worry about refurbs, kerbing damage or pot holes so much with steelies, or rim corrosion leading to lack of pressure, or the wheel getting stuck to the hub, or losing the locking wheel nut etc etc. Those cross-spokes were a pain to keep clean as well... However as the trend is for bigger, wider tyres these days, old-school skinny 165 x 13 balloon tyres are getting less widely available and hence more expensive, unfortunately.

[maestro dave]

Who is doing your wheels and how much? As I need a few sets refurbed too.

It is funny that steel wheels are now the rareity on the roads rather than alloy ones. I often wish I'd not got rid of my steel ones on my 600 as they are far less hassle than alloy ones!

The company I use is cj powder coatings wilton road Humberston tel 01472 211222 ask for Les for a quote he is a great bloke and his work is top quality if you need few sets doing he may do you a deal .

[maestro dave]

I used to love the style and the exclusivity of alloy wheels, but nowadays everybody has them fitted and some of the styles look, frankly awful (especially the black ones). To be fair I now quite like the exclusivity of owning a car with steel road wheels and the plastic wheel trims these days. No need to worry about refurbs, kerbing damage or pot holes so much with steelies, or rim corrosion leading to lack of pressure, or the wheel getting stuck to the hub, or losing the locking wheel nut etc etc. Those cross-spokes were a pain to keep clean as well... However as the trend is for bigger, wider tyres these days, old-school skinny 165 x 13 balloon tyres are getting less widely available and hence more expensive, unfortunately.

Have to agree everybody has modern style alloys these days , and black ones are awful but cross spokes , cheese graters etc are old style and are well matched to our cars and yes cross spokes are hard to keep clean , but I managed to buy a pair of rubber dust covers that keep the brake dust off the wheels a few years ago , so my wheels always look clean .