[goandude]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

There are two benefits of alloys in addition to cosmetics:

1. Reduction in unsprung mass. Leads to better road holding and improved behaviour over bumps.

2. Stiffer: Less prone to getting misshapen in rough roads.

Steel wheels are easy to reshape. But going into potholes at speed on a low profile tyre could cause alloys to crack/break and could be difficult and expensive to replace.

[nishantgandhi]

None of my rims are bent. However, there was still some rust seen around the place where the valve is fitted. How did this happen?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

None of my rims are bent. However, there was still some rust seen around the place where the valve is fitted. How did this happen?

Could be moisture / water seeping in. After all tires on rims is not a water tight fit.

You can have the same problem of leaking air on alloy wheels too. I had that issue and it was a faulty valve the first time.

Second time, valve was ok. but air was leaking due to slight corrosion on the alloy wheel valve area. Got that area scraped with a sandpaper and refitted the valve and tubeless tire and its good till now. No other damage was visible on my alloys to contribute to this issue.

Investing in alloy wheels for this reason solely is not a good idea unless you have lots of spare cash lying around.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by goandude

Steel wheels are easy to reshape. But going into potholes at speed on a low profile tyre could cause alloys to crack/break and could be difficult and expensive to replace.

All I can say is that my son had a Zen (13" wheels) in Manipal for four years, and had to get his wheels bent back every few months. Many of his colleagues went to Alloys and there was not a single failure in this period. Also, almost all reshaping is done by hammering and not on any machine!

[aks2010]

I would have gone for alloys but could not find a design to my liking. So decided to stay with the stock steel rims and changed the tyre to the safest upsize. Its been almost a year and looking back, I think it was a good decision.

[shivapsreddy]

Recently I got my scorpio steel wheels balanced. I found that there is slight change in the shape of the rims on almost all the four rims. Planning to go for alloys.

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

All I can say is that my son had a Zen (13" wheels) in Manipal for four years, and had to get his wheels bent back every few months. Many of his colleagues went to Alloys and there was not a single failure in this period. Also, almost all reshaping is done by hammering and not on any machine!

True alloys do not bend. But they may break. And that is an expensive fix - it is almost impossible to buy a spare alloy. One almost always needs to get the whole set.

I have had my steel rims bent on a few occasions, some during road trips. I only get them hammered into shape once I returned home. Did not notice any difference in the way my car handled because of that, either with the bent rims or with the hammer job later on.

A story I would like to narrate. This occurred with my superior at office. At a reasonably high speed, the front left wheel went over a pothole. There was no visible damage on inspection. Next morning, one part of the tyre swelled. The tyre had done barely 5000 km. Within the next few hundred km, the tyre was completely shredded.

Explanation for the swell: Since alloys cannot bend, all the force bent the only thing it could - the tyre wall.

[BANDHAV]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

it is almost impossible to buy a spare alloy. One almost always needs to get the whole set.

This could be the case with imported chinese/Taiwanese wheels but if the alloys are locally produced (read Neo wheels) one can buy a single piece at any point of time.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

True alloys do not bend. But they may break.

I got my first set of alloys for the Esteem VX in '96, and after 15 years of driving multiple alloy-wheel'ed cars. I have had only one damaged alloy wheel. Keep the tyre profile real (not too low) and you shouldn't have any problems.

And that is an expensive fix - it is almost impossible to buy a spare alloy. One almost always needs to get the whole set.

As Bandhav posted, that's usually a problem with the Chinese / Taiwan stuff. Mercedes was able to supply my OEM alloy wheels in a matter of days, even though my model & alloy wheel design were discontinued long back.

Of course, always (and I mean ALWAYS) buy alloy wheels in a set of 5. That way, you'll always have one extra wheel to fall back upon, in case your design isn't available. On a related note, I don't get the markets new found fascination with selling alloy wheels in sets of 4. Very few retailers are now selling a set of 5.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by GTO

Of course, always (and I mean ALWAYS) buy alloy wheels in a set of 5. That way, you'll always have one extra wheel to fall back upon, in case your design isn't available. On a related note, I don't get the markets new found fascination with selling alloy wheels in sets of 4. Very few retailers are now selling a set of 5.

Fully agree. Unfortunately, the trend of selling alloy wheels in sets of 4 seem to have caught on with car manufacturers(read that as Honda) as well in the name of cost-cutting. I am yet to figure out how much I should be shelling out to buy an OEM alloy for my Civic.

[Jidousha]

Could someone tell me what are the check lists to be done while buying an alloy wheel?
Visual defects would be quite obvious, but what about inherent defects that are dangerous especially at high speeds.
What is the manufacturing process for alloys? Are they die cast?
Is it possible to get the X-ray reports or other such tests that would be done on the alloys during manufacture?
Does the amount of balance weight on the alloys reflect anything about the quality?
Agree with GTO and I am considering to buy alloys as set of 5.
What is the recommended frequency for tire rotation in case of tubeless tires?
Thanks in advance for the replies.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by GTO

On a related note, I don't get the markets new found fascination with selling alloy wheels in sets of 4. Very few retailers are now selling a set of 5.

Well, that may be the case in Bombay but in Bangalore it's never been an issue. I've changed my alloys four times (yes, I'm a nut case and that's not the topic here ) and never faced this alloy wheels in sets of 4 condition.
Not only me but at least six of my contacts bought 5 alloys without any condition or offer.