Alloys that look like steels

[jiminwatford]

I'm getting a bit sick of my steel wheels rusting.

I quite like the 'arcitecture' of a steel wheel and feel they add some authenticity to the car (van)

Ideally i'd like some alloys which look like steels so they go relatively unnoticed but don't rust!

The van is a Citroen Dispatch and has a pcd of 5x98

So far the nearest i have found are alloys fitted to Alfa GTVs, like



Citroen C5s had plain looking alloys (rather like Halford's hub caps) so quite lucky they're 4 stud

Has anyone got any ideas? ATS cups come to mind but i don't suppose they are in the right PCD or at a bargain price..

Ta,

[jiminwatford]

That's interesting..... Audi do some steel-like alloys, don't they?



Hmm, 5 x 100 and centre bore of 57. Centre could be enlarged to 58.

Now I wonder what the ET is..

[popuptoaster]

Cant say Ive ever had an issue with rusting wheels? If they get that much abuse wont alloys just corrode as well?

Its probably more work to keep alloys looking good than it is to slap some fresh paint on a set of steels occasionally or am I missing something?

[jiminwatford]

Jul 4, 2012 8:11:24 GMT popuptoaster said:

am I missing something?

No, it's just that steel wheels rust and alloys don't

If you look at most >5 year old vans the wheels are rusty, unless they've had a quick once-over with the spray can to get them sold, then the rust is back in a week

The wheels on my van were rusty so i stripped them back, removed the rust and painted them and it's starting to come through again. Maybe i didn't do a good enough job at removing it in the first place but i did the best i could with the tools i had, mainly a wire brush attachment, and that's the point really. i don't want to go back to that

I do see why production alloy wheels would need much attention? Anything up to 10 years old should hold it's finish etc? Shouldn't it?

[PandaSelecta]

Strip the steel wheels back, remove the rust, then the key to the success - Bilt Hamber them, then repaint. Did this on the panda steels and they still look good.

[CR500Dom]

just get them blasted and powdercoated

[craig1010cc]

or just get some hubcaps/moondiscs and hide the problem

[popuptoaster]

Alloys pit and corrode much as steels do, the colour difference isn't as immediately obvious I'll grant you but they still need cleaning.The alloys on my volvo are painted and have stayed looking fine all year, the ones on our truck are polished and need redoing every month or so or they go very dull and scabby looking.

Its the paint finish rather than the material i reckon, either one will go manky if the paint (or lacquer) lifts.

[bortaf]

Jul 4, 2012 9:45:46 GMT jiminwatford said:

Jul 4, 2012 8:11:24 GMT popuptoaster said:

am I missing something?

No, it's just that steel wheels rust and alloys don't

If you look at most >5 year old vans the wheels are rusty, unless they've had a quick once-over with the spray can to get them sold, then the rust is back in a week

The wheels on my van were rusty so I stripped them back, removed the rust and painted them and it's starting to come through again. Maybe I didn't do a good enough job at removing it in the first place but I did the best I could with the tools I had, mainly a wire brush attachment, and that's the point really. I don't want to go back to that

I do see why production alloy wheels would need much attention? Anything up to 10 years old should hold it's finish etc? Shouldn't it?

sorry don't meen to sound harsh (but i will i guess) but thats rubbish, alloy corrodes faster than steel it's just they have a protective covering of paint and or laquer on them.
Never had a problem with rusty steel wheels and if i did a decent paint allways sorts it out the same as it does on alloys, i spose the only pluss point is alloy corrosion is the same (ish) colour as the non corroded alloy, i have steel wheels on my P100 and they are 23 years old and no rust. appart from a V V small patch near the balence weights
I'm not against steel looking alloys in fact on the right vehical they can be pretty dam cool and subtle

Lots of alfas share that 5X98 also lancias (delta) pug 806, not sure on the ET but have a look here

www.carlsalter.com/all-wheel-fitments.html

[Rich]

Citroen/Peugeot C5/407 'steels', made of alloy, look like pressed steel. Shame I think they are only available as 4x108 PCD

[kevfromwales]

^^ nope, iirc you can get them in 5x108 too, but I'm buggered if I can remember what they came on!

[bortaf]

XM or a jumper ? seems to be the only 2 listed on that link i posted with 5X108 ?

[mylittletony]

Jul 4, 2012 13:00:39 GMT Rich said:

Citroen/Peugeot C5/407 'steels', made of alloy, look like pressed steel.

Really?? they look a lot like they are pressed steel... they have a thin (thickness of steel strip, ~3mm) lip, the mounting flange has strengthening profile pressed in it etc.

Plus why would a manufacturer cast an alloy wheel to then hide it behind a hubcap? unnecessary additional cost when alloys are 'more desirable' anyway

I'd be very intrigued to be proved wrong on this, have you tried a magnet against them?

[SamR380]

They are the real deal, I clicked on this thread to suggest them. Pretty rare though and fetch decent money second hand.

[mylittletony]

did a bit of reading up as well, I stand corrected...

still seems a very odd thing to do, but then this is Citroen we're talking about!

[usedabused]

I think its more an unsprung weight saving exorcise that anything else..

[Soopahfly]

Jul 5, 2012 12:45:57 GMT usedabused said:

I think its more an unsprung weight saving exorcise that anything else..

I was going to say weight saving / MPG.

[kevfromwales]

^^ they are spare wheels chaps I know - they came from out of the kfw wheel stash

edit - the 5x108 ones are iirc out of a pug of some sort - can't remember what though, and I've never actually had one 'in my hand' so to speak

[0rangepeel]

Guessing 5x98 > 5x112 might be a bit of a stretch, but I always thought these Mercedes rims looked a bit like steels. They're forged alloy, but the shape mimics a traditional steel wheel in places.
Dimensions are 16x7 ET37.

I bought a rough set a few years back


stripped them down


then painted them Peugeot Graphite Grey.


There's a wider version (16x7.5) that really suits satin black:


HTH