ALCOA Wheels

Howdy,

Trying to work out what is myth and what is okay here.
Is it okay to run polished Alcoa ali wheels on the outside and steel rims on the inners on drive axles ??
Ive seen it done. Some say you shouldnt, some say its fine.
Got both answers from two different tyre shops to.

Basil

i would ..but im sure some would say steel & alloy wheels heat/stretch & cool down at different rates .. ..maybe that can cause wheel nuts to come loose lol

Hi Baz, I tend to agree with Kenny , different " coefficients of expansion" could be a problem, however I am far from expert on metallurgical matters! ( crikey two big words in one post ! must be learnin' sumfink on this forum...)
regards Harleigh

Hi Gee-em

Interesting debate. I run a small fleet of 12 truck and dogs and prior to me starting here we had a couple of dog trailers that had some steel inner rims behind Alcoas. The steel rims had no paint on the face and there was a sort of electrolusus (don't know if that's spelt right) and the face of the Alcoa had corroded and had quite deep pits formed. Happened on all of them.................just my 2 cents worth.

Thanks for the comments.
Its a good point about the dissimilar metal electrolosis. Hadnt thought of that.
Might have to take my tight ass hat off and put ali's on the inners also.
Do you have any idea what those new 10 stud Alcoa Dura-Bright rims cost ?

Basil

about $600 a pop

Thats alot less than what I was expecting. Quiet reasonable.
Basil

i hope you havnt got a 22 wheeler ... that would be wheel expensive

Basil

We have fitted Dura Brights to our new trucks. They are great being able to avoid the polishing and we cart a product that is full of lime and they are still like new. They are actually anodised aluminium and do scratch a bit if you don't hose the dirt out before washing them or, as we found out, your tyre fitter changes a tyre on the steer with the rim face down on a piece of rubber - that'll stuff them > . We actually put old second hand rims on the inners and new Dura Brights on the outers. Also, KW sell nut covers in stainless for about $17 for 10 of them so no rusting!

Thanks for the comments. I understand what your saying, there great but you have to look them.
I only need six wheels, four dura brights and a couple of inners.
I see you can get all sorts of front and rear axle hub cover kits also.

Basil