Do people even buy steelies for sedans anymore and if so what has been your experience? Pros and cons?

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yotmokar@reddit

2022 Subaru Impreza here, the only complaint is the hub caps kept disappearing or fell off.

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AutomaticSilver6687@reddit

I bought steelies for my winter tires a couple of years ago. They are cheap and comparatively heavy. I noticed a slight difference in handling, but it was still better having the winter tires.

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theneedforespek@reddit

I like steel 17" wheels on my dually because all 6 wheels are interchangeable. If I were to buy aftermarket wheels or get oem aluminum outer wheels I'd lose that.

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We switched from 18” alloys on my mother in laws Golf to 16” steelies because she kept curbing/bending them, and it’s so much easier to just buy some extra hubcaps and replace them individually rather than dealing with cut low profile sidewalls, bent wheels, etc

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EverlastingBastard@reddit

Extra bonus, 16-in tires are way cheaper!

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Enigma_xplorer@reddit

Actually finding 16" tires sucks and they aren't cheap. 14, 15, 17, 18 so on and so forth are very popular sizes. 16" wheels were trendy in the mid 80's through maybe the early 2000's as a premium upgrade from the more common 15" wheel and then for whatever reason were dropped like VHS tapes and fax machines. No one uses them any more and many tires are not even offered in 16".

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panther38t@reddit

Completely incorrect take, 16 inch wheels are probably the most common on the road today and the tires are easy to find and cheap.

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Few-Dragonfruit160@reddit

Every time I ponder a new vehicle I see “18” base model, 20” wheels on all upgraded models” and want to puke. Especially since I change my own tires seasonally; I can’t imagine how much heavier 20” wheels would be. Stop it!!

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mccarseat@reddit

My car came with factory 19” wheels, first thing I did was switch to a set of 18” wheels. Ride quality is sooooo much better for what would seem to be such a small difference. Plus I’m not AS paranoid about bad roads destroying my wheels.

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Goopfuck@reddit

My truck has 20s and there meaty ass wheels

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shipwreck17@reddit

I just get the smallest diameter alloy and sometimes go up a tire size for our crappy roads.

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squirrel9000@reddit

Live in an area where people spend six months on winter tires, so you get used to seeing them even in summer.

You can buy hubcaps if you're worried about ugly. That's why you don't really see them, people do buy them but get covers.

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weirdoldhobo1978@reddit

Yeah I keep my winter tires on steelies cause the ice ruts where I live are pretty bad.

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TheBigMan1990@reddit

You can actually buy “prettier” steelies too, a lot of rims meant for off-roading are essentially dressed up steel wheels.

Also just looking at downsizing could save your rims from potholes-if you have a 26-28 inch wheel (tire+rim) the pothole that takes out your factory 19 inch rim probably wouldn’t take out a 16 inch rim, those 3 extra inches of rubber can absorb a lot of the punishment that bad roads can dish out. I almost always go down to the smallest rim size that will fit over my brakes, it’s more comfortable-but also more durable and reliable.

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Waste_Business5180@reddit

Spray paint them black and they don’t look so plain.

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norwal42@reddit

I run steelies with my snow tires. Cheaper, though not that much cheaper than since cheap alloys any more. But the resiliency to pothole shots is another pro. Happened to have a splitting maul in my trunk after one pothole hit - could hear the air escaping at the bead until I hammered it back into shape with the back of the maul. Back up and running for years since then.

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Friendly_Reporter_65@reddit

I thought you were asking about Steelie ball dash mounts. the magnetic ball to hold your phone.

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dogswontsniff@reddit

Don't buy the Amazon specials.

It works for my tires haha. But I had a pothole bent rim (excuse to have full sized spare) and got one.

185k miles on the other 4 and not a hint of rust.

50k on this rim and it's probably a hazard to be honest

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Altruistic-Resort-56@reddit

I got steel wheels for winter tires and to see how much difference more sidewall made in road noise and comfort (not enough to replace oem). They were cheap and are holding up so i can't complain

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Late-External3249@reddit

Snow tires on steelies is pretty common in Canada

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PuzzleheadedProof586@reddit

I run steelies on an 07 sonata, $70 at a pick your part if you can find pretty much a brand new tire on a rim that fits, generally tends to look better too if you just mildly sand it and spray on some paint

Pros:

Easy to fix if you curb it enough or hit something hard enough to bend the rim but the wheel is intact, hammer it out

Cheap, so very cheap, odds are a parts yard will have at least two sets of wheels with good new tires on them- year and wear/tear

Lightly sand and spray paint whatever you want it to be, respray it if it gets messed up, it's a Steelie

Cons:

They look good on work vehicles and out of place on just about everything else

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principaljoe@reddit

i had them for my taurus and loved them. we had lots of crime in detroit, so the majority of public funding went towards law enforcement development - not pothole repair. even when OCP took over - still tons of potholes.

steelies are coming with me.

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Enigma_xplorer@reddit

I like steelies. For starters they are cheap. Secondly, while they may not be as aesthetically pleasing they are easy to care for. As they get old, corroded by brake dust, curb rashed or whatever I can just but new plastic hub caps. I can even change the hubcaps to a different style if I like. Who cares when your talking about 10's of dollars. You also aren't going to spend hours polishing them just to delay the inevitable. Alloy wheels? Your looking at a serious amount of money to refurb or replace them. Best of all though? They seal air WAY better the aluminum wheels. Aluminum corrodes much easier than steel and corrosion on your sealing surface will cause leaks. When alloy wheels starting becoming more common I was shocked how often I had to refill them with air and as they got older and had the tires replaced forget about it, sealing was hit or miss at best. My '10 Accord had to go back to Goodyear like three times to get an acceptable seal. When my new tires were first put on they literally wouldn't hold air for more than a few days. To me the idea I would pay extra for something that seems worse by every metric that matters to me accept maybe aesthetics is crazy. More "progress" auto manufacturers have forced on us.

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Fi2eak@reddit

I use steel wheels on my winter and off-road tires for my Rav4. A local shop sourced both sets, and I provided my own tires.

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Prestigious_Tiger_26@reddit

These days, it's probably cheaper to buy someone's takeoffs (OEM wheels that the owner has taken off to put on aftermarket wheels). It helps if it's a car that people commonly modify. For my WRX, a set of takeoffs costs $400 or less, depending on the amount of tread left.

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RelevantMarket8771@reddit

Steelies are great in the winter. I live in New England and they are definitely more common on trucks and SUVs than sedans or other smaller cars.

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BS-75_actual@reddit

Alloys reduce unsprung weight and cool brakes more efficiently. If these things don't rate steelies get the job done.

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Repulsive-Way272@reddit

I had 14" tires on steel Corsica rims on my Subaru for awhile. I felt like I blew my cousin for a pack of Bubble Yum behind Toys R Us.

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Aloha-Eh@reddit

That's oddly specific.

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jrileyy229@reddit

Most modern cars have larger brakes than they did 20 years ago. Not going to fit 15" steel wheels on the car

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Hot_Block_9675@reddit

It's not about the wheels. You won't have ANY issues if you buy tires with a higher sidewall profile. They'll also give you a better ride. Many squeeze cast aluminum alloy wheels are STRONGER than steel.

If you can't avoid a pot hole big enough to destroy a wheel you need to pay better attention...

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JaniceRossi_in_2R@reddit

This- low pros ride like shit. I got 22s on a Yukon and man it looks cool but it’s not a cushy ride

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SirLoinsALot03@reddit

Steelies with snow tires is popular up here in northern New England.

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JaniceRossi_in_2R@reddit

Same in MI

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Alucardspapa@reddit

My 2025 Corolla has 18x8” wheels with summer tire from the factory. I got a set of 16x6.5” steel wheels and snow tires set for $900. Just a new set of tires is that much for the 18’s.

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JaniceRossi_in_2R@reddit

I run them on my minivan in the winter with my snow tires (X-Ice Or Blizzaks

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Jumpy_Childhood7548@reddit

I bought some for a Barracuda a long time ago, as they were tough and cheap.

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Less-General-9578@reddit

i prefer steel wheels, steel is 'one and done'. tire man says that aluminum will leak if the tires isn't sealed properly in the winter, oh joy. aluminum tends to shrink in the cold.

unfortunately the Fords i just bought used come with aluminum, groan. why do our utility cars have to be a 'car show'. i like a 'durability show' thank you, but i have to put up with the vanity of previous owners and the car industry. groan.

hello bent wheels; hello leaking tires, you look so 'fashionable'; ugh.

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Kseries2497@reddit

If you have a 20" aluminum wheel at 150 degrees, and the temperature changes to -50 degrees, the wheel will shrink by 0.05".

Your tire guy is full of shit.

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Less-General-9578@reddit

i am speaking from experience. on a used car with aluminum wheels, the wheels must be cleaned and sealed or they will leak air.

i know that because one of my cars had 4 new tires and no sealer, all 4 are leaking because the tire shop doesn't use sealer. they said to buy 4 new wheels.

the better tire shops i visited said to have the tires wheels cleaned and sealed.

well my other car got 4 new tires with cleaning and sealing; guess what ?

NO LEAKS.

guess i will go with cleaning and sealing the wheels over not doing that. it costs more to do that but it does more.

does anyone like airing up tires at -10 degrees ??

didn't think so.

now i will ride all winter without Flat tires, but you do you. i am tired of learning tires the hard, hard hard way.

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Kseries2497@reddit

They may need to be sealed, but it has nothing to do with the temperature. Your tire guy is full of shit.

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godlords@reddit

If you are bending wheels thats a you problem. Aluminum is used because it is lighter, and thus more fuel efficient. Fuel economy is a massive component of what most people look for in "utility", not their ability to withstand abuse. Leakage is not any worse than steel.

If you really have these concerns, you should be complaining about the size of wheels, not their material.

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mynameishuman42@reddit

I'm considering switching to steelies because I live in Vegas and holy shit are the roads bad.

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No-Youth-4334@reddit

Tire tech here. Just buy steelies. Unless your putting them on a high performance car like a nice bmw nobody is going to care. Pros are they are less likely to bend, lose air over time, and I have never seen one crack. Cons are looks weird on expensive cars and very marginal mpg loss.

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Overall-Tailor8949@reddit

Not a sedan but for our last two mini-vans I've put plain steel wheels on. I buy them, prime and paint them, then have the tires installed. If possible have a paint shop do it so they can bake the paint on so it lasts longer.

Look at the specs for your car, get the TALLEST sidewall possible. Yes, your acceleration and handling will suffer a little bit and it won't "look cool". But the tall sidewalls will help protect your rims from those potholes that jump out in front of you.

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2lovesFL@reddit

Almost all the police cars have steel rims, because they bend vs crack like alloys

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Hersbird@reddit

I sold a set of Chevy cop steel wheels with those cute little bolt on center caps for $350 off a 2006 Impala we bought at auction. They are pretty popular wheels size and bolt pattern. The fact the hub cap bolts on but doesn't need to be removed to pull the lugnuts is a bonus. Sort of a durable but classy look.

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PittsburghCar@reddit

Steel the face right off your head.

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Kdoesntcare@reddit

I'm surprised that steelies are hard to find considering the number of cars that come on steelies with plastic hubcaps on them.

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sondernier@reddit

A relative would go out of their way to have steel wheels instead of alloys because they got tired of dealing with slow leaks and curb rash. I actually have a challenger with police rims and caps that I could live with year round but realize that the vast majority would prefer the stock 20” wheels with their rubber band looking tires. People still buy them for snow tires and to replace oem steelies . Aesthetics and weight savings v cost, on an older vehicle cost might have the advantage…

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Global-Structure-539@reddit

They are much heavier, which makes your car slower , but stronger, are prone to rust and terribly unattractive

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AlaskaGreenTDI@reddit

Do you really need steel wheels or maybe smaller diameter alloys with higher profile tires? They’re just wheels, not much to experience.