Looks like it's time to get new tires again but before I do, I'm wondering if I would be better served by a set of 16" aluminum wheels as opposed to the 15" steel ones I have now. I will be on the road alot the next two/three years and would like to know if the aluminum will have better highway manners than steel. Thinking about going with the Mickey Thompson Classic II 16x8x4.438 (since the Richard Cepek's only come in 4" backspacing). If it doesn't make much of a difference, I'll just stick with what I got, just wanted some input before I commit... Thanks.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntt=mickey+thompson&N=700+4294923107+4294923106+4294923105+4294793322+4294755963+4294795098+115+4294795061&Ntk=KeywordSearch

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"Sock it unto others as you would have them sock it to you" - Sly and the Family Stone

Joe, Which steels you talking about...Stock?

The stock steels suck except for offroading and beating around. The way they are designed, crap gets packed behind them and will rattle your teeth out until you clean them cause they are out of balance, the stock alums don't.

Aluminum rims will hold just as much mud as steel wheels do(I know,used to mud drag race and tried many different rims to avoid this problem),and it will throw them balance off to.

Average Joseph----Alloy rims would be better for on road driving since they weigh less then steel rims they will improve the brakes and mpg's for on road driving and still are good for offroad,just a little weaker than steel rims.

The ones in my picture. Not sure what brand but not the stock ones, to answer your question. I'm just wondering if the stiffer aluminum will give a better ride on-road?

Was just searching around to try and find the weight of a steel 15" but couldn't, to compare it with the 16" Mickey's above which weigh 24Lbs. If weight is the only factor that will affect the ride then I'm sticking with my mystery rims if they're about the same.

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"Sock it unto others as you would have them sock it to you" - Sly and the Family Stone

I'm talking about the design (Flaw) of the KJ factory steels -vs- the alum wheels, you betcha they'll hold more and it won't sling off very well.

I've got both sets and I know for sure.

If he is talking about those black wagons in the pics then no they should not hold more

Well my 16x7 steels tip the scale at 29lbs apiece,so the 15" should be close,but it will really depend on the tires you go to.A 31" tall tire for a 15" rim weighs alot more then a 31" tire for a 16" rim,rubber is very heavy.Also reducing unsprung weight(any weight not supported by the suspension) helps with mpg's,and reducing rotating weight helps even more.1lbs rotating weight=100lbs of regular weight(+/- a few lbs).

My stock 235/65/17 GoodYear Hp's and 17" aluminum rims weigh 50lbs and my 245/70/16 Yoko Geo's on Cragar 16x8 rims weigh 75lbs.

The weight doesnt seem to make a difference to me. I can tell some when I go up hills at high speeds but not as bad as you would think. I had the cragars on all winter and was expecting a big increase in performance when I put the stock rims back on for summer but I didnt. It still downshifted at the same time and speed when going up the hills as it did with the cragars.

I believe the larger tire has more effect on the mpg and torque than the extra weight does. Im not saying the weight doesnt take away mpg and torque b/c it does, just not as much as the bigger and heavier tires.

Also, the further out the extra weight is, the more it will effect the mpg and torque.

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