Ramtough

I hate the steel. they look like shined up turds. AND they are HEAVY. i already had to patch one and when i took it off the truck, it was just as heavy as my 33" swampers on steelies.
cant wait to save up for my welds. I need bigger wheels and tires to get my gas mileage up. i planned ahead and got the 4.10 gears, so i top out at 90 mph right now. cruisin at 70-75 is 2500-2600 rpms.

surlynkid

that is the main reason i made them switch mine to aluminum. i have 38.5x14.50-15 TSL SX on my rock crawler on aluminum beadlocks, and i just about get a hernia lifting them. steel is even worse.

MonkeyLips

I agree with ramtough! My truck came with the steel chrome clad wheels. Got some '04 cast alloys from a guy at work. They are much lighter. I noticed improved ride and handeling (less unsprung weight). You're Sport should have come with the newer forged wheels. Looks like it got caught between the switch from cast to forged. You should be able to find some take-offs on e-bay or from your local paper or tire dealer before long. They might be a little spendy at first (supply/demand).

MonkeyLips

Did you have the speedo adjusted for your bigger tires? If not, you may have actually improved the mpg...

supr

My 02 3500 SLT Laramie has the steel wheels and chrome. The steel wheels are much more durable than alloy, which can bend more easily, also more expensive to replace when they do. As far as better handling, no one will confuse a 1 ton Dodge with a Porsche on the handling front. That is another movie, not to be confused with a truck that does not necesarily 4 wheel drift all that well. Further, the alloys tend to collect brake dust faster. I can see only 2 reasons for the alloy wheels:
1. You enter your truck in Show Truck competition.
2. You want to use your truck as a chick magnet.
If you answer no to the above, take the steel wheels. Over 5 years you will glad you did! At the end of the Day, THIS IS A TRUCK! It is meant to WORK! I like to keep mine looking good, but I have no ilusssions about entering it in a beauty pagent. Take your money and do some BOMING. More Torque & Horsepower, now we are talking!
My $ .02

NJMurvin

Or . . . you could do what I did.

Get the alloys chromed. Brake dust doesn't stick. You can take it to that Show Truck Competition. And, it's a definite chick magnet (wishful thinking ).

Seriously, it's a good compromise with, what I feel, is the best of both worlds. However, if I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with the chromed H2 wheels for a few reasons . . .

1. They're pretty cheap. I've seen them on ebay for around $500/set.

2. You can probably sell your old wheels (especially if they're alloys) for more than the cost of the H2s.

3. They're different looking. I do like the look of my wheels and they're very easy to clean. But, they look (from a distance) like the steel wheels. For the $500 I paid to chrome them, I'd like them to stand out a bit more.

Neil

Raspy

NJMurvin,

You forgot reason number 4 for the H2 wheels. They are the correct size wheel for both the 315 size tire and the Dodge truck! (except for center hole). They are 8.5 inches wide, have the correct backspacing, and do not rub.

PS. What did you do about your caps? When you got the wheels chromed they no longer matched the caps.

Wetspirit

NJMurvin

Another fine member here had the steel wheels and was going to the dull H2 wheels. He needed the dull caps and, as you point out, I needed the bright ones. WE TRADED!!!! Cost us each about $7 shipping. I checked them out at the dealer. They were $58 EACH

Neil

MonkeyLips

This is true, but I must say the Gen 3 trucks drive quite a bit different than the Gen 2's. You'd be suprised just how nimble these big heavy Gen 3's are. The road feel is impressive & it's even better with the alloys. They can hold their own through the corners (don't drive a Gen 3 or you will have to have one no matter what!). As you say, however, if your only interest is work, work, work, then the steel wheels are just fine. As far a steel wheels go, they are decent looking too (Gen 3s anyway - the Gen 2's are not attractive IMO).

The only problem I had with the chrome clad (aren't they really polished stainless steel covers?) steelies was all the magnesium cloride the ITD uses in the winter resluted in little rust spots that are impossible to remove. Rust coverter doesn't even work, so the clear coated alloys stand up better to that de-icer. I haven't had any brake dust accumulate on either type of wheel, but I wash my truck at least twice a month.

HighTen

Yes they are. I took all my wheels off, peeled off the metal covers, scraped off all the glue that held them on, and painted them sparkly black. I then went to Les Schwab and got some chrome lug nuts. Personally, I like the look a lot better than the chrome wheels and the hub covers. I think the truck now has kind of a cop car look with the black wheels and lowness (2WD). There is one picture in my gallery where you can see the wheels (it's not a very good picture), in case you want to look.