I've been looking at new wheels for my 2010 Sahara Unlimited for some time. Out of all I see, I just like the rugged and simple look of Black Rock Series 942 Type D or the Pro Comp Series 52 ... I currently have the 18 inch stock wheels with 255 70 18. I'm thinking of 16 inchers with 285/75/16. ... The 16 inch wheels with a back spacing of 4.25 or so.

I read on this forum and others about unsprung weight and dramatic loss in gas mileage.. Can anyone offer any insight into these issues? Totally, I'm looking at less than 40lbs additionally weight.

 

Alloys will always way less then steel rims. But the question is do you want to achieve your 40 pound mark rims and tires combined because most of your weight is rubber. For example a 35 inch tire can get real heavy

 

I saved 3 pounds per wheel by going from the stock 16's to procomp 16" alloys... You're not going to save much weight unless you're also stepping down a size in wheels and even then you're just adding more rubber. If you're just trying to save gas look for a load range C/D all terrain. I saw a very minimal loss in gas mileage going to a 305/70/16 duratrac, but when I went from those to a 315/75/16 toyo MT I lost a solid 3mpg. I do have 3.21's in a manual 12 so it's mostly hurting me in stop and go traffic.

 

My current setup is 32.1 inches and I think the 16x8 with 285/75/16 is right at 33 inches... But, at less than 10lbs additional weight per corner ... Is that really enough to worry about? The overall size change is very minor. I guess my overall concern is that are steel wheels really as bad as folks make them out to be? My stock alloys already have scuffs through the clear coat just from being on our farm and driving through the fields of corn stalks and the like... We've got gravel roads around that have chipped pieces the clear coat.