chrome clad wheels
 

Newbe here. I found this sight tonight(east coast) and thought, "perfect, someones gotta know about this".

I am looking at some oem Lariat "chrome clad" wheels but dont know too much about this type of chroming. Is it actual chrome or plastic? Is it durable? Is it even worth it or should I go aftermarket?Any info would be most appreciated.

Thanks ahead and looking forward to FordForum.

RE: chrome clad wheels
 

Welcome to the site..

The chrome clad wheels are basically a chromed 'tin plate' pressed/bonded/shaped over the face of a steel wheel, usually on a spoke design. The plate is steel and the chrome is nice on the Ford units, and most people usually can't tell its not a real chrome wheel unless up close.. My 05 was ordered with aluminums, but showed up with chrome steels and are decent enough that they have remained on the truck.. They are a heavier wheel though over aluminums.. The OEM steel wheels can usually be found pretty/real cheap as 'take offs' from owners that wanted to go aftermarket.. They will dress up a truck with painted wheels, and at a much lower cost for the most part.. Depends on what you want to spend, and the look your going for.. Seems that all the sweet rims I liked, also meant new tires too, so I decided to run mine out before making that decision.. I 'found' there are alot of other things I could buy for the truck until it's time to make a wheel decision ;)

Here they are...



[IMG]local://upfiles/6756/1B7025295EC840F78075673352C9112F.jpg[/IMG]

RE: chrome clad wheels
 

Thanks for the input Hayapower.

How much heavier are the wheels? Probably not enough to make any type of significant difference are they? One more question. Is a grand too much? They do include the factory tires (BFG's) with less than 100 miles on them.

Nice lookin' rig by the way.

RE: chrome clad wheels
 

Not much weight diff. between a regular steel and clad... Aluminium's are much lighter, but aren't going to be a huge affect... 1K sounds pretty high.. Does that include freight? You can find dealer take offs or independent sellers on eBay ect.,or even at your local dealers sometimes when they customize or lift a truck.. I just bought a set of BFG's (4) take offs with very few miles on them for 300.00 for mine.. Rims shouldn't be much more for the set..

RE: chrome clad wheels
 

I thought that seemed kind of expensive. Saw these on e-bay from wheelsource. Maybe I should keep looking.

Appreciate your help

RE: chrome clad wheels
 

Hayapower--
Great info on the chrome clad aluminum wheels. I just got a 07 expedition with the 20" chrome clad aluminum wheels and am curious as to the wheel design that is under the chrome clad plate. I actually prefer non-chrome wheels but the truck is a limited so it was wither 18" or 20". Is there any way to know what is under there with the hope that maybe the aluminum wheel is like one of the F150 style and the chrome cladding could be removed?

RE: chrome clad wheels
 

Never have seen a wheel that the clad had been attempted, orremoved, but it's a permanent bond for the most part.. I'm sure I could pull them off my steels, but would probably end up having to repaint the wheels for a better finish.. There's steel/metal chrome clad wheels, and plasti clad.. Generally even wheel weight removal/s will damage the finish on nice aluminium wheel though, so I'd imagine even if the clad was removed, even if on a decent wheel, the end result might not be that good looking..

But as to cost as Lariat mentioned,,, if the rims needed to be replaced for theft/damage what ever reason, buying them 'individual' at the dealer would be a bit pricey, more so than the price he stated keeping in mind the included tires...I suppose if I were going to buy/upgrade to new rims, and probably will,, I'd sell mine and look into aftermarkets as well...