How many years can an aluminum or steel rim last?

16 years and still going strong on my truck . all aluminum

 

10 years and 1.1 million miles on mine . They look great. I remember in the 1990's there were some defective aluminum wheels that would crack. I think they cracked at the holes for the studs.
So a wheel salesman thinks you ought to replace wheels occasionally. mmmmm.. very interesting. I think car salesmen think you need a new car.
Never heard of replacing wheels other than when they are damaged or defective.

 

Actually, the OP has good right to ask this question.
General rule is 10Y for alloy's and 15 to 20Y for steel.
But as with all this mechanical it depends on the maintenance.
Steel has rust issues that in time will not allow the tire to seal on the rim.
Sandblasting is a solution but i know trucking firms that when they add up the cost off sandblasting and painting just scrap their old rims and prefer to buy new ones.(steel rims are very cheap to buy)
I will add that in my opinion giving new steel rims an extra paintcoant before you put then in service will extend their life.
Alloy rims,Alcoa's,can wear on the 2 outer edges.
Sand and dirt gets between the rimedge and the tire which over the years sharpens the outer edge.
If left unthreated the edge becomes so sharp that it damages the tire.
The fix is very easy.
Use an angle grinder to smooth out the edge and just use a caliber to check that there is enough edge left to safely mount the tire.(this info came staight from Alcoa)

 

Especially bad when running heavy. Run super single alcoas on a 5 axle belt trailer. Eventually tires are changed out due to the edge wearing out. Once sand or debris gets in there the tire flexing on that edge will wear it out. For the life of me i can't remember how long the wheels are averaging but it is still better to run them than steel wheels due to being paid by the ton.

 

Isn't that the main reason for aluminum over steel? Weight savings weather paid by the ton or not? Although I do know what your talking about hell of a lot of weight savings over 18 aluminums and 18 steels. Sorry not a fan of singles myself but there's even more savings. My aluminums are probably about 7-8 years old judging by the pitting on the rims and some dents and dings still no cracking. Aluminums in the long run pay for themselves to get a steep wheel to look good again after the pain has peeled off you have to sanblast and repaint can't just repaint it. And as one poster said its cheaper to just buy a new rim. Aluminum wise its as simple as sand (if they're really bad) buff 3 times hand polish and they shine like new. Its a lot of work but I don't think my rims have ever been polished and I brought them back to life until my buffer broke. I see another 3 years of life on mine maybe less and then the next set will be durabrights again aluminum but less polishing required. I have actually seen chrome rims now as well. Don't k ow what kind of life you could expect out of them...finish wise not much life wise for function I would assume a lot but who knows.

 

Assuming the steel remains sound (no rust) it'll last forever provided you never exceed 50% of its yeild strength. Aluminum will eventually fatigue and fail. How long it lasts depends on how much stress you put it through. For example, at 50% of yeild strength, aluminum will last 500,000 cycles. At 30% of yeild strength it'll last 10,000,000,000 cycles. For a semi wheel turning 500 revs/mile, a wheel at 30% stress would last 2,000,000 miles. And I suspect wheels aren't even stressed that much (not to mention 6061 aluminum alloy has more fatigue resistance than pure aluminum). The problem is you occassionally stress wheels much more (hit potholes) so their life is just hard to predict.

I wouldn't have a problem running aluminum wheels until they crack -- you just need to be periodically inspecting for cracks so you can retire the wheel while the cracks are still small.

 

I live for posts like this. I have seen everything from Budd wheels, to Dura last. Depends on how you treat them. Hit curbs, your going to have problems. Get Em' hot, your going to have problems. There the only thing between you and walking. I use Alcoa rims about 8 years. Trailers are the shippers problem.