Opinions sought....wheels for my Silverado

[Meghan54]

I'm going to buy new wheels for my '03 Silverado (I love the truck and see no point in the future where I'll dispose of the truck.)

I've sorta narrowed the choices down to two, a set of Cragar S/S mags and a set of American Racing wheels. I've pictured both below on a representation of my truck...very close to what it looks like irl, actually.

The Cragar S/S:

The American Racing AR914 TT60's:

Now, the upside/downside for each....
The Cragar S/S's are steel rim, alu. centers, are actually more expensive than the ARE's, and have a lower weight rating than the ARE's (2100# for the Cragar's vs. 2500# for the ARE's.)

The ARE's have a higher weight rating, are less expensive (can find them for $180/wheel vs. the $240/wheel for the Cragar's), are fully alu., and are pressure cast.

Opinions on which looks better?

 

[bruceb]

I like the ARE wheels

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I prefer the AREs.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

ARE

 

[JulesMaximus]

Seems like a no-brainer. Go with the higher-rated, less-expensive and better-looking wheels. In other words: ARE

 

[Bartman39]

More aggressive looking and not so "every day" look... Cragar is it to me.. Damn at the price...? Cant find them any cheaper anywhere...?

BTW I have an 2004 Chevy in the exact same color but is a 4dr...

 

[jlee]

Seems like a no-brainer. Go with the higher-rated, less-expensive and better-looking wheels. In other words: ARE

Not to mention lighter.

Steel wheels are heavy. Heavy wheels are detrimental to braking/acceleration/efficiency etc.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Not to mention lighter.

Steel wheels are heavy. Heavy wheels are detrimental to braking/acceleration/efficiency etc.

Not sure you could notice a difference on a vehicle like this but generally speaking I would agree with you.

 

[Meghan54]

Thx everyone. I was really set on the ARE's until I found the Cragar's a couple of weeks ago. Interestingly, those Cragars, in a 5 spoke version, were the first aftermarket wheels I bought in my adult life. Put a set on a 1969 Olds 442 W-30 convert. SIGH! If only I'd had the foresight to keep that car.

Anyway, the ARE's are almost 8 pounds lighter, more weight capacity, and frankly do look better to me, also. But both the Cragars and AREs are upsized wheels. The truck has 16" stock; the Cragars are 17" and the AREs are 18" wheels.

Here's what my truck looks like specifically instead of the renderings in my OP:

Just after I installed a set of running boards (had to put them on...wife's only 5' 3" tall and getting in was hard for her without them):

Bought the truck 3.5 years ago for $7800 + tax + dealer "doc fee." Cost $8900 in total. The dealer that sold the truck to me was Champion Chevrolet in Johnson City, TN. Damned fine dealer. Even gave me the phone number of the previous owner who I spoke with for a few minutes before I bought the truck. They even put the truck up on a rack so I could inspect the undercarriage, etc.

They were the servicing dealer for the truck...everything that had been done to the truck was documented there...oil changes, water pump replacement, alignments, brake pad/rotor replacement, etc.

What really sealed it were two things: the truck still had every scrap of its original documentation that came with it, including its original factory window sticker, and it had a full set of Michelin LTX MS2 tires on it. From what I've seen over time, people who buy Michelin, Continental, and a few other brands tend not to skimp on other areas of a vehicle's maintenance. Just one of my discriminators when deciding to buy a long term vehicle...or almost any vehicle.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Your wife is 5'3" and you waited almost four years to put on running boards?

Somebody's getting coal in their stocking. ;-)

Nice truck though.

 

[Meghan54]

Your wife is 5'3" and you waited almost four years to put on running boards?

Somebody's getting coal in their stocking. ;-)

Nice truck though.

Naaa.....the boards went on a few months after I bought it. She actually ended up preferring to drive the truck, so I put them on. (Frankly, she liked the power it has.) Unfortunately, I don't actually use them so they're a pain for me...I step over them getting in. But to keep her happy, one must do what one must.

And thanks for the compliment. I love my truck!

And while it's a "gas guzzler," so far it's returned an average mileage of 18.3 mpg, which isn't too bad for the 5.3L V8.

 

[twinrider1]

I'm a big fan of the Cragers but I think the AREs look better on that truck. I think the classic Centerline look is good too, if you haven't checked those out. Real Centerlines are pricey but there are look-alikes.

And really, a '69 442. You're killing me. I had a '69 Cutlass S convertible. Just a 350 2-bbl, but it was a lot of fun.

 

[Meghan54]

I'm killing you? LOL! I've been killing myself the last few decades for trading the car in and not keeping it.

It was a 1969 442 W-30 convertible, 4 spd. (M 22 Muncie rock crusher), with A/C and gauge package, which included the tic-toc-tach. Dark brown metallic with tan top and interior. First car I bought myself. Also first car I had that had power steering, A/C, and front disc brakes...prior to that, the two cars I'd owned-- a '64 Plymouth Savoy and '66 Plymouth Belvedere II--had drums all around and no power anything...engine included.

Bought it at Rosenthal Chevrolet in Arlington, VA the end of '73; paid $1k for it. Put a set of Goodyear Polyglas GT's on it mounted to a set of Cragar S/S wheels.

Of course, if I'd kept the car, I'd have bank right about now, but who really knew back then? And when I bough the 442, I passed on a Truimph TR250 Rosenthal also had. It was from AZ and in beautiful shape, at least as I remember it...LOL!

Should have bought both.

The 442 was traded in on another Olds, a Cutlass S convertible. White with black interior. 350 V-8 with the 2spd. powerslide trans.

I'm a big fan of the Cragers but I think the AREs look better on that truck. I think the classic Centerline look is good too, if you haven't checked those out. Real Centerlines are pricey but there are look-alikes.

And really, a '69 442. You're killing me. I had a '69 Cutlass S convertible. Just a 350 2-bbl, but it was a lot of fun.