What is the deal with the plastic chrome wheels? I love my new truck, but thereare two things that really bother me. First is the stereo, and second is the plastic rims. I spent my time shopping to. I went to several dealerships, and looked at quite a few trucks. I did not find out my rims were plastic until the first time I went to clean them. my heart dropped. I felt ripped off. Now I accept it because the look sharp, but does anyone know the logic behind these chrome clad aluminum rims? Is there any positives or negatives to this situation? please tell me something good about them.

 

I personally dont like them either... My mom had "chrome clad" on her PT cruiser back in '03 and that was the first time I have heard of them...

I have them on my 07 Ram, like yours... and my 07 Charger R/T.


I guess the reasons behind them are:
1) the "chrome clad" will not rust since it is plastic, so you dont get any discoloration

2) when scratched/damaged they can just be easily replaced, instead of having to replace a whole 20 inch wheel.

and ofcourse there is always the reason of cost savings for the company

 

the service department at the dealership told me if the plastic was damaged you have to change the entire rim. he said the plastic is pressed into the rim. does he know what he is talking about?

 

Cost i'm guessing, my buddy works at a body shop and he said he needed to order 1 20" crome alum rim and it cost 1000 can. ouchie... but im happy with mine, my trucks 2002, they didn't have the covers then.

 

Wow, I had no idea they was plastic covers. I am glad I picked the painted ones. I had heard people had wheels that were peeling and cracking but I would have never thought Dodge would do that. The previous years was polished correct?

 

I have a 2002 ram, alum with crome finish. Started to corrode a bit but hey, i live in canada, our winters are crazy.

 

I have the "chrome clad" rims on my wife's jeep. The brake dust just kills them and causes me lots of extra work to get them sparkling again. It is as if the brake dust is pitting the plastic or something. Oh well. Not much I can do now. They do look nice when they are cleaned up.

 

The whole reason I want to get actual chrome metal wheels. The downside is, the wheel I would absolutely love to have is too small. The GTX Rams have a Motto 100 5 spoke, but the 20" is only 8.5" wide, and the 305's are a leeeeetle wide for the stock 9" wide rims as it is.

 

I have the Nitto 305/50/20 tires on the stock 20" rims and they fit fine. They almost rub, but not quite. They also look amazing.

 

305's is what comes on the SRT and those are 10" rims, but the tires are not pulled in one bit. So I can see a 305 fitting on a 8.5, figure 3/4" on each side, probably looks good.

By the way, the 02-05 wheels, they can not be replaced (the pastic part that is). I heard a rumor the 06/07s were servicable, but I can not confirm or deny that.