Hey guys my 10 limited came with those BEAUTIFUL Chrome CLAD ( ha plastic over steel ). I am considereing putting on a set of chrome custom wheels or purchasing a set of OEM alloy take off wheels. I live in upstate NY where they do use Salt on the highway. I am really only wanting to have one set of wheels and tires. Any one have any experience with chrome( my case Carroll Shely) chrome alloy wheels in a winter environment? I keep my vehicle pretty clean even in the heart of winter but it is an automatic wash vs hand wash.

 

I have an '08 Nav with the 20" factory wheels and they are just not very good quality. The truck came from Calif, then TX, and now in FL and it doesn't appear to have spent much time in snowy areas as far as I can tell, however, the chrome is pitting and peeling on the inner sections of the spokes. From 10 or 15 feet, you can't see it, but the chrome is definitely coming off. For this reason, I'd steer clear of the factory wheels as I'd hope a good quality aftermarket wheel would better quality chrome, but I guess you never know.

 

Chrome doesn't hold up in salt, period end of discussion. 2 years max without nasty pitting.

You can get quite a bit more lasting with a clear-coated polished aluminum or machined aluminum in general..

 

I was doing some market research on what kind of wheels people like and stumbled across these comments. I figured since I used to work for one of the companies that made chrome-clad wheels I’d offer some facts that may be helpful. First of all you stated that the wheels were plastic over steel. However, they are the same high quality chrome used in grilles with a full layer of copper, nickel and chrome (Cu-Ni-Cr). There is no such thing as plastic chrome although there are some companies that make chrome thinner than others. Secondly, the salt performance of these wheels is similar to grilles since they use the same engineered composite material and Cu-Ni-Cr plating process.

 

Chrome plated plastic cap that snaps on to a steel wheel. The chromed over plastic just doesn't pop like a good chromed steel wheel or part.

 

Ditto on the feeling!