Black or Silver Alloys on 4×4?

Black or silver alloys on 4×4? We take a look at the aesthetics and considerations.

Okay, it’s a personal choice but which looks better? Black or silver alloys on a 4×4? You know when some cars suit colours better than others, well it’s the same with wheels. Silver has been around as long as cars have and is the go to colour for steel rims, alloy rims and hubs caps.

Times change though and with a variety of different products available to paint your wheels these day and not just am aerosol from Halfords there are more options, some of which are non permanent.

Why go black?

Why not may be the best answer but in considering black alloys it depends what you want to achieve with the look of your vehicle. Black is more aggressive but it also has the effect of making your wheels smaller – not so much of an issue on a 4×4 but certainly on cars, the extra two hundred quid you spent going to 18″ rims might be compromised [albeit slightly]

Black alloys just suit most 4×4’s, by most I mean bigger trucks/pickups etc, take Landrovers, they have been offering black wheels for many years and with good reason – they look great on the vehicle.

Stay with Silver

Why stay with silver? It’s safe, silver or chrome alloys just work, as said above silver has been the main colour of most wheels since day one.

You won’t have to consider painting/prep/colour shade etc f you stick with factory silver [unless of course you are buying new rims]

Silver does not compromise the appearance or size of your rims, compared to black, silver will make your rims look bigger.

Easier to clean. Yup, silver rims are easier to clean, black is always a nightmare of a colour to keep clean especially when it comes to water marks after washing.

Scratches are less obvious on silver rims, black rims do scratch easier than silver and on a 4×4 this could be a big issue depending on how you use the vehicle and where you take it.

Liquid Vinyl

Liquid vinyl has been around for a while now and has gained popularity for painting wheels. This is a good solution for those who are not sure about whether to go black on their 4×4 or not – all the photo-shopping in the world won’t give you as good of an idea as seeing the actual black rim on the vehicle.

A can of Full Dip or Plasti Dip etc will set you back around a tenner so buy a tin and paint the wheel, stick it on the vehicle and see what it does for you. If you don’t like it, peel it off and you’re back to stock colour.

Ultimately there is no right or wrong, it’s your 4×4 and you can paint the wheel any colour you like, it’s all personal choice. My only advice would be to avoid the boy racer outcome, some colours look way better than others as do the available finishes such as matt, gloss, satin plus others.

It’s a hard choice if you’re sitting on the fence with it all but get it right and you could transform your 4×4’s appearance significantly for a very economical price.