Car Rims

The term, car rim refers to the wheels of an automobile. The standard wheels found on most automobiles are basic steel wheels, and many car owners opt to purchase upgraded wheels from the manufacturer or from aftermarket suppliers. Custom car rims are often made of aluminum and magnesium alloys, and are available in a wide range of styles and sizes for most automobiles.

There is a good variety of ways of constructing wheels. Most alloy wheels are made in one, two or three-piece construction types. One piece is just what it says, a wheel made in a mold as a single piece. Two piece wheels are made of two separate pieces (center and barrel) that are usually welded or bolted together. Three-piece wheels are made of three separate pieces. They have a center, and inside rim half, and an outside rim half. They are bolted together using the highest quality fasteners.

Manufacturing method is very important in the overall quality and performance of a wheel. Here are the most common types of manufacturing techniques employed:

Forging

Considered to be the best manufacturing technique, forging allows for the compression of an aluminum billet (one solid piece of aluminum) into an aluminum wheel using over 13 million pounds of pressure combined with heat. This produces a wheel that is both stronger and lighter then your standard aluminum wheel.

A subset of forging is called roll forging. In this process, a metal blank is run through rollers with impressions sunk in to their surface giving the wheel its final shape. This allows the wheel to be produced with less aluminum, reducing weight but maintaining strength.

Low Pressure Casting

This is the most common form of rim manufacturing. Much like a casting, liquid metal is poured into a mold and allowed to harden until the finished wheel is cool enough to be taken out of the casting.

Counter Pressure Casting

Opposite to low pressure casting, the liquid metal is not poured, rather it is sucked into the mold using a vacuum. This reduces impurities making the wheel much stronger than a low-pressure cast rim.

The main differences between alloy and steel rims lie in their durability and strength. Most high-performance wheels are made of an alloy and composed of aluminum, and other metallic substances. By using alloy wheels, you not only improve the looks of your vehicle but also the performance. The extra strength provides longevity as well as effecting tire wear in a positive manner.

The weight reduction will improve steering response and handling, as well as help improve acceleration and braking.

Chrome wheel rims have always been popular due to their shiny exterior but other types of alloy rims have appeared in the past 10 years. Custom alloy rims include magnesium rims that have been x-rayed and heat tempered to ensure their good looks and durability. Buyer beware however, when purchasing a car rim package make sure that price is not your primary decision making factor.

One of the hottest trends today for car rims is spinning jewelry.Car rims that include spinners are the most demanded item on wheels today. These items cause an optical illusion that the wheel is still spinning when a vehicle is stopped at a street light. These wheels are designed to catch the eye and keep the onlooker’s attention. Some websites describe spinners as being simply stunning. Spinners are available from numerous manufacturers such as Sprewell and Oasis for a variety of prices. Spinning jewelry looks good on SUV’s, jeeps, sports cars and even the family car.

It is important to keep your wheels clean at all times. Your brakes will cause the wheels to heat up, and this heat in turn can cause any dirt or brake dust to cook in to the clear coat. If this happens, there's not a lot you can do besides having the wheels refinished. Protect your investment and keep your wheels clean!

Below are some simple instructions on how to take care of your wheels:

Do not use household cleaners or other detergents to clean your wheels. The best wheel cleaning solution is a mild soap and water solution (what ever you would trust on the paint of your car).

Clean with a soft, un-abrasive cloth. Only on polished wheels can you use aluminum wheel polish. If you use this polish on chrome, painted, or clear coated wheels, you will only scratch or dull the finish.

Do not use steam cleaners in automatic car washes.

Do not use any tire cleaners on your wheels.

Clean wheels when they are cool. Heat can effect the soap, causing it to dry on the wheel and become difficult to rinse off.

Clean one wheel at a time. This also prevents the soap from drying on to the wheel.

After the wheels are clean and dry, apply a coat of soft paste style wax to them. This will create a moisture barrier and help ensure the finish lasts as long as possible.

The hardware holding your wheels to your car is an often-overlooked step when installing new rims. Most aftermarket wheels require different wheel nuts / bolts than what was used on the original equipment wheels. Wheel nuts and bolts have many different seats (where the nut touches the wheel). The 3 most common are acorn seat (conical), ball seat (radius), and mag shank seat. These differences along with different lengths and diameters make hardware very confusing.

Always check with the people who supplied your wheels for the correct mounting hardware before trying to install them on your vehicle.

To enhance the look of your vehicle and improve its performance you can increase the size of the wheel Plus Sizing is a term that refers to increasing the size of the car rim to the wheel. Plus sizing is chosen by drivers for steering response, handling, and cornering ability. When you add inches to the tire, there is more surface that is in contact with the road. Plus sizing a wheel also enhances the sporty look of a vehicle. Plus sizing can be done by “inching up”. The following are the three methods of “inching up” your tire.

Plus Zero: The Plus Zero method uses the same wheel radius as the original equipment but includes a tire with a larger size than the original’s width but smaller than the aspect ratio. For example the original tire size is: 175/70R14. By putting a 195/60R14 tire on this wheel rim you would not be increasing the tire size, hence “plus zero”.

Zero Plus One: Plus one increases the size of the tire by one inch. For example if the tire size is 175/70R13 and you put a tire on it that is 175/70R14, you have increased the tire size by one inch. Zero plus one utilizes a one-inch larger diameter wheel in conjunction with a smaller tire. This method always requires a replacement wheel.

Zero Plus Two: Exactly as the name of the method implies, this approach increases the size of the tire by two inches. For example, you would replace the original equipment of 175/70R13 with a tire size of 175/70R15.

For vehicles that are primarily street-driven, the advantages of aftermarket wheels are better performance and gas mileage, due to reduced weight and rolling momentum; these advantages can be lost if one chooses to use larger wheels. At some point, the performance advantage of larger wheels and reduced-profile tires meets the performance disadvantage of increased inertia and increased unsprung weight. This point will vary depending on the vehicle, style of wheel, and driving style; however, most vehicles will not see a performance increase when rims are increased more than two sizes from original-equipment specifications.

Appearance-oriented enthusiasts may feel that decreased performance and an increased risk of road damage with oversized rims is a worthwhile price to pay for the look they want.

Newer aftermarket rims may be worth thousands of dollars, possibly as much or more than the vehicle to which they are attached; this does make them a theft target and led to the use of wheel locks, special lug nuts that frequently make it difficult to change a flat or have a vehicle serviced while rarely stopping determined thieves.

Rim manufacturers such as Lexani, Weld, Konig and Sprewell strive to provide the best quality product available today. In order for a retailer to sell products from these companies, they must hold to the guidelines set out by the manufacturer.

Today, all car rim and wheel manufacturers have websites. It’s a good idea to review them prior to beginning your search for the perfect wheel.





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