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The term custom wheel refers to the wheels of a vehicle which have either been modified from the vehicle manufacturer's standard or have replaced the manufacturer's standard. [1]
Custom wheels are one of the most common ways in which automobile enthusiasts customize their vehicles. Competition-oriented enthusiasts typically switch to lighter, stronger, or larger wheels, while appearance-oriented enthusiasts more often choose larger and more visually distinctive wheels.
The most-desirable characteristics of custom wheels vary with owner's goals:
| Activity | Primary characteristics considered |
|---|---|
| Automobile racing | Weight |
| Drag racing | Width (for traction) |
| Rally | Strength |
| Street driving | Visual appeal, weight (gas mileage) |
| Touring car racing and autocrossing | Weight, width (less tire flex for better cornering performance) |
| Multi-purpose | Strength, visual appeal, weight, width, achieved by maintaining multiple sets of wheels |
Custom wheels are increasing in popularity year after year. Nearly one-third of all new-vehicle buyers customize their vehicles with custom wheels. [2] Custom wheel spinners for custom wheels then came about in the late 1990s and got extremely popular in the new millennium. The popularity has even grown further by the introduction of larger wheel and spinner diameters such as 18" / 20" / 22" / 24" / 26" and even up to 30" inch wheels diameters.
Custom wheel spinners also known as "Tru-Spinners" and "free-spinning spinners" were a decorative kinetic attachment to the center of the wheel of an automobile that would continue to rotate after the wheel had stopped. Many were normal sized to the center of the wheel and then some were enlarged spinners as the wheel market experienced a demand for larger and larger diameter wheels and spinners. Some would also cover the entire wheel rim on some applications, hence the name "spinner rims". They operated when the automobile wheel stopped rotating the Tru-Spinners would continue to stay in motion spinning. Then once Tru-Spinners had stopped spinning and were in a stationary position, they would not start to spin again until the wheel started rotating and again picking up momentum from the rotating wheel itself. They were designed to independently rotate and spin by using one or more roller bearings to isolate the spinner from the wheel, enabling it to spin while the wheel is at rest. In the early stages of the invention during the mid 1990s, the Tru-Spinners invention was only used on custom cars and on show cars in competitions which continued on into the 2000s. [3] [4] [5] The spinner wheels were invented by American inventor James J.D. Gragg of the United States who was awarded spinner patent, United States Patent #5,290,094 on March 4, 1994 with foreign patents to follow. [6] [7] [8]
Later at the turn of the new millennium the popularity grew worldwide and other patents were issued within the United States. In 2003 on April 29 David Fowlkes was issued a United States patent for a free-spinning spinner wheel patent #6,554,370. When David Fowlkes could not get a booth at the Los Angeles Car Show, he asked Latrell Sprewell to allow him to showcase them there in his booth. This is where many people started to mistakenly believe that Latrell Sprewell, professional NBA basketball player, had invented them and so went the nickname in the rap music community calling them “Sprewells” as some rap music even included nickname in the lyrics of rap songs. [9]
Custom wheels come in many different finishes. The most common custom wheel finishes are Chrome, Polished and Painted. Chrome wheels consist of traditional chrome plating as well as the new process of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) Chrome. PVD chrome wheels are protected with a clear coat and are now being introduced by several wheel companies. Polished wheels are simply aluminum wheels that have been polished to a shine. Polished wheels may or may not be protected by a clear coat. Polished wheels that do not have a clear coat are prone to oxidation and may require periodic polishing to maintain its finish. Painted wheels come in many different colors and may also have a machined surface incorporated into it. Silver and black painted wheels are the most common painted finishes. Painted wheels are protected with a clear coat. [10]
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 varies depending on the vehicle, style of wheel, and driving style; however, most vehicles do not see a performance increase when rims are more than two sizes larger than original-equipment specifications. Appearance-oriented enthusiasts may feel that decreased performance and an increased risk of road damage from the use of oversized rims is a worthwhile price to pay for the look they want.
Beyond upsizing aimed at attractive looks, some educated consumers, along with racing professionals and motorsports hobbyists, are customizing their wheels primarily for the purpose of weight reduction. True-forged wheels are up to 30% lighter than regular/standard OEM cast wheels. An additional 20% in weight can be saved by upgrading to forged magnesium wheels, such as those employed by F1 and MotoGP teams. [11]
Three companies are known to produce true-forged magnesium wheels:
Those aficionados who employ Mg wheels confirm improved handling, especially during turns, as well as tangible lap-time reduction on a circuit. [15]
Newer aftermarket rims may be worth thousands of dollars. Owners use special lug nuts, called wheel locks, to secure them, although it renders the vehicle difficult to service, and there are doubts as to how well the locks thwart determined thieves.[ citation needed ]
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel, and flywheel.
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution.
A hubcap or hub cap is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at minimum the central portion of the wheel, called the hub. An automobile hubcap is used to cover the wheel hub and the wheel fasteners to reduce the accumulation of dirt and moisture. It also has the function of decorating the car.
The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a retro-styled compact car that was manufactured and marketed internationally by Chrysler in 5-door hatchback wagon (2001–2010) and 2-door convertible (2005–2008) body styles—over a single generation, with an intermediate facelift for model year 2006.
Maisto is a brand of scale model vehicles introduced in 1990 and owned by May Cheong Group, a Chinese company founded in 1967 in Hong Kong by brothers P.Y. Ngan and Y.C Ngan. Head-quartered in Hong Kong, the brand has its offices in the United States, France and China. MCG also owns other model car brands such as former Italian brand Bburago and Polistil.
A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been either substantially altered to improve its performance, often by altering or replacing the engine and transmission; made into a personal "styling" statement, using paintwork and aftermarket accessories to make the car look unlike any car as delivered from the factory; or some combination of both. A desire among some automotive enthusiasts in the United States is to push "styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor - to truly craft an automobile of one's own." A custom car in British according to Collins English Dictionary is built to the buyer's own specifications.
The spinner on automobile wheels historically refers to knock-off hub nuts or center caps. They may be the actual, or intended to simulate, the design used on antique vehicles or vintage sports cars. A "spinner wheel" in contemporary usage is a type of hubcap or inner wheel ornament, that spins independently inside of a wheel itself when the vehicle is in motion, and continues to spin once the vehicle has come to a stop.
The rim is the "outer edge of a wheel, holding the tire". It makes up the outer circular design of the wheel on which the inside edge of the tire is mounted on vehicles such as automobiles. For example, on a bicycle wheel the rim is a large hoop attached to the outer ends of the spokes of the wheel that holds the tire and tube. In cross-section, the rim is deep in the center and shallow at the outer edges, thus forming a "U" shape that supports the bead of the tire casing.
RAYS Co., Ltd. is a high-end Japanese wheel manufacturer for both motorsport and street use. Their flagship brand, Volk Racing wheels, features a high-tech forging process exclusive to Rays Engineering.
The Dodge Ram SRT-10 is a sport pickup truck produced by Dodge, based on the standard Ram 1500, with only 10,046 units built. It was introduced as a concept at the January 2002 North American International Auto Show, while the production model was introduced in 2003 as a 2004 model year.
Magnesium wheels are wheels manufactured from alloys which contain mostly magnesium. Magnesium wheels are produced either by casting (metalworking), or by forging. Magnesium has several key properties that make it an attractive base metal for wheels: lightness; a high damping capacity; and a high specific strength. Magnesium is the lightest metallic structural material available. It is 1.5 times less dense than aluminium, so magnesium wheels can be designed to be significantly lighter than aluminium alloy wheels, while exhibiting comparable strength. Many competitive racing wheels are made of magnesium alloy.
A Cal looker is any air-cooled Volkswagen modified in fashion originating in Orange County, California in the late 1960s.
BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG is a high-performance automobile wheel design company headquartered in Schiltach, Germany. BBS produces wheels for motorsport, OEM, and aftermarket applications. The company is often credited as pioneering the three-piece wheel and advancing the aluminum wheel industry over many decades, and remains one of the largest producers of automobile wheels in the world. It is a part of KW Automotive since 2021.
In the automotive industry, alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much softer and more ductile. Alloys of aluminium or magnesium are typically lighter for the same strength, provide better heat conduction, and often produce improved cosmetic appearance over steel wheels. Although steel, the most common material used in wheel production, is an alloy of iron and carbon, the term "alloy wheel" is usually reserved for wheels made from nonferrous alloys.
American Racing Equipment Inc. is a manufacturer of wheels sold via the aftermarket retail sector. Production started during the muscle car era in the United States. Platinum Equity investment group acquired American Racing Equipment Inc in June 2005.
R231 is a chassis code for the sixth generation of the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class roadster, replacing the R230. The car was released in March 2012 and uses Mercedes-Benz's new 4.7 litre twin turbo V8 engine with a power output of 435 PS. AMG version of the roadster will follow. The new SL is 140 kg (309 lb) lighter than the previous, being made almost entirely out of aluminium. For the first time, the R231 SL-Class was not available with a non-AMG V12 engined SL 600 model.
A tire changer is a machine used to help tire technicians dismount and mount tires with automobile wheels. After the wheel and tire assembly are removed from the automobile, the tire changer has all the components necessary to remove and replace the tire from the wheel. Different tire changers allow technicians to replace tires on automobiles, motorcycles and heavy-duty trucks. New tire and wheel technology has improved certain tire changers to be able to change a low profile tire or a run-flat tire.
A Cal-Style VW is a lowrider influenced vintage Volkswagen, that for style and cruising was lowered to the extreme in the manner called "dumped" "slammed" or "laid out". The Cal-Style VW originated in the streets of Los Angeles in the late 1970s, when the first generation of teens from Latino neighborhoods veered away from the Low Riders that at the time were associated with gangs and criminal activity, and instead customized their economical VWs into lowriders for the cruising and teen subculture.
Motorcyclewheels are made to cope with radial and axial forces. They also provide a way of mounting other critical components such as the brakes, final drive and suspension. Wheels, and anything directly connected to them, are considered to be unsprung mass. Traditionally motorcycles used wire-spoked wheels with inner tubes and pneumatic tyres. Although cast wheels were first used on a motorcycle in 1927, it would not be until the 1970s that mainstream manufacturers would start to introduce cast wheels on their roadgoing motorcycles. Spoked wheels are usually made using steel spokes with steel or aluminium rims. Cast wheels are predominantly made from an aluminium-alloy, but can also be made from more-exotic materials, such as magnesium content alloy or carbon fibre.
A centerlock wheel is a type of automobile wheel in which the wheel is fastened to the axle using a single, central nut, instead of the more common ring of 4 or 5 lug nuts or bolts.
