Wheel spikes are pointy protrusions attached to the rims or hubcaps of vehicles, most commonly cars and semi trucks. Most wheel spikes sold are made out of plastic painted to mimic metal, and are meant mostly as novelty items. [1] [2] [3] The safety and legality of wheel spikes has been often questioned, and they may constitute a traffic violation in some jurisdictions. [4]
Wheel spikes attached to the hubcaps of semi trucks are essentially stylized versions of plastic lug nut covers, which are meant to offer protection from rusting, and have more common round and flat counterparts. [1] [2] Some wheel spikes applied to cars, known as "swangers," are much larger and longer and are permanently attached to the rims, and usually command much higher prices, from US$4,500 to US$10,000. [5] [6]
Wheel spikes are commonly associated with the post-apocalyptic franchise Mad Max , where many characters have spikes in the wheels of their vehicles, which serve both to attack and defend against other vehicles. [1] [7] [8]
Wheel spikes often cause controversy due to their menacing appearance, despite most of them being made out of plastic and being easily removed or broken off. However, they may still cause injuries to pedestrians and cyclists, and may break laws regarding maximum vehicle width. [1] [2] Some private transport companies may prohibit drivers from attaching wheel spikes to the wheels of company-owned vehicles to avoid a negative public image. [4]
Wheel spikes and other "projections on face of wheels" are prohibited in Hawaii since 2016. [9] In the state of Washington, the Revised Code of Washington prohibits "wheel nuts, hub caps or wheel discs [...] which: (a) incorporate winged projections; or (b) constitute a hazard to pedestrians and cyclists." [2] A bill proposed in the New York State Senate in 2015 intended to ban "dangerous wheels," defined as sharp wheel accessories that extend over 2 inches (5.08 centimeters). [10] Other US states may prohibit wheel spikes only if they extend the width of the vehicle beyond a certain limit; in Texas, it is 8 feet (2.4 meters) for passenger cars, [6] and in Florida, the limit is 8.5 feet (2.6 meters). [3] In the Australian state of Victoria, fitting vehicles with "any protruding object that is likely to increase the risk of bodily injury" is punishable with a AU$379 fine, and wheel spikes may also increase the width of a vehicle beyond the legal limit of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). [8]
A semi-trailer truck, is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called a fifth wheel.
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type of axle is referred to as a spindle.
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 wheel size for a motor vehicle or similar wheel has a number of parameters.
Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide increased traction when driving through snow and ice.
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.
A lug wrench, also colloquially known as a tire iron, is the name for a type of socket wrench used to loosen and tighten lug nuts on automobile wheels. In the United Kingdom and Australia, it is commonly known as a wheel brace.
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.
A lug nut or wheel nut is a fastener, specifically a nut, used to secure a wheel on a vehicle. Typically, lug nuts are found on automobiles, trucks (lorries), and other large vehicles using rubber tires.
Truck nuts, also spelled truck nutz, are vehicular vanity accessories resembling a dangling scrotum. They are attached under the rear bumper or trailer hitch, making them plainly visible to other vehicles behind.
A centreless wheel is a wheel that lacks a centre or hub, instead being supported and driven at the rim.
Fender is the American English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well. Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged by contact with the road surface.
Wheel studs are the threaded fasteners that hold on the wheels of many automobiles. They are semi-permanently mounted directly to the vehicle hub, usually through the brake drum or brake disk. Lug nuts are fastened onto the wheel stud to secure the wheel. When a wheel is removed for tire changes etc., the stud remains in the hub.
A flatbed truck is a type of truck the bodywork of which is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loading of goods, and consequently they are used to transport heavy loads that are not delicate or vulnerable to rain, and also for abnormal loads that require more space than is available on a closed body. Flatbed trucks can be either articulated or rigid.
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.
A loose wheel nut indicator is a measuring tool that warns of loose wheel nuts, which is the most common cause of wheels on vehicles falling off.
A specialized set of jargon describe the tools, equipment, and employment sectors used in the trucking industry in the United States. Some terms may be used within other English-speaking countries, or within the freight industry in general. For example, shore power is a term borrowed from shipping terminology, in which electrical power is transferred from shore to ship, instead of the ship relying upon idling its engines. Drawing power from land lines is more efficient than engine idling and eliminates localized air pollution. Another borrowed term is "landing gear", which refers to the legs which support the front end of a semi-trailer when it is not connected to a semi-truck. Some nicknames are obvious wordplay, such as "portable parking lot", in reference to a truck that carries automobiles.
A center cap, or centercap is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers a central portion of the wheel. Early center caps for automobiles were small and primarily served the purpose of keeping dirt away from the spindle nut and wheel bearings of vehicles. Center caps are often found on new cars to hide the lug nuts, and/or the bearing. Center caps are a type of hubcap, the other primary type being wheel covers. Some modern center caps are retained to the wheel using spring clips, while others are retained by the wheel lugs or other threaded fasteners.
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.