Wheels for your Car

Preamble
A vast majority of car owners, particularly the young ones, have this obsession that the OE Wheels of their new cars aren’t good enough and they need to be upgraded to ‘Alloys’, with wider/fatter tyres to match.

Such a fad needs to be looked into with some hard facts and practicality…

Whether Alloy Wheels:
Alloy Wheels derive their nomenclature as they’re made out of Aluminium Alloys of which Magnesium is a principal ingredient to give it the desired strength - hence the name ‘Mag/Alloy’ Wheels as well. Their manufacturing process basically comprises - a) Pressure die-casting, b) precision machining and c) Finishing by way of powder coating etc. Thus the end product is considerably lighter than their ‘pressed-steel’ counterparts and a lot more ‘true’ in their X-Y-Z axes.

While Alloy Wheels will make a noticeable difference for the better in handling/ride quality, it’s my personal opinion that Alloy Wheels are not for our Pot-Hole ridden Roads and the wayside ‘Hammer and Tongs’ Puncture Repair facilities. If subjected to either, they will be vulnerable to permanent damage by way of chipping and cracking. FYI, more than half of Europe rides on Pressed-Steel Wheels - inspite of the above two limitations not being there. So, what does it prove!

Whether Tubeless Tyres:
A vast majority in the motoring world including the developing countries today rides on Tubeless Tyres coz of the various advantages they offer over Tube types. However, the disadvantages of TLTs in the present Indian scene are that they require:

i) Special puncture repair techniques, tho’ they’re well within the competence of an average DIY person using the ‘Kit’ available for the purpose.

ii) Mechanised tyre mounting/dismounting facilities, to save their special rim/beading from permanent damage.

iii) High pressure compressed air, to suddenly inflate them, so as to be able to quickly and effectively ’seal with the rim’, in case they’ve to be dis/re-mounted for/after puncture repairs.

iv) It’s inadvisable to put in tubes inside once punctured TLTs - for high speed applications - as they wld run hotter than their tube type eqvts coz of greater friction between the TLT’s inner surface. However, it’s recommended to carry a new tube as spare for contingencies during outstation travel.

Even though most of above prerequisites may not yet available in every nook and corner of the Country at the moment, the fact remains that TLTs are the order of the day and a beginning towards it has already been made, with more and more new cars coming in with TLTs as OE fitment.

FYI, on older cars, TLTs can be used on pressed steel rims also PROVIDED they are flawless AND TRUE INSIDE OUT; but once deformed due to a Kerb or pot-hole impact or rust setting in - especially at the insides of filler-neck hole - they will become unsuitable for TLTs.

Altering OE Tyre Specs
Likewise, tampering with the OE Wheel Specs or suspension settings of a Stock Car is far from advisable - as they are arrived at after exhaustive R&D by the OEMs to give best possible results under the most trying conditions that an average motorist is likely to encounter.

On the other hand, altering the designed front and rear ‘Track’ of a Car is a total NO-NO, as all these can lead to annulment of your Warranty and hence the Insurance Cover - should something go wrong!

However, within limits, one can ‘Upsize but NOT Oversize’ but at one’s own risk. The basic funda here is of ‘one-up’ and ‘one-down’. In other words, one can go for the next higher/wider ‘foot print’ but the next lower ‘aspect ratio’ ALSO at the same time - maintaining the OE Rim dia/size - such that the ‘overall’ Wheel Dia doesn’t change by more than (+/-) 5 mm. However, with wider tyres, depending on their size, the ‘J’ size of the Rims too may have to change.

Wider ‘foot-print’ means better handling but at the cost of somewhat higher fuel consumption and stiffer steering and lower ‘Aspect Ratio’ means a stiffer ride/prospects of more rim damage at the cost of better handling/body roll. So the choice is yours!