WHY CHANGE TO ALLOY WHEELS?
1. A set of alloy wheels improves the appearance of a vehicle allowing it to stand out from the crowd.
Alloy wheels reduce the unsprung weight of a vehicle fitted with standard steel wheels, giving you more precise steering as well as a nominal reduction in fuel consumption.
2. Alloy is an excellent conductor of heat, improving heat dissipation from the brakes and reducing the risk of brake failure under demanding driving conditions.
3. Using the “Inch up Principle” when buying alloy wheels, improves steering response and road holding, especially when cornering. The “Inch up Principle” simply means increasing the diameter size of the standard wheel fitted by the manufacturers to your car.
When converting your car wheels to a larger size, certain technical information needs to be considered:
CONVERSIONS
It is very important to understand the principle of conversion: the larger the wheel, the larger the tyre which inversely lowers the tyre profile. This is because the original rolling radius of the car cannot be changed. Rolling radius is the distance it takes for the wheel to make 1 complete revolution. In other words, if a car has a rolling radius of 2.050 mm, after changing the wheels and tyres the radius needs to remain 2.050 mm. The whole car from brakes, suspension and the gearbox is set up for this. If a change occurs the car will experience mechanical problems but more importantly features like ABS won’t work correctly. You could even have the speedometer indicating 120km/h but in reality you’re driving at 140km/h!
Using this principle you are able to upgrade your wheels yet remain as close as possible to your original technical specifications. Never change down to a smaller size than the original fitted on your car. Increasing your wheel size also gives you 3 advantages:
1. Optical: The look of the car improves immediately. A nice car with steel wheels detracts attention from the car, while an ordinary car with nice wheels becomes immediately attractive.
2. Security: Braking distance is reduced. Due to the larger sized wheel and wider tyre the braking distance is reduced. For example when converting from a 15" wheel to an 18" wheel and larger / wider tyre, the braking distance can be reduced by up to 7%. This could mean a 3 meter shorter stopping distance!
3. Driving improvement: With a larger wheel and of course a lower tyre profile, the drive is more direct, improved and thus the car is more stable.
CHOOSING THE CORRECT WHEEL
1. Firstly, the wheel must suit the car you drive, certain designs and colour finishes suit certain makes better than others. Make sure you ask a Hi-Q salesperson to show you the A-line CD Program which illustrates which wheels are available for your car.
2. In order to get the expected benefits from a wheel, it must be manufactured to fit properly. Your Hi-Q salesperson will be able to assist you with all the technical aspects when choosing the right wheel for your car.
