Buying stuff online has been part of everyone’s lives for decades now, not just when it comes to clothing or groceries. The third party car parts market has also thrived on the success of internet purchases, and known for its cost-effective offerings it has changed the way people mod and upgrade their cars.
The aftermarket, as it’s better known, is full of parts and accessories that aren’t offered by the official manufacturer, at a much lower price. The same can be said for wheels which are a big part of making your vehicle look more appealing but also handle better. There are other more performance-oriented aftermarket parts you can get, however wheels are one of the most popular nowadays.
Types of Wheels
Alloy
The no-brainer option when it comes to the material wheels are made of is aluminum. This has mainly to do with the fact that the manufacturing process of the material can produce visually appealing designs and help with performance as it makes for lightweight wheels. The alloy aftermarket car wheels are therefore a more desired option than steel ones but also a costlier one.
Steel
With aftermarket rims for sale made of steel, you get a more cost-effective solution that is also stronger, meaning it can deal with impacts better especially when going over potholes. However, steel is not a material that can be manipulated into any shape you want and therefore it makes your car look rather ordinary which is not a good thing when you want to make it look unique.
Forged
Both aluminum and steel wheels can be forged. Forging refers to a process where the wheels are made from a billet – a square piece of solid metal. The heat applied to the billet is high enough to shape the metal into any form, thus you get a solution with a strong structure and one that doesn’t require a lot of material during the production process. However, forged aftermarket rims for sale are much more expensive than cast wheels.
Cast
Talking about cast wheels, they are made by pouring molten metal into a mould. This simple process involves casting the metal usually by letting gravity do its thing but there are other ways too. Some casting methods include using a vacuum to pull the metal into the mould while others use a little bit of pressure or high-pressure levels to compress the metal.
What Matters in a Wheel
Diameter
Apart from the material a wheel is made of, there are other factors to consider such as its diameter. There are two ways you can go here: either get aftermarket auto wheels that match the size of your current tires or ones that will allow you to put different tires on. For pure performance improvements, you should consider the latter as this way you can put tires that are made to provide more grip and stability. Otherwise, the former is going to be enough.
Width
The width of the wheel mainly affects your car’s performance and its appearance a tiny bit. The wider the wheel, usually the wider the stance which contributes to a more aggressive appearance and a more stable ride. However, you should ensure that you don’t get a set of wheels that are too wide for your vehicle and stick out the sides like barrels.
Bolt Pattern
When it comes to compatibility, the bolt pattern of your wheel hub matters the most. That’s because, without the wheels matching the number of bolts and how far apart they are from each other, they won’t be able to fit on your car. Usually, most wheels nowadays come with a 5-lug bolt pattern while older models come with 4-lug bolt patterns. There are some aftermarket auto wheels that sport a 6-lug bolt pattern.
Offset
Wheel offset refers to how far in or out the wheel sits from its centerline to the mounting surface. This is why you can get aftermarket car wheels with positive, negative and zero offset. Positive offset wheels sit further out from the centerline making your car look wider. Negative offset wheels sit more in and make it look narrower while zero offset wheels sit exactly at the centerline.
Backspacing
A wheel’s backspacing refers to the distance from the back-end face to the mounting hub. If there isn’t enough backspace, this can affect your vehicle’s braking system in a negative way. But if there is too much backspace it can cause issues that you can also experience with wheels that are set too far out.
One-Piece vs Multi-Piece
Aftermarket wheels usually come as one piece but you can get ones that are made of two or three different pieces. The difference between the two is that the latter is much more affordable and stiffer than wheels made of two pieces. If you go for wheels made of three pieces you are actually getting a stronger solution than one-piece wheels.
