To Bling Bling Or Not To...

Big rims, big risk?
Extra-large wheels are popular as automotive jewelry but the 'bling' they bring can come at a cost.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - One of the easiest ways to add a dose of individuality to a car is with a new set of wheels. Extra large wheels, especially on SUVs, are particularly popular. Large wheels can provide benefits in handling and performance. They can also make a car stand out in a crowd. But they can also be dangerous.

Drivers who swap out their wheels for something bigger, even if they compensate for the added size by switching to narrower, low-profile tires, may be putting themselves at greater risk of a crash. If the overall diameter of the tire and wheel combination is larger, that just creates additional problems.

Putting larger wheels on a vehicle than the ones with which it left the factory can cause problems for a vehicle's suspension and brakes even if lower-profile tires keep the overall diameter the same. The reason is, simply, that metal weighs a lot more than rubber and air. A vehicle's suspension and braking systems are engineered to deal with a certain amount of "unsprung weight."

Unsprung weight is the weight of a vehicle that is not held up by the springs that support the vehicle at each of its wheels. Unsprung weight includes the axles, wheels and tires. Bolting on larger metal wheels gives your vehicle's springs and shock absorbers more weight to contend with.

"If you're going to increase the weight of the wheel and tire you may want to look at upgrading the suspension to handle that extra weight," said John Rastetter, director of tire information services for TireRack.com, a tire and wheel retailing Web site.

The additional weight of the wheels also makes the vehicle take longer to stop, said Andrew Markel, editor of the trade journal Brake and Front End magazine. The thinner tire walls won't absorb as much of the impact as the old, fatter tires did, either. That increases the impact from bumps that the vehicle's suspension system needs to deal with.

Thinner tires are especially problematic for bigger, heavier SUVs. When a vehicle hits a rock or the side of a pothole, the tire flexes under the weight of the impact. With a thin sidewall and a very heavy vehicle, the tires can actually get pinched under the wheel rim, damaging the tire and perhaps leading to a blowout. If the overall size of the wheel and tire combination is increased, the tire tread and sides can rub or bump parts of the car including suspension components or fenders.

Tire "fitment," as it's called, is rather tricky. The wheel might work just fine when the vehicle is stopped or even when it's driving and turning on a smooth, level road with a light load. When the vehicle is loaded with people or baggage, however, the tires can bump into parts of the car. Not only can that damage the tires, it can also cause unpredictable steering difficulty. Plus, it's just plain irritating. Increasing your car's overall wheel size can also mislead your car's computerized systems about how fast the vehicle is actually going.

Your car's speedometer calculates how fast the vehicle is moving based on how fast the wheels are rotating. But larger wheels rotating at the same speed as smaller ones will make the vehicle go faster. So switching to larger wheels without adjusting the speedometer to compensate can cause you to be going faster than the speedometer indicates.

That can create problems for systems like the car's anti-lock brakes and stability control programs, besides just leading to more speeding tickets. The key to getting a new set of wheels is getting the right advice.

"What we suggest to consumers is to go to a reputable wheel and tire dealer," said Peter MacGillivray, vice president for marketing and communication for the Specialty Equipment Manufacture Association. A reputable shop shouldn't allow you to walk in and just tell them what you want. "No offense, but we don't trust you," said Rastetter of TireRack.com.

The TireRack.com Web site requires shoppers to input the specifics of their car and will only allow shoppers to buy tire and wheel combinations that are appropriate for that vehicle. A good tire and wheel shop, experts say, should do the same.

TireRack.com also does not sell "spinners," or wheels that have a freely rotating decorative hub to give the illusion the wheel is spinning when it's not. Those decorative additions add substantial weight with no benefit, Rastetter said. Also, if moving parts begin to corrode, the spinning section could break off or freeze in place, which would make the wheel unbalanced.

With the expanding popularity of decorative wheels, a lot of new companies are entering the market -- and not all of them are producing top-quality products. There is no regulatory agency or organization responsible for making sure that wheels that are sold in the U.S. are strong enough or, for that matter, even perfectly round.

"What we're seeing is Chinese knock-offs where the castings are pretty bad and the wheels are pretty fragile," said Markel.

Not all wheels made in China are of poor quality, Markel added, since reputable companies have manufacturing plants there. But buyers should beware of cheap wheels that won't stand up. Buyers should, ideally, looked for forged rather than cast wheels. Forged wheels are stronger, which makes them more expensive, but lighter. The price of wheels generally varies inversely with their weight, Rastetter said. Inch-for-inch, cheaper wheels are usually heavier, too. As always, watch for prices that look too good to be true. For example, if you see 18-inch rims selling for $80, you should be suspicious, Markel said.
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Just don't tell it to the guy that did this:
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I'm a big fan of leaving cars the way they are.

People have told me to put 355 wheels on my 348. If I wanted a 355, I would have bought one!

 

Can't argue with that logic. And like you Dave, I'm generally a fan of "stock."

 

i like rims on cars, but that article is dumb. It just points out the majority of the car world is clueless when it comes to modifying their cars. Obviously you have to make the car sync up. But a parallel can be made to HP, everyone adds more HP and doesn't make it so they can stop any quicker with better brakes; handle better with better suspension and tires; or make it able to survive a high speed crash better with saftey equiptment. On the same argumement that the article uses you could say that any car that adds hp in anyway is unsafe as well (not that i dont agree, unless HP is added at an extreme level)

 

all i gotz to say is:
friends dont let friends drive stock.

 

what you meant to say was keiths parents dont let keith drive fast...

 

one of my mottos i follow by in life is:

TRY TO BE UNIQUE...INDIVIDUALIZE EVERYTHING U HAVE

thus, if i buy a $200,000 car, i dont want a $200,000 car that everyone else has. im going to customize it and make it a bit more personal. thus, new wheels, body kits, and little other shiite that noone has.

u guyz gots to man up zens!!!! stock is for v@gin@s.

 

I thought that story was gonna be about people getting shot for their spinners so that wasn't so bad. I like rims too - my 348 came with the wheels that are on it but I would have got new ones regardless as I don't care for the 348 wheels generally.

I don't understand 22" chrome wheels on a truck but then I never really thought about an SUV except to drive off road in the first place. And there is some real junk out there wheels-wise but I wouldn't think most of us would be shopping for price over quality although plenty of folks would.

Cheers
Kevin

 

Agreed.

 

For the most part, I'm not a "rim" fan. I don't like huge rims on cars, especially Ferrari's. They are Ferrari's and should forever stay a Ferrari. Unless you're switching to a different Ferrari rim, it was designed with a certain type of wheel in mind. Why switch that? Plus IMO you shouldn't be driving a Ferrari around to show off. Instead you should be going so fast I see the brake and can't tell what the rim looks like.

 

* cough *

All cars, whether its a Ferrari or a Toyota, are designed with a certain tyoe of wheel in mind.

so u are saying whoever gets new non-stock rims for their cars are idiots. lol
u've been smoking too much crack zen

 

Hubert, For an idiot you have a very nice car.... now if only you would get a REAL job!!

 

cant do REAL jobs....im an idiot

 

**** bling

 

yo zen, i told you to put those Mondial rims on your car!

 

the saying is :

The Bigger...the better.

bigger rims = bigger c00ck

someone's got a small weenie

 

Can I be an idiot like Hubi too?