Aftermarket Alloys & Tyres: Pros, Cons & Myths

Shinning chrome alloy wheels or wide low profile tyres on any car looks cool. People love to pimp up their daily ride. Well modifications may include many things but what most of the people invest firstly into, are, tyres. Broad tyres or low profiles, a good quality rubber is all someone can want for his / her car.

PROS:

• An alloys is a mixture of various metals and thus is light from their steel counterparts and thus alloys are more stronger
• Alloys provide good driving dynamics
• Due to their lightness alloy wheels are more fuel efficient
• Alloys help in increasing the brake efficiency of car, as they provide more air flow between the brake assembly thus help them in cooling down fast
• Alloys can easily be fitted with tubeless rubbers

CONS:

• Alloys tend to have more maintenance costs than steel rims, for example, if you hit a pothole hard the alloy would eventually crack or break down while a steel rim would bend at the maximum
• Also, if any of alloys soak up the bump without cracking or breaking, it would transfer the momentum of jerk straight into the suspension assembly of your car, thus leading to death of suspension way early
• Alloys are costly to replace and if not regularly washed or taken care off they tend to get fade away and rust (in some cases) from the nut bolt area

DO’s:

Choosing size of alloys for your car is the most important, so if you know less about it, please visit a professional for choosing the correct alloy size and rubber size. Generally alloy wheel diameter shouldn’t be fitted more than an inch of your OEM tyre diameter, for example, if you own a Swift with a rim size of 14” then don’t opt for more than a 15” size until or unless necessary. Large size can hinder the wheel arches, thus leading to disturbance in your car’s dynamics. Large tyre size would also lead to more fuel consumption.

DONT’s:

Please choose only authorized manufacturer alloy wheels, trying to save few bucks by choosing a local or not authorized would mean compromising on safety.

MYTH’s

Alloys are stronger than steel rims?
Yes in a way and No in many ways. Alloys give your car a good base to run over and makes the suspension travel less and precise because they are light, thus they are strong in a way. But, in general they are lighter than steel rims and would eventually break and crack if driven recklessly unlike the steel rims that only bend down rather than breaking.

Alloys are heavy?
No

Chrome alloys loose chrome with time?
Yes, if not of good quality and not taken care off, they do loose the chrome elements.

Steel or Alloys?
Steel rims are user friendly and old fashioned. They can be repaired easily. Alloys are new, light and precise. If taken care and driven properly alloys are more rewarding.