Tyres, Wheels & Rims
Damage to car tyres from pot holes is unfortunately an everyday experience on UK roads. It is important to check the wheels on the car for damage, the shock to the wheel is sometimes enough stress to crack the wheel as well as damage the tyre. This could be a costly business but if the wheel did fail it could have devastating consequences.
There are two types of wheel (rims). The first type is an alloy wheel which is a light steel wheel. This type of wheel was designed originally to save weight and increase speed. In more recent years alloy wheels have been used for style and aesthetics. Many different types of alloy wheels are now on the market and include special alloy wheels for 4x4s, and even vans. Alloy wheels have only really been fitted to vans by manufacturers over the last few years.
The second type of wheel is a steel wheel. This is generally a stronger wheel but can equally suffer being buckled by going over a pot hole. Steel wheels were not designed for style but in recent times styled steel wheels with wheel trims have come to the market, making these wheels look a lot nicer.
When changing into bigger wheels than your car’s original size it is important that the overall wheel plus tyre circumference does not increase. This can be compensated by having a lower profile tyre and this is why car manufacturers fit low profile tyres & big alloys.