5 Essential Tips to Consider Before Upgrading Your Wheels in 2024


It is crucial to select rims and wheels that fit well with your vehicle needs. You might have the best in the class transmission system and a powerful engine. But all that is futile if your vehicle has substandard rims and wheels.

Purchasing car accessories has become effortless, with many retailers such as www.tdotperformance.ca availing the best with just a few clicks. In this article, we discuss the perks of installing custom rims and wheels and some essential tips to look out for before upgrading the wheels and rims of your vehicle.

The advantages of installing custom rims and wheels

  • Resale value

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By adding stylish custom wheels or rims, you increase the value of your vehicle. Should you decide to resell it, you do it for a profit. When you purchase quality car accessories and have a specialist do the upgrades, they turn your car into a gold-mine.

  • Safety

One of the reasons drivers go for custom rims and wheels is to enhance their safety. Remember, constructing your home out of wood material provides temporary shelter, while the use of bricks provides long-lasting security. The same goes for cars.

Quality rims and wheels provide a boosted stopping control. That allows you to manoeuvre easily on the road. In case of an emergency, you do not have to worry that your car will fail you.

  • Because you love it

When you take time and resources to make your vehicle comfortable, you invest in your sanity and happiness. Unique styles and personal touches let you enjoy driving your car more.

  • Personalization

For many vehicle owners, having custom wheels and rims is an ideal way to personalize it. That also adds oomph to the car’s side profile. In other words, your vehicle looks flashier than it was and, its style quotient gets boosted.

  • Greater stance

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Technically, when you customize your wheels and rims, they offer a larger contact patch. That helps to generate more grip on the road. It also lets you maintain more stability and control when your driving at high speeds.

  • Safe breaking

When you customize your wheels and rims to larger ones, you significantly minimize the braking distances. That offers you better control as you brake. Your car will skid less and offer you better safety.

  • Easy cornering

When you customize your rims and wheels and consider suspension, you can corner better even when moving at high speeds. That helps to give you a better driving experience. Also, wider wheels and tires have slimmer sidewall flex, which helps to facilitate cornering.

  • Overall control

When you customize your rims and wheels, you enhance your car. That is in regards to its stability, traction, and balance. You get to be in better control of your vehicle, especially if it has oversteering and understeering issues. As mentioned above, this also helps to make your car safe and secure while driving.

Essential tips to consider before upgrading your wheels:

Before deciding on getting a new set of wheels and rims, you need to consider the following:

1. Understand your tires

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You may have come across wordings and numbers on the sidewall of your tire but have no idea what they mean. Those writings are crucial in helping you ascertain what your tires can do for your vehicle. They display the width or the sidewall-to-sidewall distance.

It has measurements in millimetres. For example, one may display ‘216/54 R 15 92H.’ The 216 figure refers to the sidewall-to-sidewall distance or section width of the tire. The numerals 54 refers to the aspect ratio of the sidewall against the section tire width. R means radial construction. The number 15 is the interior diameter that is tailor-made to fit on a 15-inch wheel. The number 92 is the load index. The last letter, which is H is the speed rating of the tire. It is ideal for 130 mph. 

The best way to understand your tires is to check a review site. For instance, if you have a specific tire model such as Michelin Defender LTX M/S, you check out Michelin Defender LTX M/S Reviews to completely understand your tire model. It will help you understand the features, benefits, tire width, diameter and other aspects. 

2. Hub size

To ascertain the wheel size you will go for, measure the diameter and the width. You need to also look at the bolt pattern to see if the wheel will fit perfectly. The wheel size hub is dependent on the make of the car and its model. A basic 16-inch wheel will have a five-lug bolt pattern.

The pattern of the bolt is expressed in terms of measurements, for instance, five by 100. That is to means that there are five wheels studs with a diameter of 100 mm. Be keen on getting the ideal hub size and bolt pattern before you can get your new set of wheels.

3. Fitting in

You may have looked into the bolt pattern and size, but you are not done yet. You also need to pay close attention to the backspacing and offset. Backspacing is the distance from the back of the wheel to the mounting surfacing. The latter is the distance from the wheel’s mounting surface to its dead centre.
Ensure that is considerable space in both the backspace and offset.

4. Plus sizing

Getting a new set of wheels larger than what you previously had is a usual practice among car owners. It offers a better grip on the road, adds a luxurious feel to the vehicle, and gives it a sporty look.

5. Budget

Upgrading to a new set of wheels and rims can be quite pricey. For this reason, you need to have a clear budget on how much you are willing to spend even before you set out to shop. Different retailers charge differently for their accessories.

Go for a retailer who charges reasonably. That will save you from breaking the bank. Also, remember to choose quality wheels and rims. Do not get red to buying extremely low-priced accessories. That could end up disappointing you in the long run.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, getting a new set of wheels and rims for your car can be expensive. Some drivers may try to work around it by purchasing used ones. Note that this can be quite risky because you may be a victim of buying stolen or overused accessories.

Consider getting new wheels and rims from retailers who will give you value for your money and quality products.

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