Nice wheels have become a major selling point of Cars
04-05-05, 07:01 AM
#1
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Nice wheels have become a major selling point of Cars
April 5, 2005
The Wheel Deal
Story and photos by Paul Williams
Look around at this year's new cars, and it's obvious that wheels are getting bigger. The aftermarket wheel sector is now a US$2.1 billion industry in North America, and with so many consumers replacing their stock wheels with bigger and cooler designs, car manufacturers are now offering designer rims straight from the factory.
According to industry executives, nice wheels have become a major selling point on the showroom floor.
"Wheels can make or break a car," said Karl Elmitt, the exterior designer of the 2006 BMW M5, in a recent phone interview with CanadianDriver. "They are like the icing on the cake, the final design flourish."
However, you wonder just how many variations-on-a-theme designers can come up with. After all, a wheel is basically just a circle.
"That's partially true," Elmitt explained. "But when seen from different angles on a moving car, the wheel also has other shapes, ellipses and depth."
He pointed out that different cars have different requirements, and some have a special character that has to be reflected in the wheel design.
"One of the challenges, especially for an M wheel, is to show the depth of the wheel -- having the spokes go from the furthest possible outer point to the furthest inner point, the classic sign of a high performance wheel -- and to do this without the wheel becoming too heavy. [For the new M5] ... each spoke has a fairly deep groove, which helps to reduce weight, and gives the wheel the characteristic split-spoke M look."
It's not just BMW that has unleashed its designers on big, signature wheels. Luxury cars like the 2005 Acura RL, for example, now use 17- and 18-inch wheels, while 17-inch rims are standard on compact cars like the Mazda3 GT. Even trucks are getting big wheels, with 20-inch available on the 2005 GM Silverado.
But it turns out we've come full circle, no pun intended.
A 1927 Model T Ford rode on 21-inch wheels (they were wooden-spoked, although wire wheels were optional); 20 years later, the postwar Ford wore 16-inch wheels. Throughout the 20th century, wheels continued to get smaller. It was a sign of being a modern car.
By 1979, the wheel size for a Triumph TR8 sports car was proudly advertised as 13-inch with "low" profile 70-series Goodyear tires to match them.
The recent trend to bigger wheels, while very much part of accessorizing your car, does have practical benefits. A bigger wheel implies a correspondingly lower-profile tire, and that can translate into better cornering performance. A bonus to sticking with factory rims is that they're designed specifically for the vehicle on which they are mounted, and are less likely to upset the vehicle's handling dynamics.
Manufacturers like BMW, with the company's emphasis on performance, technology and design, have produced some of the most appealing wheels available, with the 18- and 19-inch double spoke alloys of the M3 being one of the key design features of that car.
"An M wheel has to be one the lightest wheels, and highly recognizable as an M product," said Elmitt. "Usually M wheels feature a combination of five or ten spokes, and of course they are large: 18- or 19-inch. The reason for the tapering (spokes on the 2006 M5) is firstly these shapes complement the new design language that BMW is using, and secondly these shapes have an inherent dynamism and fluidity and therefore in my opinion, more character.
"Designing a wheel in my case always involves drawing, be it sketching on paper or sketching on a computer," Elmitt continued. "Once we have an accurate and well-rendered design that we like, it goes into CAD (computer assisted design, specifically Alias) and is partially engineered. Then a mock-up is made."
Elmitt explained that for the new M5, at least five different designs were made as accurate models that were actually fitted onto the car. At that point, some subjective decisions were made.
"One was too chunky," he said. "One was not sporty enough and so on, until the wheel you see on the car won through." There is still a subjective element in choosing the right wheel for a car, even if it's for a $100,000-plus super-sedan.
The fascination with wheels appears set to continue and grow, with car manufacturers more interested in selling their own accessory wheels to compete with aftermarket suppliers. It's like jewellery for your car.
If you think you know your wheels, identify the manufacturer for each of the wheels pictured in this article. Click here for the answers and enlarged images of these great wheels.
And if you're considering plus-sizing your wheels and tires, use CanadianDriver's handy calculator to determine the correct size.
source & pics of wheels HERE
I'm glad to see the wheels on the new GS & IS are better than what they' ve offered in the older Lexus models.
The Wheel Deal
Story and photos by Paul Williams
Look around at this year's new cars, and it's obvious that wheels are getting bigger. The aftermarket wheel sector is now a US$2.1 billion industry in North America, and with so many consumers replacing their stock wheels with bigger and cooler designs, car manufacturers are now offering designer rims straight from the factory.
According to industry executives, nice wheels have become a major selling point on the showroom floor.
"Wheels can make or break a car," said Karl Elmitt, the exterior designer of the 2006 BMW M5, in a recent phone interview with CanadianDriver. "They are like the icing on the cake, the final design flourish."
However, you wonder just how many variations-on-a-theme designers can come up with. After all, a wheel is basically just a circle.
"That's partially true," Elmitt explained. "But when seen from different angles on a moving car, the wheel also has other shapes, ellipses and depth."
He pointed out that different cars have different requirements, and some have a special character that has to be reflected in the wheel design.
"One of the challenges, especially for an M wheel, is to show the depth of the wheel -- having the spokes go from the furthest possible outer point to the furthest inner point, the classic sign of a high performance wheel -- and to do this without the wheel becoming too heavy. [For the new M5] ... each spoke has a fairly deep groove, which helps to reduce weight, and gives the wheel the characteristic split-spoke M look."
It's not just BMW that has unleashed its designers on big, signature wheels. Luxury cars like the 2005 Acura RL, for example, now use 17- and 18-inch wheels, while 17-inch rims are standard on compact cars like the Mazda3 GT. Even trucks are getting big wheels, with 20-inch available on the 2005 GM Silverado.
But it turns out we've come full circle, no pun intended.
A 1927 Model T Ford rode on 21-inch wheels (they were wooden-spoked, although wire wheels were optional); 20 years later, the postwar Ford wore 16-inch wheels. Throughout the 20th century, wheels continued to get smaller. It was a sign of being a modern car.
By 1979, the wheel size for a Triumph TR8 sports car was proudly advertised as 13-inch with "low" profile 70-series Goodyear tires to match them.
The recent trend to bigger wheels, while very much part of accessorizing your car, does have practical benefits. A bigger wheel implies a correspondingly lower-profile tire, and that can translate into better cornering performance. A bonus to sticking with factory rims is that they're designed specifically for the vehicle on which they are mounted, and are less likely to upset the vehicle's handling dynamics.
Manufacturers like BMW, with the company's emphasis on performance, technology and design, have produced some of the most appealing wheels available, with the 18- and 19-inch double spoke alloys of the M3 being one of the key design features of that car.
"An M wheel has to be one the lightest wheels, and highly recognizable as an M product," said Elmitt. "Usually M wheels feature a combination of five or ten spokes, and of course they are large: 18- or 19-inch. The reason for the tapering (spokes on the 2006 M5) is firstly these shapes complement the new design language that BMW is using, and secondly these shapes have an inherent dynamism and fluidity and therefore in my opinion, more character.
"Designing a wheel in my case always involves drawing, be it sketching on paper or sketching on a computer," Elmitt continued. "Once we have an accurate and well-rendered design that we like, it goes into CAD (computer assisted design, specifically Alias) and is partially engineered. Then a mock-up is made."
Elmitt explained that for the new M5, at least five different designs were made as accurate models that were actually fitted onto the car. At that point, some subjective decisions were made.
"One was too chunky," he said. "One was not sporty enough and so on, until the wheel you see on the car won through." There is still a subjective element in choosing the right wheel for a car, even if it's for a $100,000-plus super-sedan.
The fascination with wheels appears set to continue and grow, with car manufacturers more interested in selling their own accessory wheels to compete with aftermarket suppliers. It's like jewellery for your car.
If you think you know your wheels, identify the manufacturer for each of the wheels pictured in this article. Click here for the answers and enlarged images of these great wheels.
And if you're considering plus-sizing your wheels and tires, use CanadianDriver's handy calculator to determine the correct size.
source & pics of wheels HERE
I'm glad to see the wheels on the new GS & IS are better than what they' ve offered in the older Lexus models.
Last edited by Gojirra99; 04-05-05 at 07:04 AM.
04-05-05, 08:23 AM
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The manufacturers should stick with making the cars and let the wheel companies and us worry about customizing them. BMW has more problems than it's wheels not being pretty. Let's be honest, when was the last time a car manufacturer put a good looking set of stockers on one of it's cars? Besides, for the money the dealer is going to charge you to upgrade the wheels, you could probably get in to a set of HRE's.
04-05-05, 09:32 AM
#5
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iTrader: (20)
Good article. This part was a bit dorky though: 
... these shapes have an inherent dynamism and fluidity and therefore in my opinion, more character.
04-05-05, 09:34 AM
#6
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
When you guys see what is coming with gas prices wheels are probably going to be one of the last things to be concerned about.
04-05-05, 09:37 AM
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Good article but its much bigger than that. One of the main issues is cars and SUVs are just gettig bigger and bigger and bigger and they would look asinine with the same 15 or 16" wheels of the 1990s. Bigger wheels help offset the size increase, so the car won't look ungainly. If you read most publications, like the M3, they prefer 18" wheels to the 19s. The 996 has to have suspension changes if you want it to handle the same with 19s as 18s (Porsche saw tons of people weree adding 19s to the 996 and ensured they would fit and be optional on the 997). Jaguar has 20" wheels on the XK8 if you want, and the ride has been called just awful with them.
They also need to credit hip-hop culture for the expansion of wheel sizes. If these guys were not throwing 20s on everything and up to 28s on Hummers, the market would be a lot smaller. Like it or not, Hip-Hop has taken wheels to no pun intended, the next level when it comes to size.
It has been incredible for me, personally to watch. I had 16" chrome wheels back in 1997 on the ES and they were considered large and
. GOing to the same hangouts today, NO ONE has 16" wheels, its simply amazing how 20" or bigger has just become the standard. In less than 10 years, everything about wheels changed.
Today, even the tuner wheels, Volk, BBS, etc finally have 20" wheels in some popular styles.
They also need to credit hip-hop culture for the expansion of wheel sizes. If these guys were not throwing 20s on everything and up to 28s on Hummers, the market would be a lot smaller. Like it or not, Hip-Hop has taken wheels to no pun intended, the next level when it comes to size.
It has been incredible for me, personally to watch. I had 16" chrome wheels back in 1997 on the ES and they were considered large and
. GOing to the same hangouts today, NO ONE has 16" wheels, its simply amazing how 20" or bigger has just become the standard. In less than 10 years, everything about wheels changed. Today, even the tuner wheels, Volk, BBS, etc finally have 20" wheels in some popular styles.
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04-05-05, 09:45 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
Even at $4 or even $6 a gallon people are still going to like nice wheels. They may be sticking them on a 72 Pinto, but they'll have nice wheels.
Seriously, Yes, they will still like nice wheels, but paying for them might be another story.
04-05-05, 07:40 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Good article but its much bigger than that. One of the main issues is cars and SUVs are just gettig bigger and bigger and bigger and they would look asinine with the same 15 or 16" wheels of the 1990s.
Another one is families wanting to haul more and more stuff when they go out and on vacation.
I think of the British 'shoe box' sized vehicle I went on vacation as a kid with my 3 sisters, Mom and Dad (it was called an 'Imp'!), and compare that now with the Suburban many parents with ONE KID think they need to haul a month's worth of daipers, strollers, toys, medications, cleaning supplies, food, blankets, and on and on.
Here's the Imp.
My Dad actually got this sucker to 100mph one time (with wind behind us and slight downhill I think, LOL).
04-06-05, 07:47 AM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
I think some credit for larger vehicles goes to our obesity problems.
Another one is families wanting to haul more and more stuff when they go out and on vacation.
I .
Another one is families wanting to haul more and more stuff when they go out and on vacation.
I .
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