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How to choose the correct custom wheel for your car or truck

Posted on December 31, 2010

How to choose the correct wheel for your car or truck

Shopping for new custom wheels for your car or truck is not an easy task. First you have to decide from thousands of different sizes and styles and that can be down right mind boggling to say the least. So let’s simplify things about and answer a few questions okay.

The first question to ask yourself is what is my budget? This will determine many things such as do I need to stick with the stock size since going bigger means I need new tires as well. Can I afford chrome or do I need to stick with painted or polished aluminum or even steel? Chrome wheels are generally much more in case anyone is wondering.

Once you have figured out your budget it is time to move on to the finish. What kind of finish do I want. If your budget is on the lesser side this will rule out chrome, however it does not rule out polished aluminum as an alternative. Just remember polished aluminum is much more maintenance however with the proper polishes and tools and a high speed drill this can be fairly easy to accomplish when needed. If you have chosen a painted or powder coated rim then remember you want to protect them. Painted wheels should be waxed on occasion to help give them a barrier from brake dust etc.. Another thing you will want to do with painted wheels is keep them clean. If brake dust sets on them they will develop the nasty rust spots that will not come out. Now that you have learned a little bit about the finishes it is time to move onto the next step. By now you should know your budget and hopefully what size you need. You should also have an idea on what finish you want and what color.

So you have narrowed your selection down to a certain size, finish and color. Now you must find the right style that has the correct offset for your vehicle. This is best determined by your rim dealer but here is a brief explanation off offset. A front wheel drive car has a positive offset meaning that the face of the wheel is toward the outside edge. An older rear wheel drive car or truck has a negative offset meaning the face of the wheel is in deeper many times a zero offset meaning the mounting surface is exactly halfway. A modern SUV or truck usually has a mid offset which is more on the positive side such as plus 30 offset compared to a car which may have a plus 38 offset. The numbers are in millimeters by the way.

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