Many millions of Americans own a car or pickup truck, and these vehicles are a major responsibility to own. Any new or used car may need some repair or maintenance due to wear and tear or a recent accident, and this includes the tires, wheels, and rims. All cars and trucks have wheels, of course, and they are not to be ignored. Having new car rims installed helps keep the wheel solid and stylish, and custom wheels may have fancy new rims installed for aesthetics. Even cheap tires may prove to be a fine upgrade over worn out or damaged tire sets, and a tire shop may offer all sorts of models to choose from. In fact, some tires are designed for particular types of terrain or conditions, and that includes not just car tire sets but also a tire for an ATV or dune buggy. What are the hazards that may present themselves to a car wheel’s tire or rim?
A New Tire Set
Car tires are large and tough, and they are inflated with air for a sturdy driving surface. Newer drivers may soon learn that only fully inflated tires offer a smooth and efficient ride, as solid tires help maintain the car’s fuel economy. If tires are very old, they may start slowly deflating even if they aren’t traumatically punctured, and this is a problem. An old tire will keep leaking air and go soft, which makes it less efficient to drive on, at the very least. A car with an old set of tires will lose fuel economy efficiency, and at worst, this car may go out of control or handle in unexpected ways. In the worst case scenario, this might even cause a crash.
Tires may also suffer due to sudden, serious trauma. A car’s driver might go over sharp and hard objects such as scrap metal, rocks, or broken glass, and this may puncture a tire and blast out all the air. This is hard to miss; a punctured tire may explode loudly, and even if not, a flat tire will severely hamper the car’s driving, and the driver may have to pull over and stop. In yet other cases, an old tire has been worn down and it provides poor grip, and that may be a real hazard in slippery conditions such as rain, snow, and ice.
Fortunately, there is a massive and constant need of new car tires, so any car owner can find a new tire set anywhere they look. A new tire will be tough and easily hold its air, helping to restore a car’s fuel economy efficiency. A new tire may also be a specialized model designed for ice, snow, or water, and even if not, a new tire will have better and safer grip than an old one. Car enthusiasts are experts who may own their own garage, and there, they can swap out an old tire set and put on a new set of tires onto any car. This may be done for upkeep, aesthetics, particular driving conditions, or any other reason.
Car Rims
Meanwhile, a car’s wheel is made up not only of the rubber tire, but the metal wheel itself. Repairing or replacing a wheel calls for help, and a number of problems may come up. On old cars, the wheel’s inner parts may rust out and wear thin, or the ball bearings may fall out or get damaged. In other cases, though, the damage may be more superficial. In particular, the metal rims (often made of aluminum) may get very dirty or damaged after a road incident or other trauma. But that doesn’t have to last for long.
Car rims are relatively easy to fix, and a car enthusiast can easily take care of this in their private garage. Rims can be taken right off a wheel, and once heated, these malleable aluminum disks can be pounded back into shape and put back on. They can also be washed and cleaned, but the owner should not use steel wool (which will scratch up the surface). Some car enthusiasts also like to put on entirely new rims on their cars, mainly for aesthetics. Custom rims vary in their shape and even their color.