Alloy wheels are wheel rims made from magnesium alloys, aluminum alloys, or both. Since magnesium is an important element, these rims are also called “Mag” wheels.
Steel was always used to make car wheels in the past because it is strong, lasts a long time, and looks good. The utilization of alloy wheels went up because motorsport companies bought more of them. As the commercial market started to use them, their prices went down. Alloy wheels are also better than steel wheels in a number of ways.
The Alloy wheel repairs Manchester is thru of light metals like aluminum and a few other things. This makes the performance and handling better because it speeds up the car, shortens the time it takes to stop, and puts less stress on the suspension parts. When driving in extreme conditions, alloy wheels are much better than steel wheels at letting the heat from the brakes escape.
Steel wheels are a cheaper alternative to alloy wheels, and many people use them in the winter when the weather can be very harsh. And if you bump into one or two curbs, you are less likely to ruin their looks.
Why alloy wheels are better?
- Optimized fuel economy
- Lighter weight: 20% lighter than a regular steel wheel
- Better starting and stopping
- Better handling because the car bends less when turning corners.
- A car looks better
- All wheels should undergo testing to make sure they meet or exceed JWL, VIA, and SAE standards for radial fatigue, impact resistance, bending resistance, air leaking, and more.
- Salt spray corrosion tests (CASS)
We all know that new alloy wheels make your car look great. But they are a lot more than just how they look. Also, a lot of the technology that had been top off in high-performance military aircraft star to make its way into the car industry. Aluminum or magnesium (hence the term “mag“) wheels were a big part of this.
Aluminum alloy wheels
It turned out that magnesium was fine for racing or other short-term uses, but it was too brittle and prone to cracking for use on the street, so aluminum became the preferred metal. They are cast off as “aluminum alloy wheels” because they are made of a mixture of different materials, or “alloy.” Usually, the mix is made up of 94 percent aluminum, 4 percent silica, and about 2 percent of other things.
This alloy is stronger than steel pound for pound, so an aluminum wheel can be made to carry the same weight but weigh 20% less. It’s pretty clear that removing any extra weight from a vehicle will make it run better, but removing weight from the wheels has an added benefit because the wheels themselves need energy to speed up and more energy to slow down.
Imagine that a bicycle and a car are both hanging in the air next to each other. If you stood between the two and tried to turn each wheel with the same amount of force, you would see that the bicycle wheel turned much faster.
Handling will also be better if the wheels are lighter. Because there is less weight on the “unsprung” side, the suspension system can respond faster and better to bumps and other imperfections in the road, keeping your tires in better contact with it.
The right set of alloys will not only make your car look better, but they will also help you use less gas, stop, turn, and go faster.
The Process of Fixing up Alloy Wheels
When looking for the best alloy wheel refurbishment process for your wheels, you should keep in mind that the term “alloy wheel refurbishment” can mean a number of different things. These things are:
When powder coating and wet spray are cast off together, the whole wheel is refurbished. This process is cast-off to change the wheel’s color or return it to its original finish when the damage is too severe or spread out over too many areas for a cosmetic repair to be enough.
It means fixing up the whole wheel, which can only be thru with special ovens and tools to remove old coatings, fix damage and corrosion, and put on a brand-new finish. It has a great finish and lasts a very long time. Get a quote right away.
Then there is the refurbishment of a diamond-cut wheel, which is the same as the refurbishment of a powder-coating wheel, except that a diamond-cut lathe is cast-off to remove a tiny bit of metal to give the wheel its classic diamond-cut look.
The last step in fixing up alloy wheels is a cosmetic or SMART Alloy Wheel Welding Manchester repair, which fixes a small area of damage to the wheel’s finish. The repair is the same color as the rest of the finish.
To know more, do reach out to us.