Wheel & Tyre Care Handy Hints. Wheel Offset Chart

WHEEL & TYRE CARE HANDY HINTS...BY SAM ALWAHAN (10 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN WHEELS & TYRES)

Tyre Pressure & Maintenance

Rule number one in the tyre industry is NEVER rely on the service station gauges for an accurate reading. Alternatively buy a little hand held gauge or a pen type tyre pressure gauge. I recommend checking your tyre pressures every two to three weeks. While doing so take note of the condition of your tyres side wall, and check the tread for any foreign objects such as glass or nails. Always use a valve cap to prevent the deterioration of the valve core. I also recommend running slightly higher tyre pressures than that shown on your tyre placard. It will provide you with more grip, stability and a longer life for your tyres.

For most small / medium size vehicles such as Nissan Pulsar, Honda Civic, Accords etc, I recommend between 32psi to 36psi. For the larger vehicles like Ford Falcon's & Holden Commodore's I recommend between 36psi to 38psi. And for 4x4’s mainly used on road, i recommend as high as 38psi to 42psi as suitable inflation. Tyres on light commercial vehicles (carrying loads) should run a high tyre pressure over 45psi. This is suitable for a van or ute with for example tyre size of 185R14c
I recommend referring to the side wall of the tyre for maximum inflation information.

To ensure longevity, I recommend a wheel alignment, tyre rotation, and balance, to be carried out every 10,000km minimum (in normal driving conditions). You may also like to note that if your ride has been lowered and fitted with bigger wheels and tyres, then 5,000km is recommended to maximise the life and performance of the tyres. Inside edge wear can be caused by increasing the camber angles, which occurs naturally when a vehicle is lowered.

How do I tell what size my vehicle has?
Wheel & Tyre Fitment Chart

What do all those numbers mean?
To help you understand it a little more, we’ll assume the tyre on your vehicle is a 225/55R16, which means the tyre is roughly 225mm wide, and 55 percent of its width (55% of 225mm) is the height of its sidewall. The R is for Radial construction, and 16 is inches that’s the diameter of the wheel the tyre is to be fitted to. If you were wondering it is Metric and Imperial measurements.

Wheel Care

Once you have your new wheels fitted its important to keep them off the gutters there is nothing worse than gutter rash on a new set of rims. If possible avoid road hazards; pot holes, branches, hub caps etc. Ok tired of hearing things you already know. Well let’s get down to business, Keeping a high and regularly maintained tyre pressure is rule number one to keeping a buckle free rim especially if your rides sitting on 18 or bigger the lower the profile the more chance of a dent. That’s part of life right, but we can help avoid it. I got 235/35R19 on my ride for example I run them at (some people might call crazy) 40psi front and 38psi rear, and not one buckle to date. Actually i put it up on our hoist the other day and carried out a rotation, balance and alignment. My wheels where barely out of balance, and with the old weights removed only took approx 20grams of weight each.

Cleaning your wheels:
DO NOT use any cleaning sprays or degreasers on alloy wheels. I only recommend washing wheels with your normal car wash and sponge (warm soapy water). I also recommend buying two sponges. Use one sponge to wash your wheels, and the other to wash the cars body. Always wash your wheels after you are done with the vehicles body.

Keep the wheels wet at all times whilst you are cleaning them. NEVER wipe dust off with a dry cloth when wheels are dry as this will scratch the surface of the wheels.

My personal little secret to get the best result with your tyre shine; Apply the Tyre Shine to the tyres before you wash the car remember to be generous. After washing your car, wash your wheels then chamois off any excess water wiping wipe over the tyres with a wet cloth and your done. This way you will maintain that brand new tyre look with a nice clean shine without leaving that black dotted spray all over the side of your pride and joy.

How wheel size and offsets work:
As shown in the example the width of the wheel is measured in inches from bead to bead horizontally; the size is measured from bead to bead vertically and is also represented in inches.

The measurement of offset is the gap between the wheels bolt face, where it sits on the hub of the vehicle, to the vertical centre line of the wheel. If the wheels bolt face is before the centre line this is positive offset, if the wheels bolt face protrudes further than the centre line it then becomes negative offset. For example we're looking at a 17"x8" wheel with a 22P offset. The centre line would be at the 4" mark, and from the bolt face to the centre line is a 22mm gap giving it an offset of 22 positive.

Alloy Wheel Cross Section

The PCD (Pitch Circular Diameter) or stud pattern is measured with 2 lots of numbers. Most comonly placed first is the amount of studs on the vehicle followed by the measurement of an imaginary circle that passes through the centre of each stud. This measurement is represented in millimetres. For example if a wheel has a 5/120 PCD this means it has 5 stud holes and the diameter of the circle that passes through the centre of the stud is 120mm.

Wheel Pitch Circle Diameter

If you have any question relating to the topics covered or seeking technical or maintanance advice, otherwise dont hesitate to drop us an email to info@wheelandtyrepackages.com.au and we will be more than happy to assist you with your enquiry.