Taking care of your wheels

• Clean with a soft, un-abrasive cloth.
• Do not use steam cleaners this can lead to surface peeling.
• Do not use aluminium wheel polish on chrome, painted, or clear coated wheels.
• Clean wheels only when they are cold.
• Waxing your wheels can help protect the surface and help make future cleaning easier.
• Only use cleaners specific to your wheel type. Never use acid based cleaners on any wheel.

Tyre Pressure

• Tyres can be easily damaged if the correct air pressure is not maintained they lose pressure over time which causes irregular tread wear and shortens the life of your tyres.
• Fuel consumption and steering control can also be affected if the tyres are under-inflated or over-inflated.
• Remember to check your spare tyre pressure whenever you check your other tyres.
• Tyre pressures for your vehicle can be found in the manual, or try looking around the door frames and petrol cap for a small detail plate
• Visually inspect you tyres regularly.
• Tyre pressures will rise when they are hot. If possible, check your pressures when the tyres are cold.

Tyre Wear Indicator

As the tyres wear there performance and grip decreases you can check the tread depth on the tyre by looking at the tyre bars which are small raised rubber notches that run across the tread design and become visible when tyres are worn. We would advise changing tyres at 3mm tread depth as tyre performance drops off considerably after that depth.

The minimum legal tread depth for tyres is 1.6mm if the tread depth is level with the wear bar this is a good indication that your tyre needs replacing. Do not wait for the tyres to reach the wear bars if the vehicle begins to feel unsafe. Tyres which are below 1.6mm are illegal. This can lead to a fine of up to £2500 + 3 pts per tyre. Each tyre is treated as a seperate offence

Penalties

If caught you will be liable for prosecution if any tyre on your vehicle has a defect or is below the minimum tread depth of 1.6mm.

The penalty for this offence is a fine (maximum £2,500) and 3 penalty points on your license you may also face disqualification from driving. Each tyre on your vehicle is treated as a separate offence.

Bolt patterns

Wheels are available with varying bolt patterns, and some have more than one bolt pattern allowing them to be fitted to a wider range of vehicles.

4 x 100

The number 4 refers to the number of holes in the wheel.

The number 100 refers to the diameter of the circle of bolt holes measured in millimeters.

Wheels with 4 or 6 bolt holes are measured from the centre of one bolt hole to the centre of the bolt hole directly opposite.

Wheels with 5 bolt holes require special tools for accurate measurement.

Wheel Offset

The wheel offset refers to the distance between the mounting surface and the centre of the wheel rim.

Each vehicle has a recommended offet (ET), which needs to be correctly matched to a set of wheels.

If the ET is incorrect, it may lead to your wheels being located too far in, or too far out from your wheel arch.

Up-Stepping your wheels

This means your are increasing the size of your wheels and lowering the profile of your tyres for increased performance and style, here's the rule of thumb for Up-sizing, follow these simple rules for unchanged speedometer readings and fuel economy:

To increase wheel size by 1 inch
Increase the tyre section width by 10mm
Decrease the tyre aspect ratio by 10 points
Increase the wheel rim diameter by 1 inch

Plus 2:
Increase the tyre section width by 20mm
Decrease the tyre aspect ratio by 20 points
Increase the wheel rim diameter by 2 inches

Wheel Center bore

The wheel center bore is the hole in the centre of the wheel that fits over the hub.
Most wheels are manufactured with a large center bore allowing them to be fitted to a wider range of vehicles.
If the center bore is larger than the hub, A spigot ring will have to be used.
Spigot rings fit between the wheel and the hub centering the wheel so there is no run out when the wheel is fitted.

Tightening Wheel Bolts

Always use a torque wrench when tightening wheel bolts check your car manual for the correct settings.
When fitting new wheels re-torque the wheel bolts after about 60 to 90 miles.

Wheel Construction

Wheels are manufactured in various ways most alloys are made in one, two or three pieces.
A one-piece wheel is made in a single mould.
Two-piece wheels are made in two separate moulds and then the two pieces are welded/bolted together.
Three-piece wheels are made in three separate moulds and then the three pieces are fixed together using very high quality bolts.

Tyre Speed Ratings

Speed ratings are an indication of the maximum safe speed for the tyre, the maximum safe speed of the tyre should not be exceeded under any circumstances.
Please use the following guide to determine the speed rating required for your vehicle:

Tyre Sizing

Passenger tyre sizes are typically displayed as:

215/35R18 89ZR

• 215 is the width of a tyre measured in millimetres from sidewall to sidewall.
• 35 is the aspect ratio of the tyre and is measured using the following method: Divide the tyre section height by the tyre section width and multiply it by 100.
• R means the tyre has a radial construction.
• B means the tyre has a belted construction.
• D means the tyre has a diagonal construction.
• 18 is the diameter of the wheel in inches.
• 89 is the tyre load index.
• ZR is the speed rating.

When do you need to replace the tyres?

Most standard tyres will last around 15,000 to 20,000 miles although this will vary considerably depending on your driving style, road conditions and the type of road you are using. . Tyres on the driving wheels will wear out faster than non driven ones especially on a front wheel drive car Our Advice is to inspect your tyres regularly and replace at least in pairs at 3mm tread depth or if the car is 4wd to replace all 4 tyres at the same time. All mileages listed are a guide only.

Warranty

Typical warranty on alloy wheels:

36 months structural warranty
12 months on standard paint finishes
06 months on polished and chrome wheels