(From top): The Tata Indica Silhouette sports a snazzy set of wheel rims; the Mini boasts of a fancy spoked rim design; a view of the Charger’s wheel rim

Are you bored to death with your car? Tired of its looks and wish you could do something to freshen it up? Well, there is always the customisation route whereby you can make your car look very, very different. The problem is, sometimes the entire project can go horribly wrong. Remember those Tatamobiles that everyone thought would be so easy to convert into a desi Mercedes Benz? Almost every single conversion went terribly wrong. But there’s no need to throw up your hands in utter despair, for there is a very simple way of transforming your dull and dreary car into a snazzy set of wheels. It’s simple! Just buy yourself a snazzy set of wheels or to make things more clear ? a set of new wheel rims.

There was a time when we leafed enviously through glossy foreign magazines filled with mean machines. Did you ever notice that those cars always had snazzy wheel rims that changed the entire look? But then again, remember that the small print at the bottom of the advertisement always read: “Accessories shown in the picture are not part of standard equipment”.

However, the good news for car junkies is that the fanciest types of wheel rims are now available in India, and are also actually manufactured here in sizes that fit Indian cars. The brands worth checking out are Neo Wheels and Aura from Hindalco, both of which are Indian-made. The latter actually advertises its wheel rim designs as jewellery for the car and indeed, that’s what wheel rims do ? accentuate the looks just like fine jewellery on a lady. Of course, imported brands are also available and if one is opting for these, the names to look out for include Enkei, OZ Wheels, Rial, BBS and Ronal.

What do you have to look out for while buying a new set of wheels? Well, that depends upon whether you’re going for a direct fit replacement or upstepping. Upstepping is the act of fitting wheels that are taller or wider than the OE fitment. And, yes there are certain requirements that are to be observed while upstepping.

The basic principle is to make sure that the overall diameter of the new wheel-tyre combination is the same as or very closely matches that of the original fitment. This is where aspect ratio comes into play. Aspect ratio is the ratio of the tread width to the height of the sidewall, which is the distance between the edge of the rim and the top edge of the tyre tread. Low aspect ratio tyres not only make a car look more sporty and stylish, they also improve handling issues like turn-in. A wider tread means a more stable car while cornering, not to mention better braking, as the contact patch interacting with the road surface is now greater. The lower the height of the sidewall, the lower the overall diameter.

So in a tyre that is rated 155/80 R13, 155 refers to the tread width, 80 is the aspect ratio and 13 is the wheel diameter in inches. A low aspect ratio 175/70 R13 or a 195/60 R14 tyre could replace this for example. Here, 175 implies a wider tread and 70 implies a lower aspect ratio tyre fitted onto the same sized rim. The second figure means the tyre width is 195, the aspect ratio is 60, but because the aspect ratio is low, the overall diameter is less. So, one uses a 14-inch rim instead of a 13-inch one to get back to the original diameter.

Why not go for a smaller overall diameter? Because the idea is to keep the overall gearing of the car unchanged while enhancing the looks of the car. There may seem to be a performance increase with a smaller overall diameter, but fuel consumption is likely to increase. So unless one is going racing, a single step up is the way to go. The other reason not to consider a very wide tread is that if the tyre is too wide, it will foul the bodywork when turning left or right.

The other thing to note while upstepping, especially if the wheel is not a direct replacement, is the PCD or the pitch circle diameter and the bolt pattern. The first is the diameter of an imaginary circle drawn through the studs of the hub. It should be the same as the PCD of the stud holes of the rim to ensure a perfect fit. Bolt pattern is not an issue with Indian wheels because these are made for Indian cars. It is only when one is opting for an imported wheel that you need to watch out for the bolt pattern. Having said that, none of the cars on Indian roads today, except the Tata Indica and the Mahindra Scorpio, are true Indian cars. So the chances of finding an exact fit for a Hyundai Santro or a Chevrolet Optra (also sold as a Suzuki Forenza in the USA, incidentally) or Mitsubishi Lancer for example are pretty good.

Apart from the handling benefits, manufacturers claim that the cars are easier to drive and fuel economy improves, because these wheels are lighter than OE wheels. But then again, most people look at that as a side benefit, because the primary reason for investing in trendy wheels is the cool look, which is reason enough.

Photographs of Tata Indica Silhouette and Charger by author

Road rage

Alokananda Roy,
dancer

I admit that the traffic scene in Calcutta has vastly improved over the past few years. But invariably, I still get very angry when negotiating my way through the traffic, seeing the abysmal amount of respect we have for rules. As pedestrians or drivers, we just take it for granted that we have right of way. We jaywalk, we overtake, and we use wrong lanes and then blame the police for traffic snarls. Not to say that the cops sometimes don’t turn a blind eye, but things would be much better if we were responsible and not in such a tearing hurry, often for no good reason. We spend public money on road safety measures. We complain for all we’re worth and then, we don’t use them! Each one of us wants to go first, without any consideration for the safety of one’s self or others. And often this leaves us stuck for hours because everyone else has exactly the same idea!