Do you want to amplify the current looks of your car in the easiest way possible? If yes, you should change its wheels.
When your car passes by on the road, the first attention-grabbing element of your car is its wheels.
That’s why changing wheels is a costly process, and you’d look to cut down the cost as much as possible. One of the best ways is to fit another vehicle’s wheels into yours.
However, you can’t pick any random wheel and add them to your car. If the wheels aren’t 100% perfect, you’ll risk your safety and see a significant impact on the car’s ride and handling.
Due to this, you should know whether another vehicle’s wheels can fit in your car or not. And if yes, what are the things to consider while doing so. Continue reading this article, and you’ll get to know about all these.
What wheels from other vehicles will fit your car?
So now that you have decided to swap your current wheels with the ones from another vehicle, you should remember that rims play a vital role in selecting the wheels for your car.
Hence, either while buying new wheels designed for your car or trying to fit ones from another vehicle, pay heed to the rim size of both. Not just the diameter but tons of other measurements are essential to pen down.
It is necessary as a wrong fit can negatively affect the drive, handling, braking power, etc. According to a survey, over 20% of road accidents happen due to the above reason.
Hence, don’t just randomly pick any vehicle’s wheels to fit in your car. You can only swap those wheels with identical rim sizes, i.e., diameter and width, center bore, offset, and bolt pattern.
Things you need to consider before using a wheel from another vehicle
The following is your handy guide to look into when you need to upgrade or use a wheel from another vehicle.
Look at the combination of letters and numbers on the tire.
Have you noticed a combination of letters and numbers mentioned on the tires, something like 215/55R16 93H?
This set of numbers and letters represent some important stuff and information regarding that tire on which it’s present.
For example, the above set belongs to the famous Honda Civic. In this code, “215” represents the section width of the tire in millimeters, the aspect ratio is “55%”, “R” means the tire has radial construction, and “16” signifies the wheel width in inches.
Last, “93” means the weight each tire can support. Hence, the other wheel from the other vehicle should have similar values.
The number of bolts and the bolts pattern
The next crucial aspect while talking about wheels is their bolt pattern. In every or most case, it’s the bolt pattern that’s the difference between the wheels fitting in and the ones that don’t.
Hence, don’t forget to check out the bolt pattern of the other wheel you’re considering swapping. Also, count the number of bolts on the rim of both wheels.
Fit
Appearance-wise and measurement-wise, the other wheel looks perfect to the naked eyes but will it fit perfectly? Or not?
When it comes to the fitment of the wheels, you must heed the offset and backspace.
While offset is the distance measured from the wheel’s dead center to the mounting surface, the latter is between the wheel’s back and the mounting surface.
Now, let’s discuss what’ll happen if any of these two isn’t as per the stock tire. The offset can take any higher value or lower value.
If the offset is higher than it should, you will see more clearance between the tire’s outside edge and fender, and less between the tire’s inside edge and the suspension section.
Similarly, if the offset is lower, you’ll notice the tire rubbing against the fender.
Talking about the backspace, more of it will mean the tire is closer to the suspension components, while less backspacing will mean the tire will move out of the fender.
In a nutshell, remember that different cars have different designs and, thus, different tire requirements.
A plus-size wheel?
You must have seen sports cars with slightly plus-sized wheels. But have you wondered why?
It’s mainly for cleaner and luxurious looks, but the same doesn’t apply to all cars. Plus-size wheels have a set of pros and cons; however, here’s what you’d consider if you’re planning to use plus-size wheels.
If we increase the wheel size from 16″ to 17″, here are the changes we will see.
- The wheel diameter has increased by an inch.
- However, the tire diameter is still the same.
- The sidewall is now shorter than before.
- The wheel and section width have increased by an inch.
- Lastly, the aspect ratio has lowered down due to increased section width and short sidewall.
Hence, if you’re planning to pick plus-size tires for your car from another vehicle, i.e., the size has increased by even an inch, the above changes will occur.
Price
In tires, each wheel has its separate pricing, and it depends upon the brand, size, and other factors. Now, if you’re using a wheel from another vehicle, you may or may not need to pay.
If the former is the case, you should remember that your current wheel’s price may or may not resemble that of the other wheel. So, keep in mind the price factor too.
Used or unused?
Here comes the main characteristic: used or unused wheel? Every wheel has a fixed life or number of miles it can deliver before dying.
If you’re using a new and unused wheel, it’s better than using a new wheel. As in the latter, you will have to again spend on the new wheels after some time.
In a nutshell, there are no restrictions in using wheels from another vehicle, but the things mentioned above are essential to note down before doing so.
Ways to know the right wheels for your car
If you want to know the right wheels for your car, the following points will help you a lot.
- First, count the number of bolts and their pattern on the current rim. To save yourself some time, don’t go after all models and pick the models having the same number of bolts and patterns as you.
- Measure the diameter of the wheels, i.e., measure across their inside edge.
- Similarly, please measure the width of the wheels, i.e., measure across their outside edge.
- Determine the backspacing and offset. While you can measure the backspacing to determine the offset, subtract the backspacing from the wheel’s width and divide the result by 2.
- Now, with the above set of values, cut short your options.
- If money is not an issue, you can also go for designer alloys for a neater and cleaner look.
- If you are wondering about the material of the wheels, steel wheels are the best. It is because they are highly durable, easy to maintain, repair, and economical.
- It’s up to you to go with colored rims or not.
So, these are the few ways to determine the right wheels for your car.
Side effects of using a wrong wheel
The following are the side effects of using the wrong wheel.
Car handling issues
It would help if you used the wheels designed for your car, but there is a window to experiment with the wheel’s size, 3% for standard cars and 15% for big SUVs.
Now, within this window, too, you will see slight changes in terms of drive, steering control, acceleration, etc.
But it’s okay. Anything outside this window will significantly impact how you handle the car and thus isn’t advisable.
Variations in the speedometer
Yes, any changes in the tires will have consequent variations in the speedometer.
For example, by using shorter tires, the speedometer will read faster than it is, and in the case of taller tires, the speedometer will read slowly.
Gas mileage
The size of the tires also affects the car’s gas mileage. For example, shorter tires are responsible for poor gas mileage, while bigger tires result in better gas mileage.
It is because shorter tires cover short distances and bigger tires cover more distances for the same gas. And thus, deliver better gas mileage.
Depending upon the tires’ other characteristics, you may experience other adverse side effects apart from the above ones.
How to check after changing your wheel?
If you have just changed the wheels and are unsure about your job, you can ascertain your work’s correctness. Here is how-
After changing the wheels of your car,
- Physically inspect the wheels you have changed for the tightness or looseness of the bolts. As a thumb rule, the bolt should not be too tight nor too loose.
- Now, check the tire pressure just before you start the car. If the tire pressure is less than recommended, fill in the appropriate pressure.
- It’s time to check the alignment of the wheels. For this, take your beauty on the road and examine the alignment. Or you can also get it checked at a garage.
- Now, don’t forget to check the speedometer’s readings for any changes that you might feel if the wheels are not suitable for your car.
- The fuel economy is another thing to check out after changing the wheels. Check if the mileage has decreased, increased, or is the same as before.
These are some ways of checking the wheels of the car after changing them.
Conclusion
Different cars have different wheels with different dimensions. It’s a fun fact that besides using the wheels designed for your car, in particular, there is a window for you to experiment in this regard.
That is, to go modern and sporty, you might feel to try either smaller tires or bigger tires against the stock ones.
So, here, you can experiment with this; however, keep in mind that it’ll bring some changes to your car’s drive, handling at different speeds, the readings on the dashboard, mileage, and much more.
Even in some cases, inappropriate wheel sizes can prove fatal.
Hence, while changing the car tires and using one from another vehicle, consider the above things and test drive your car before heading on a long road trip.
