What To Consider When Choosing Alloy Wheels

Swapping your old wheels for fresh alloys is an exciting time for you and your car, giving it a brand-new style while enhancing your driving experience. But before fitting your alloys and taking them out for their first spin, there are numerous things to consider to ensure you choose the right ones for your vehicle to keep it looking and performing its best. Whether you’re wondering what the pros of alloys are or want to check if an alteration to your wheels would affect your insurance, look no further.

At G-Force Styling, we pride ourselves on providing our customers with the highest quality products and the same information standards to match. With optimum kit and knowledge, you can enjoy your car confidently and safely.

Things to consider when choosing alloy wheels

A dominant factor to consider when selecting your alloy wheels is their intended purpose. We understand that your car may need a new look, and updating your wheels is a quick and simple way to achieve this. However, many other elements of your wheels are important as they affect your vehicle's strength, weight and overall performance.

Construction

Various wheel constructions indicate the diverse qualities and functions they can offer, so choosing an appropriate alloy suited to your vehicle and its purpose is important. As a good starting point, you should examine alloy wheels' three main production techniques and the differing costs, weights and strengths.

• Cast is the most common manufacturing strategy, given its affordability. Crafting cast alloy wheels involves pouring hot molten aluminium into a mould and machine drilling and trimming it into the wheel once it has cooled. However, this affordable process can result in porosity, where the material can malfunction, causing it to crack. More material must be used to construct the alloy to avoid cracking, yet this increases the wheel's overall weight.

• Flow Formed combines weight, strength and price effectively, so most manufacturers use this technique to produce their wheels. The flow-formed process shares similarities with the casting method. However, the wheel’s width is initially made much narrower before being stretched by high-pressure rollers in time for fitting. This width alteration increases the wheel’s strength and weight, making the final product significantly thinner than a cast wheel.

• Forged wheels are the most expensive yet are designed to feature optimum weight and strength. Unlike cast or flow-formed wheels, a forged construction contains flexibility which will prevent them from cracking on impact, bending instead. Using CNC, the wheel is crafted from a block of optimum aluminium and crafted into a wheel shape. This sustainable means of production causes the whole block of aluminium to be used for the wheel, making it particularly robust.

Intended purpose

While purchasing new alloy wheels can be an exciting experience, adding them to your car for reasons beyond their aesthetic is important. We recommend researching different alloy types to ensure you utilise them for the right reasons, such as:

• Opting for affordability to replace worn-down wheels.

• Requiring an off-road wheel for tough terrains.

• Reducing the weight of your vehicle with a light, strong alloy for track or motorsport activities.

• Enhancing the personal use of your car with a highly load-rated wheel.

Vehicle Fitment

Our G-Force Styling homepage allows you to input your vehicle details to provide a bespoke shopping experience and browse alloy wheels compatible with your car.  Vehicle fitments vary significantly with every make and model, so choosing incompatible alloys will reduce the time and cost-effectiveness of your process. By selecting your vehicle details from the drop-down menus (pictured above), you can shop with confidence, knowing every product will match your car perfectly.

Approval/Certifications

Wheels undergo three main tests before reaching the market to determine the product’s quality or that of the manufacturer.

Strength of the Wheel

JWL and VIA testing are carried out to certify the wheel's strength. While a JWL test is self-certified by the manufacturer, potentially minimising the legitimacy of the results, a VIA test is completed by a governing body in a separate establishment to ensure honesty and accuracy. However, you can never be too careful when purchasing your alloy wheels, as some manufacturers may have a VIA logo stamp to apply to their wheels without going through the necessary checks.

Safety of the Wheel

Some European countries ask for TüV certification to ensure the maximum safety of your wheels, meaning they must exhibit a particular quality and be crafted to certain specifications. While TüV tests typically require a lot of time and money, some wheel styles are designed to hit TüV thresholds without undergoing the test or the cost that comes with it. This cheaper option gives buyers access to optimum quality without spending excessive amounts of money.

Colour and Style

Personalising your car beyond the colour of the bodywork is simple with alloy wheels, given their vast variety of designs and colours. Once you are happy with the quality of your alloys, ensure you have the same satisfaction with their appearance as you want to show off your vehicle with pride. Whether you opt for sleek black alloy wheels, one of our traditional silver designs, or make a statement with a diamond black front polished style, the opportunity to customise is endless at G-Force Styling!

Wheel Size

Check out our alloy wheels sizing guide for information on identifying the best wheel measurements for your vehicle, including gauging the width. As a general rule, start by checking that the diameter of your old wheels and tyres aligns with your replacements. While a decrease in the tyre profile will balance out a larger wheel size, you should not exceed more than a 2% difference in the overall diameter.

Pros and Cons of Alloy Wheels

With all things considered regarding alloy wheels, our pros and cons should be the next step in identifying whether they are the best fit for your vehicle and bank balance!

Do alloy wheels alter my car insurance or warranty?

While insurance companies anticipate vehicle owners making changes to their wheels, this is a modification and will need to be logged. The amendment to your wheels may increase your insurance premium, as alloys add value. As listed in our cons section, the appeal of thieves will also require further insurance to avoid added expense in the event of theft. We recommend liaising with your insurance company before purchasing wheel alloys in case of any specific policies or constraints.

Browse our quality range of alloy wheels at G-Force Styling

As well as brands and colours, you can browse our top-of-the-range wheel alloys by size. So, whether you’re looking for 16” alloy wheels or something larger, such as 22” styles, you can find it easily here!

Purchase your favourite alloys from G-Force Styling today and Get a Free Fitting Kit with Every Alloy Purchase!