WHEELS
Buying alloys is one of the best moments in car modification, seeing your car
transformed by a set of large alloys will keep you buzzing for ages.
Alloy Wheels
TYRES
Tyres may seem expensive, but you are paying for years
of research, testing and compound development, all
done in the name of extra performance. They are
also the most important modification to make as without a quality tyre
all the work that has gone into the suspension and engine cannot be appreciated
and driven to its optimum.
BUYING
When choosing a tyre, consider what you want from it and ensure the tyre fits
the bill before you buy. If you own a performance car, and like to drive
it hard, your tyre will need to offer excellent grip in both dry and wet
conditions, and need to excel under braking. You will only attain these
qualities with a good quality branded tyre with the correct speed rating.
Cheaper tyres will rarely offer the ultimate grip (wet or dry, handling
or braking) needed for safe, fast driving. Fit remoulds and you could get
embedded in something solid, or worse, hit something soft.
TYRE
WEAR
If your replacing tyres after just a couple of thousand miles, your car has
a geometry problem which needs sorting before fitting new tyres. With the geometry
corrected, your car will handle better and you shouldn't get through tyres
so quickly.
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FITMENT
Get this wrong and you will have wasted a lot of money. Offset is critical.
As a maximum allow plus or minus 5mm over standard. Ensure the size of
rim you're buying will fit under your car's arches. Most rims can be made
to fit, but the work involved may put their price out of your reach. As
a rule of thumb, upsizing by one inch will cause minimal problems, upsizing
by two inches can cause arch scrub, upsizing by three inches and you will
definitely be looking at modifying both bodywork and suspension.
COST
Always budget enough money to cover what is needed. Don't forget your alloys
will require four low-profile tyres, four new valves, fitting nuts or bolts,
fitting and balancing costs, and an increase on your insurance policy.
If you want value for money, check out the mega package deals available,
you could save yourself hundreds. If you want to keep your rims once they
are on, also budget for a set of locking wheel bolts.
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