Big Rims

There was a time when cars with big rims rode on 15 inch wheels. Even full sized sedans often came standard with 13 or 14 inch rims. There were factory 15 inch wheels available on top of the line models or as a cost option. This was 35 years ago however.

In today’s day and age people use rims on 18 inch wheels all the way up to 40 inch wheels. Yes 40 inch wheels! This begs to ask the question of how to install these larger wheels and why would you want to go that big.

Most people when they want to upgrade to big rims their wheels will either go with the same sized wheel or slightly larger. It is common to swap the factory wheels out for a nice set of aftermarket chrome or aluminum wheels to get the look and enhance the appearance. Things to look for when it comes to rims are fender rub and the tires rubbing against the inner fender when cornering. If swapping to a slightly larger wheel this can often times be avoided by using a lower profile tire. By doing this, the overall tire/wheel package will have the same outside diameter and the original package, thus alleviating any clearance issues for rims. When performing this upgrade make sure the bolt pattern on the wheels matches that which is on your vehicle.

If you are looking to go larger than a few inches you will certainly run into clearance issues and rubbing problems with a car with big rims. Going from 17 inch rims to 22 inch rims can cause these problems without modifying your vehicle. A common modification for wheels this size is to trim the wheel openings to accommodate the over-sized rolling stock.

What about the people who are rolling on extreme 30 inch or 40 inch wheels? Most of these wheels are fitted with ultra low profile tires but there is still no way that they will fit under a factory car. Just as a reference, most semi trucks nowadays ride on 22.5 inch wheels. For big rims this is typically accomplished with blocks between the axle and springs in the rear and shims in the front. It is highly recommended that a shop be hired to install the lift. If you install it incorrectly and if fails there is the risk of serious injury or even death. Once the lift is installed the wheels and tires can be installed.

There is much more to consider though as you are adding rims larger than 30 inches. When the vehicle is raised that far it will resemble a big four wheel drive car even though its not. The same steps need to be taken as lifting a 4×4 with larger tires however. With the car that high off the ground it is likely that the drive shaft will no longer reach the rear differential. The other major modification will be a gear swap in the rear differential. The factory brakes are not designed to stop the larger wheels to accommodate rims.

The last question is why do people want big rims. Mostly it is for the way the car looks way up in the air. When driving these rims, you feel like you are way above the rest of the motoring public because, well you are! This is a love it or hate it look. There aren’t many people that are indifferent to this look because it is so radically different from anything else on the road.

The bottom line if you are going with huge wheels is to make sure that all the work is done correctly and that no short cuts are taken. That is a mistake that can have catastrophic results for cars with big rims.

One Response to “Checking Out Cars With Big Rims”