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The car wheels are not just the tires and rims you see immediately when you look at the direction; there are actually many parts of a car wheel, and it’s important you know them. Wheels play an important role in every automobile; you can’t drive a car with a broken wheel component.
That said, in this article, we’d explain the various components and parts that make up the wheeling system of a vehicle. Whether it’s a supercar, SUV, crossover, sedan, coupe, van, truck, a wagon, or other types of cars, the wheel parts of motor vehicles are similar.
Let’s get started!
Major Parts of a Car Wheel
1. The Tire (also called Tyre)
Everyone knows this part of car wheels – tires are the easily seen parts of car wheels. A tire is inflated using compressed, and they are made from rubber – different types of rubbers actually; hence, there are different types of car tires.
Tires are installed around the rims to protect the rims from coming in contact with the road as you drive the car. There are many types and designs of tires, such as off-road tires, winter tires, summer tires, all-season tires, and many others. Car tires are always black in color.
2. Rims
Rims are those shiny, oval metallic components that form the base for car tires’ installation. It is the rims that hold the tires to the car wheels. Car rims are often made of steel or alloy and can appear in different colors; they can also come in various designs and feature bolt holes to fasten them to the wheel.
Car rims are a very important part of the wheel system, available in different sizes, just as tires. Your car’s rim size is what determines the tire sizes you’d buy. Bigger tires use bigger rims; bigger rims imply you’d use big tires – stuff like that.
3. Wheel Hub
A wheel hub assembly is a pre-assembled unit featuring a number of studs, precision bearings, seals, and sensors. This is practically the most important part of a car wheel, and that’s because every other part of a car wheel is somehow attached to the wheel hub assembly.
If you decide to change your car’s stock rims and tires, you must buy a rim with bolt holes and nuts that match the wheel hub installed on your car. To further explain how important the wheel hub is, the car wheel part houses the brake rotors, pads, and calipers.
4. Bearings
Wheel bearings, or simply bearings, are a set of steel balls held together in a metal ring called “race.” These steel balls play an important role in keeping the car wheel spinning; you can’t drive when the wheel bearings are damaged, and if you force it, the resulting scenario can be dangerous.
The wheel bearings are installed inside the wheel hub in disc-brake wheels and help to connect the wheel to the axle. In drum-brake wheels, you’d also find the bearings inside the brake drum as part of the hub.
5. The Wheel Valve (also called Tire Valve)
The wheel valve, or tire valve, whichever you choose to call it, is the tire pressure regularizer. It is the part of a car wheel that keeps the tire inflated or deflated.
Air is pumped into car tires through the valve stem; when the valve stem is broken, the tires won’t hold air/pressure, making driving difficult.
6. Wheel Fasteners
Wheel fasteners are the least noticed parts of a car wheel, yet, they are practically the most important. Wheel fasteners include bolts, studs, and removable nuts.
These are kind of bolts that help to hold the car wheel components – securing them into position so they don’t fall off while driving at any speed.
7. Center Bore
The center bore of a car wheel is a machined opening visible at the center of the wheel; its function is to help keep the car wheel aligned properly.
If, for any reason, you need to change your car’s wheel hub, the new hub must match the size of the center bore. Otherwise, the new wheel won’t be balanced after installation.
8. Wheel Flanges
A wheel flange serves as a protective gear attached to wheel rims to keep the wheel on a rail. Flanges are a round flat adapter hub installed using nuts threading onto lug bolts. Well, this wheel component is not seen on all vehicles.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What Is The Part Of The Car That The Wheel is Attached To?
Car wheels and all their components are attached to the wheel hub; this includes the rim, bearings, flanges, and tires. The wheel hub assembly is sturdily built to last through the car’s lifespan but can get damaged due to hard impacts (accidents).
What Is A Wheel Bearing?
Wheel bearings – usually mentioned in plural form because they are many – are used to fasten the wheel to the axle. The term wheel bearing is typically used to refer to a set of steel balls or tapers held together by a metal ring to allow car wheels to rotate easily with minimal friction.
What Are The Main Parts Of a Car Wheel?
There are actually three main parts of every car wheel, the tire, rim, and hub; every other part of the wheel system is somehow attached to these main components. The tire and rim are the easily visible parts everyone can see when they look at a car, and they are available in many size options.
Summary
So, what are the parts of a car wheel? They include the hub, bearing, valve stem, tire, rim, center bore, flange, and fasteners. Notwithstanding, some people may install aftermarket decorations to their car tires to achieve different purposes.
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