MOTORS AND MOTORING

NZ Truth, Issue 1031, 29 August 1925, Page 16

MOTORS AND MOTORING

ABOUT WHEELS

The Maim Considerations — Cost, Utility and Appearance

TWO considerations usually decide upon the type of wheel fitted to the car — fi ,V ; st cost and appearance. There are, however, quite good practical advantages to be gained from the various types of wheels.

The woodcrvf, spoked wheel which is' perhaps the cyommonest type is notable for general s/crength and. efficiency but it is liable 1:0 collapse if any side strain is p7it , upon it. This will- be readily appreciated by anyone who has seen a car fitted with this type of wheel after it has skidded against the curb or eS'en skidded sideways at ail laying the/rim flat on the bed of a press violently.. "Wooded wheels are assembled by and buil&ing up the spokes, which are cut on t|ic long side, m the form of a cone inside the rim. Pressure is then applied' at the . centre, forcing the spokes 'into the holes m the rim until they cfome into the required position. Their own pressure towards the centre tlten holds them together. Side (pressure of any kind reverses this action and the wheel usually collapses. SPARE WHEEL OR SPARE RIM? Some time ago we had the misfortune to buckle up a wooden wheel of the artillery type on a car which carried a spare rim. We were struck at the time by the fact that had the car been fitted with detachable wheels, we should have been able to replace the .broken wheel with the spare and continue on our way rejoicing. It is strange that the wooden wheel, which is subject to damage of this nature to a greater extent than any other type, is usually fitted with detachable rim while disc, wire and |

steel -spoked wheels are almost universally fitted on the spare wheel principle. The whole matter, however, boils itself down to one of prime cost, the artillery wheel being cheaper than any other to produce, while the spare rim is naturally cheaper than a spare wheel would be. WIRE WHEELS MORE EXPENSIVE. Wire wheels are more expensive to produce, but they are more resilient than any other type and for this reason are less liable to damage from violence and are not so heavy on ■ tyres. Disc wheels are, of course, extraordinarily strong, but on account of their solidity they are heavier on tyres than any other wheels. From the point of view of the owner-driver they possess the advantage that they are very easy to keep clean. Probably the most efficient type of wheel is the wire wheel fitted with sheet metal discs protecting the spokes. This is easy to keep clean, strong, and gives long tyre mileage. When all 19 said and done, however, the wheels need to be of the type which suits the body, and this applies especially to discs. To appear graceful, these need to be used m conjunction with a long, low, racy type of coachwork and seldom appear to satisfaction on the "tubby" kind of car.