Auto Recycling Tips: Critical Elements of Used Rims

You’ve seen your friends – and perhaps your favorite hip-hop artist – sporting wickedly cool rims. You want a piece of the action. But what are “best practices” for doctoring your wheels? Before you start shopping for awesome discounts on rims at salvage yards (like Rock & Roll Auto Recycling), you should first familiarize yourself with these strategies.

First, figure out your backspacing. This is the distance between the hoop’s inner lip and the mounting point. Do this to make space between the wheel’s back and any suspension parts. Otherwise, your car won’t go very far without a lot of squeaking, friction, and sparking.

Next, identify how far the tire will protrude from your car. If it protrudes too far, you could violate of state laws and get fined. The reason why regulators want to keep this distance minimal is because tires protruded can kick up dust and debris from the road and damage other cars.

Next, look at the total circumference of the combination of the rim and the tire. You want to make sure that the tire is going to clear the wheel and not scrape against the wheel. If you’re lazy about these measurements, you could accidently damage your axel and suspension systems, screw up your fender, and, obviously, wreck your tires.

Lastly, understand why you’re getting the rims in the first place! Are you trying to make your car look hip and cool? Are you simply doing it to “change things up” or freshen the vehicle to sell it? Are you a budding mechanic who wants to test your chops? Shopping for used auto parts leaves more room in your budget to update other parts of your car.

Start Your Search for Bay Area Auto Parts Here!

In general, in terms of being too conservative, you can always go “bigger and bolder” later. Contact Rock & Roll Auto Recycling to find wonderful, cool rims for your vehicle. Give us a call today at 925-224-9944 or search for parts here on our website!