Spun aluminum / rolled barrels

[SmithSR]

A given wheel has two major parts. I'll shorten and condense as I'm tired and want to hit the basics

1. the wheel disc. This is the center / face of the wheel. Cool wheels have a mesh style.2. The wheel barrel. As the name implies, this is the round part that looks like a hoop.

There are many different techniques employed to build an aluminum wheel. For this quickie, we'll focus on a simple version of a two piece unit.

A wheel disc can be pressure cast, cut from a solid block of aluminum(CNC machined, billet) and / or forged. Again several methods.

A wheel barrel when mated to a forged disc, is often spun or rolled. This can do a couple things:-save weight due to thin rolled aluminum as opposed to a casting-often be too thin to withstand severe use.

Most manufacturers over-engineer a wheel so it will be able to withstand any and all abuse thrown at it. Some wheels, for example a "race only" drag light wheel, is designed to be as light as possible, with little or no consideration given to everyday use and abuse.

The above is where we find a wheel that could be used for street, but may not hold up as well. A light but super strong disc, mated to a barrel that is as thin as possible to cut weight at the cost of longevity. These would be what a given manufacturer would label "race use only" etc.

Rolled barrels that are extremely thin in the name of weight savings have been around for some time now. In 1998 I hit a pot hole that claimed one very nice polished Weld Drag Lite. Luckily we were in with a wheel restorer who was able to do top notch repair work. Those wheels are long gone now...as are my hot rodding days.

[Chet please edit inaccuracy due to sleepiness]

[nismofly]

makes sense to me

of course that isnt saying much lol

good info though

[aither]

Very True, my A-tech/MB Motorsport wheels have a super thin rim barrel. I'm talking like paper thin. My centerline's weight a couple pounds more for rougly the same size (9" vs. 9.5"), but the rim barrel is way more thick than the Taiwanese cast A-techs. Thick billet centers help, too. I have little fear daily driving the centerlines in a city with awful roads.

What I'm curious about is how a wheel can be strenthened around the rim, like enkei's new wheels. Where is wheel strenth most critical? Where the center meets up with the barrel?

[skylndrftr]

also worth pointing out that a thin barrell has a bigger effect on reducing the rotational inertia of the wheel because it is out at the larger radius