58
Those are wheel weights. They are to balance out imperfections in the weight of the tire to avoid vibration at speed. I would recommend not removing them. If you're concerned about them standing out against the tire, you can remove them carefully with a flathead screwdriver, scrub off the remaining adhesive, and replace them in exactly the same spot with ...
55
Not at all, in fact there are many occasions when you would want the tires at an angle to the body of the car. Any time you're parked on a hill it is prudent to angle the wheels of the car so that if the parking brake failed to hold the car would run into the curb.
If the wheels were aligned with the body when parked on a hill the car would be free to roll ...
41
Tires (or tyres) are marked as www/hhRdd where www is the tread width in mm, hh is the sidewall height as a percentage of width and dd is the inner diameter in inches. I.e. 245/75R16 has a width of 24.5cm, 75% (~18cm) height and 16in (~40cm) diameter. The R indicates the construction of the tire is 'radial' ply. 'Bias ply' tires, which were common before ...
39
They are exactly what you stated: wheel weights. They are used to balance the tire so when you are going down the road you don't get an out of balance condition. These are VERY important for several reasons.
Ride Comfort: If a wheel/tire is not balanced correctly, it will cause a vibration through the vehicle which is really unnerving as you drive.
Safety: ...
33
Those appear to be wheel weights. When mounted on the rims, tires are often not totally and absolutely balanced. When you drive, it may cause all sorts of shaking issues if it is badly out of balance. To compensate, the mounter will spin the tire and get a reading on how to use weights on the rim to compensate for the out-of-balance condition. They are ...
30
The tilt of the wheel is known as the camber angle. Tilting the wheel in that manner is called negative camber. Doing it the other way around (top outwards) is positive camber.
Mounting the wheel with a negative camber improves grip under hard cornering as it counteracts rolling. On a completely level tire (0 camber), when a horizontal force is applied to ...
27
This is a wheel balancing weight. This type is held onto the inner side of the wheel with double-backed foam type adhesive tape. The the "1/4" stands for one quarter of an ounce. The "FE" denotes that it is made out of iron. Others are made from zinc and lead. Lead type are banned in some countries and states.
It is important and needs to be replaced if ...
26
Perhaps my post is a bit late, but make sure you always face your wheels to an angle if you park your vehicle on a hill. A brake failure can lead into some heavy damage.
If you parked your vehicle at an angle, you will get the following:
Much better, right?
Also, if you drive a car with a clutch, make sure you are in the reverse or the first gear. This ...
25
Do exactly what the manufacturer of the vehicle states in service information. Why do I say this? The nut rotational friction and bolt clamping force are both affected by the choice of lubricant used or lack thereof. Almost all OEM's specify no lube. This is done for several reasons. Dry results in the most thread rotational friction, a most desirable ...
25
These wires are probably the wires in the steel belt of your radial tire. If you see those wires, the tire is worn out. You should replace it today! No, you should have replaced it yesterday!
For information about how a radial tire is constructed, see this Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial_tire
17
Because you rarely use it, reducing its size and weight is an effective method for cutting down costs. It also saves space and makes packaging easier for the engineers. The cost aspect is also the reason for the spare being being a steel one instead of the more expensive alloy.
16
The pros and cons of running dedicated summer and winter sets of wheels/tires will depend on individual situations. For what it's worth, I advocate having dedicated summer and winter tires available if the different seasons of your area makes sense to do so. The alternative would be to run all-season tires year round, which I don't recommend, but opinions on ...
16
Do all cars that come factory fitted with alloys follow this rule?
No, there are three basic options that I see all the time.
An Emergency wheel - Will get you to the next tire shop or gas station. Has a speed limit of 55/mph and is smaller than normal. Also has a limited range. Usually 50 miles or so. There will be a label on the tire. Used to cut costs, ...
15
Nitrogen is inert and doesn't affect rubber or the steel rim.
Carbon dioxide is highly reactive and affects both the rubber by causing swelling in the rubber. It also would cause corrosion in iron based rims (particularly Carbon- Steel).
Edit: When CO2 is mixed with moisture becomes Carbolic acid which is corrosive. It all depends on concentration. It is ...
15
Do NOT drive this at all.
Change the wheel before driving it again.
That can cause sudden loss of control if the bead shifts.
14
The short answer is probably not, but you are creating undue hardship on the internals that will likely lead them to fail earlier than they would otherwise.
When you drive your car, you are putting wear and tear on basically everything. Driving your car harder (accelerating quickly, stopping abruptly) just adds to the wear you are putting on it. Even just ...
14
If you can't see or feel the cords by lifting the edge of the cut with a blunt instrument (e.g. a coffee stirrer), then it shouldn't fail:
any ply or cord that can be seen without touching the tyre – fail
if by folding back rubber or opening a cut with a blunt instrument, so as not to cause further damage, exposed ply or cord can be seen irrespective of ...
13
In almost all circumstances you should use the manufacturer's numbers as your guide. They are aware of the requirements of their wheels, and they do understand that a low profile requires a certain pressure to resist damage. This doesn't necessarily need to be a higher pressure (although it sometimes is) because the wheel construction also needs to be ...
13
Fixing a bent motorcycle wheel is situational.
If you are on a 125 to 200cc motorcycle using it for commuting purpose and will be driving under the speed limit, I would not be worried and its absolutely fine to reuse a bent wheel. provided the bend was minimal , if its extensive then changing would be a wiser option.
If you are on a 600 to 1000cc super ...
13
This is absolutely normal. What's going on is they are seating the beads of the tire against the rims. In order to get them to do this, they have to over pressurize the tires a bit, which then allows the beads to pop over the sides and seat hard against the rims. This ensures they are in position correctly on the rim and promotes sealing after the fact.
12
Bob cross makes some good points, however, I would offer the following opinions:
Winter tires don't have the dry grip that summer tires do. Your "high performance" handling will be limited with your winter tires on. Therefore, I wouldn't be too concerned about the incremental difference in handling due to the difference in unsprung weight between steel and ...
12
I second Gabriel's comment: Probably cost. Nickel Moly Chromium Stainless (316) is very expensive, this random kitchen sink is just a sheet of stainless stamped into a cube, and it's $500+ retail. Given the price I have to assume it's 316, otherwise it would be even more.
I can only imagine what a single wheel would cost a manufacturer. Even using Powdered ...
12
There are tools available that can do the job without using a press:
There are many more. The overall theme is the C-clamp like stile of pressing the bearing in and out.
There is an old saying, there is a right tool for the job. These or a press is the right tool. There are other ways but you always run the risk of damaging the bearing, knuckle or both.
12
Nitrogen makes up around 80% of Air - therefore its more readily reclaimed and separated than the smaller amounts of other gases in air. I.e. the process for reclaiming nitrogen from air could be less efficient than that of reclaiming CO2 from air and still be cost effective. Additionally its stability at higher temperatures means its behaves more ...
11
From what I have seen and read over the last few years the "general rule" has become best tires on the rear. In my opinion it is likely the result of litigation by people who were involved in skidding accidents. The theory as far as I understand it, is that with worn tires in the rear, the back end can loose traction and allow the rear of the car to attempt ...
11
The power losses in a MT are primarily do to friction. Everything in a MT is positively locked together, meaning there is no slip anywhere. Beyond friction at least one of the rotating assemblies is partially submerged in the gear lube to provide splash lube for everything else. Stirring the fluid looses power.
In an automatic everything I just mentioned ...
11
I highly recommend having the tires replaced.
Even if physical deformation/damage is not evident from a visual inspection, there could be damage to the internal structure of the tire, like the steel belts.
A blow-out at high speed would endanger yourself and those around you.
11
No, you don't have to balance the summer wheels again.
I have two sets (winter & summer) and swap them over with no issues.
The only time you need to get balancing re-done is when you have new tires fitted (I'm due for two summer this time) or if the weights get knocked off.
10
Much of what makes wheels appear dirty is brake dust. Brake dust is wear particles from the brake pads and rotors (or from linings and drums, in the case of drum brakes). The braking effort in most vehicles is not equally distributed between front and rear wheels--this is by design. Generally the front wheels do most of the braking work, since weight ...
10
If the tire were to be used on the rear of the car, the worst that would happen is the ABS light would come on (and possibly the low tire indicator, if so equipped). If it were on the front end (since the Passat is a front wheel drive vehicle), you run the risk of damaging the transaxle (the differential in the transaxle to be specific). When running tires ...
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