Any car owner faces the need to purchase wheeled disks. This may be associated with their breakdown, the need to quickly replace rubber kits or with the solution to change the appearance of the car. And since today the car component market is represented by a huge amount of types of products, then the question arises - which wheels are better to purchase. It should be remembered that reliability, strength and other important properties of wheel drives directly depend on the material being used in the manufacture of the material and the selected method of production.

Steel stamped discs, advantages and disadvantages

Budget vehicles or cars in the simplest equipment are usually equipped with steel stamped discs. These products are created from ordinary sheet metal sheets of the installed thickness - the blanks for the hub and the rim in the hot state are processed by press, after which the welding method is connected. The use of steel makes it possible to achieve high plasticity and dual strength. It is plasticity that determines the main advantage of these wheels - with a powerful impact or by road to a significant obstacle, they bent, but they do not crack and do not burst. Therefore, stamped discs can be repaired without the use of special equipment - it will be enough to hit it a heavy hammer or sledgehammer.

But it will definitely not be possible to say that it is better - steel stamped discs or their expensive alternatives. The cheaper and maintainability of these automotive elements is opposed to too much weight. As is known, an increase in the unsappressible masses of the car leads to an increase in fuel consumption, deterioration of comfort and to an increase in the suspension rate. Most of the manufacturers are trying to facilitate stamped discs by cutting special holes in them, but even these products weigh several times more than their alloy analogues.

In addition, the products made of steel are subject to corrosion, which is able to destroy them in a matter of years of intensive exploitation. To counteract rust, they are covered with special varnishes or primer, but such a solution cannot provide maximum protection of the wheels. I would also like to highlight their primitive design, which is unlikely to be harmonized with the appearance of modern vehicles.

Alloy wheels, advantages and disadvantages

When purchasing a new car, many motorists find themselves before choosing - stamped or alloy wheels. Experts advise you to choose the first option if you allow financial opportunities. Alloy products are formed by the classical casting method in a pre-prepared form. With this, the border between the disk and the rim is practically absent, which increases the durability and reliability of the wheel. As a rule, for the creation of cast discs, aluminum with other metals is used as a material - for example, titanium or magnesium.

By the strength parameter, alloy wheels are essentially ahead of steel stamped. The limit of their deformation is much higher - for damage to the wheel on the alloy base, the energy of the strike is needed to three, and even five times large. But non-ferrous metals are not so plastic, as steel than certain difficulties are caused in the need to repair the disk. To eliminate damage, apply argon welding, pulling, hot rolling and other methods that require the use of expensive equipment. In addition, after repairing discs, the metal loses the initial molecular structure, which significantly reduces the strength of the wheels.

Unlike steel, alloy products weigh much less, which is positively reflected in such properties of the vehicle as efficiency and comfort, as well as the durability and reliability of the suspension.

Alloy discs are not corrosion and other types of damage even in case of severe damage to the paintwork. As an exception, it is possible to allocate products using magnesium, which are able to collapse under the influence of moisture, which requires the use of multilayer protection. Therefore, these types of alloy wheels are advised to install balancing weights not using traditional brackets, but a special polymer glue. Also, the advantages of alloy discs include the geometric manufacturer's accuracy, where the tolerances are not more than 0.1 - 0.15 millimeters, which is capable of ensuring maximum accuracy of car management.

Wrought disks, dignity and disadvantages

But it is worth saying that alloy wheels are produced in different kinds - they are cast and wrought. Immediately I would like to note that the mechanical forging is very different from the manual, which can often be seen in small enterprises that they work with the metal. In fact, forged discs are manufactured by the method of stamping alloy billets. With the production of steel wheels, they differ in the use of other forms and the use of very high temperatures at which the metal consists in a semi-liquid state. Also, forged wheels are made of non-ferrous metals, but the share of high-strength elements that are represented by titanium or magnesium, they are much higher in them.

When casting assumes the absolute melting of the metal, which is accompanied by damage to its molecular composition, then it does not occur when forging. As a result, the wheels become even more stronger, and, accordingly, more reliable. Professionals believe that in case of departure to a significant obstacle, the elements of the suspension will be damaged than the wrought iron. The difference lies also in the mass, which in the disks obtained by the forging, less than about 5 - 25 percent. With this, there is a reduction in fuel consumption, reducing the flow rate of the chassis and improving the comfort of the car.

The only serious disadvantage of forged disks is a high cost due to the peculiarities of the technological procedure of production. It is also worth saying that they cannot have a complex design, since the press form for stamping imposes certain limitations about the curvature of surfaces. Thus, there are forged discs from cast - they have a chopped rude form. However, despite the restrictions in design, forged disks fell in love with street riders and tuning fans. They improve the dynamic parameters of the vehicle and give it an unusual appearance.

Tips Profi, what to choose a car owner

If you go through normal roads, however, you do not plan to spend a lot of equipment for vehicle equipment with new wheels, it is desirable to purchase alloy wheels. Recently, a lot of low-cost high-quality models appeared on the market. Optimal options are the disks of European, Korean and Russian production. Products from China and Turkey better avoid. Those who prefer high-speed driving can be recommended forged disks that differ in low weight and excellent strength. If you often go through a bad road surface, either go beyond the asphalt at all, it is advisable to buy stamped steel wheels. Their advantage is not only low price, but the possibility of self-repair after a short breakdown.