While the aluminum wheels are apparently growing and getting relatively popular, steel wheels still continue to keep their position in the truck market, with aluminum representing only 10%-12%. Aluminum however remains preferred by most American drivers. Basically, there are two basic reasons why aluminum wheels are still the choice over other wheels. It’s because aluminum wheels are lighter and look better. Know that a typical steel wheels for a heavy truck normally weighs about 76 pounds compared to the standard aluminum wheel which usually weighs around 45 pounds. Hence, if ten aluminum wheels are fitted to a truck, there is quite a bit of weight you can take out. That in turn can give you an improvement in fuel consumption and payload. There are Lightweight steel wheels however that use a higher strength alloy and weighs 66 pounds. Thus, if you are looking to get some weight savings but don’t want to pay the premium for aluminum then the lightweight steel wheels are perfect for you.

Luckily Accuride has started producing Lightweight steel wheels for heavy and medium duty trucks and commercial trailers. It also manufactures wheels for buses, commercial light trucks, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans, sold under the Accuride brand. Other trends in wheel design include larger diameter wheels. There are two main reasons for that. The first is appearance; people like the highly styled wheels with low profile tyres. There has been a steady tendency, during the last 10-15 years, for cars to be fitted with wheels which are both larger in diameter and wider than those seen in cars of 1990 and earlier. At that time, the average wheel rim diameter was around 13-inches for B/C segment products, increasing to 15- or 16-inches for high-end and luxury models. Today the equivalent figures are 15- to 16-inches in the C-segment and up to 20-inches in luxury models. While there is some advantage in a larger-diameter wheel, which reacts less sharply to road surface bumps and craters, in most cases the increase has been for cosmetic purposes. In the same way, wheels (and tyres) have increased substantially in width. Again, this has usually been for cosmetic rather than chassis_engineering purposes. Although larger wheels are a mixed blessing for chassis engineers, they are welcomed by brake engineers as they offer more space for larger discs.

Apparently, the North American market is also said to have more of an appetite for brighter finished wheels than in Europe. Another styling trend emerging in the US is for wheels resembling a three-dimensional look, as an auto executive told us, “In the past, wheels tended to look ‘flat’ with holes in them. Over the past two or three years, we’re seeing a more 3D look, meaning more of a sculptured surface with deeper spokes. That’s happening on cars as well as trucks.”

Pope said about the hub cap tends in the North American market “The trends continue to centre on a bright or chrome plated appearance together with a high indication of chrome plated surfaces. Hub caps are still leaning towards plastic and painted surfaces while stainless steel wheel covers have almost disappeared.”

So who really determines wheel ornamentation? Is it the OEM, car dealer or the consumer? Pope added, “In my opinion, the regional car dealer will order from the car manufacturer what they think will sell in their area. So when a consumer looks round a new vehicle, they basically look for the prettiest package that they can get for the best price. So I think that the person at that dealership is the one who influences demand.”

In the final analysis, price pressure is still the dominant issue for wheel makers, as an auto executive said: “In this business, you no longer get credit for quality, delivery, reputation, confidence or customer service. None of that matters these days. What matters to the OEM is price. If you can’t meet the price, the OEM will source from someone else.”