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It is a manufacturer specializing in the production of automotive wheel hub units.

You know a lot about the car, how much do you know about the wheel?

2018-09-01 13:12:34

  Talking about the car, um, everyone knows a lot. From BMW's charming angel eyes to Mercedes-Benz's sexy ass, from Tesla's Autopilot to Honda's black technology, everyone talks about the body shape on the chassis and the performance of the thin film in the body. There are few people talking about grounded tires and wheels. Let's talk about the wheel today.


  Evolution of the hub
  Did you know that the earliest car wheels were evolved from carriages? The dense spokes are the main features of the wheels of this period. But at that time, the hub only refers to the part of the outer layer of the axle, which is used together with the rim and the spoke. Then with the development of the industry, the progress of the casting process, the hub, spokes and rims gradually become one, and the wheel hub has gradually become the name of this whole in everyone's eyes.
  Then, with the development of the tire technology, we are very familiar with the steel (iron) wheel. The main advantage of the steel wheel is that the manufacturing process is simple, the cost is relatively low, and the ability to resist metal fatigue is very strong. It can be said to be cheap. solid. However, the disadvantages of the steel wheel hub are also obvious, that is, the appearance is ugly and there is almost no shape, and because of its large weight, the inertia resistance is also large, the heat dissipation is also poor, and it is more likely to rust.

  Steel wheels, the middle circle is called the hub cap, which can be used for aesthetics while preventing rust. Compared with steel wheels, alloy wheels just make up for some shortcomings of steel wheels. Alloy wheels originated in the 1930s, when Germans used steel spokes combined with aluminum rolling rims to load the wheels, which laid the foundation for the development of aluminum alloy wheels. After World War II, alloy wheels began to be used in ordinary cars.
  Firstly, the aluminum alloy wheel hub is taken as an example, and its advantages can be classified into three places. The first is energy saving. The aluminum alloy wheel has light weight, high manufacturing precision, small deformation at high speed rotation, small inertia resistance, and is beneficial to improve the straight line of the automobile. Driving performance reduces tire rolling resistance and thus reduces fuel consumption. Secondly, it is safe. The thermal conductivity of aluminum alloy is three times that of steel, and the heat dissipation effect is very good, which enhances the braking performance and improves the service life of tires and brake discs.


  Alloy wheel
  Finally, the damping characteristics, the shock absorption performance of aluminum alloy is much better than the steel wheel hub, the vibration is good, the ride is smooth and the comfort is improved. However, compared with steel wheels, aluminum alloy wheels have lower mechanical rigidity than steel wheels, in other words, they are more brittle than steel wheels, and damage is not easy to repair.
  The alloy wheels of the original car on the general market are mainly made of aluminum alloy. Of course, many modified wheels will use magnesium, titanium and other elements as basic materials in order to meet certain special requirements and visual enhancement. These things are usually equipped in mid- to high-end cars or sports cars. These black technology high-tech wheels have the same characteristics, super light, super high strength and super fragile.


  The first carbon fiber wheel to be used on the Mustang production car
  After the alloy wheels, Mustang's first carbon fiber wheel was applied to the production car Shelby GT350R. Of course, the use of carbon fiber as the material body is lighter and better, but the wheel is also more fragile. Carbon fiber wheels are more delicate than alloy wheels. Carbon fiber wheels do not even allow a trace of cracks, even scratches, because this material, once scratched, basically means that the wheel is scrapped and cannot be repaired.
  Of course, carbon fiber hubs are not the best, because on some concept cars, the wheel hub is expressed more extreme, and the material and design of the hub is more unexpected. We will not explain them one by one, just put a few pictures and feel it.




▲Smart Forvision concept car with plastic wheels


▲Skoda VisionS concept car, the surface of the wheel is covered with crystal


▲Mercedes-Benz IAA concept car, the wheel can shrink and deform according to driving conditions


▲BMW VISION NEXT 100 concept car, hidden design of the hub


▲2012 Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow concept car, okay, no wheel hub design


  Wheel and tire relationship
  Ok, talk about the evolution of the wheel and talk about the relationship between the wheel and the tire. In layman's terms, the tires are shoes and the wheels are the feet, so the match between the two becomes very important. The size of the hub determines the inner diameter of the tire. In principle, the larger the hub, the larger the inner diameter of the tire. This correspondence is fixed, but there is an interval between the hub width and the tire width.




  As shown above, if you choose a tire width of 205mm, then the standard hub width is preferably 6.5 inches, if not, 7.0 inches and 6.0 inches. However, this watch is only a reference. Each tire is generally marked with the best fit of the width of the hub. According to this, the choice is the most balanced, because in general, narrower tires will affect the handling, choose a little wider. The tires will affect comfort. Of course, the comfort and handling are more related to the thickness of the sidewall. I won't go into details here.

  But one thing that must be mentioned is that the strength of the hub is proportional to the tire. If the low-intensity hub is used with a heavily loaded tire, it may be dangerous because of insufficient hub load. Therefore, it is necessary to make the load capacity of the hub greater than or equal to the tire.

  What to pay attention to when replacing the wheel hub
  Whether the diameter of the hub matches the tire and whether the width of the hub is equal to the width of the tire is really important, but what else should you pay attention to in addition to these replacement wheels? First, pay attention to the hole pitch, screw hole distance, eccentricity and the number of fixing screws are the same as the original car. These parameters are very important. Once they change, they will cause changes in the parameters of the suspension system, causing problems such as heavy direction, eating tires, and deviation.

  Secondly, the wheel surface treated with the baking finish process is relatively cheap, and the color is beautiful and long-lasting. The wheel surface treated with the electroplating process is shiny and individualized, but sometimes the plating layer is easily peeled off.

  The number of spokes is small, and the relative heat dissipation is good, but the balance of high-speed operation is worse, and the number of spokes is opposite. But no matter how you choose, you should consider matching with your car. In addition to making the appearance more beautiful, increasing the load capacity, tracking and safety is the first consideration for dressing.

  Hub motor drive technology
  In fact, about the car wheel, there is a black technology that is not said, that is, the hub motor, also known as the wheel built-in motor technology, it integrates the power, transmission system and brake device into the hub. As early as 1900, Porsche first produced the electric vehicle with the front wheel equipped with the hub motor. Its biggest advantage is to save the space inside the car, because many components have been integrated into the hub, and secondly, it is combined with the traditional electric car to form a hybrid. Model.

  And since each tire is driven separately, it is very easy to implement a rear drive and a four-wheel drive. The application of the hub motor technology can even achieve the purpose of in-situ steering by reversing the wheels on both sides.



  ▲In 2013, Ford demonstrated an eWheelDrive wheel motor drive car based on the Ford Fiesta.

  This Fiesta car with eWheelDrive's in-wheel motor drive system integrates a separate motor into the two rear hubs, and the steering system features a new design that allows the vehicle to move directly into the side without parking.

  AL channel summary
  Nowadays, many people will "take the car by appearance", and the important part of the wheel plays an important role in it. People's constant pursuit of wheel shape or technology has reached the perfect end. They are either flamboyant or understated, or luxurious or rustic. Or simple or complex, all of which highlights the personality of a car.