Night Motorsport STI – Deception
Konig Wheels Honda CR-Z
Alloy Wheel Casting
Alloy Wheel Casting Methods
What is Alloy Wheel?
The term alloy wheels is usually given to wheels ‘cast’ from a mixture of aluminum which is light weight and great at dissipating heat and small amounts of more rigid metals whose presence in the ‘mix’ provides rigidity and helps prevent cracks propagating.
Alloy metals provide superior strength and dramatic weight reductions over ferrous metals such as steel, and as such they represent the ideal material from which to create a high performance wheel. In fact, today it is hard to imagine a world class racing car or high performance road vehicle that doesn’t utilize the benefits of alloy wheels.
Casting is an efficient way to produce a high-quality, strong alloy wheel. There are two methods used. One system is known as gravity casting and the other is low pressure or negative pressure casting.
Gravity Casting
This is the casting process whereby the molten material is poured into a mold and allowed to cool. These molds are usually made by machining a piece of material on CNC machine equipments to produce a wheel that only requires minor finishing (like drilling or possibly trimming of some excess metal) to be considered complete.
Negative Pressure Casting
The other system used is the low pressure or negative pressure casting. Here instead of pouring the molten material into the mould, the molten alloy is drawn up into the mould using a high-pressure vacuum.
–Portions Courtesy of YHI
M.A.T. Wheel Process
M.A.T. Technology Wheel Process
Aluminum, the material used in the production of KÖNIG’s M.A.T. wheels possesses, licensed by Enkei is a very simple structure. However, within this structure lie unlimited possibilities. With incremental changes in areas such as material properties improvements, form research, design refinement, and manufacturing methods, the capabilities of the aluminum will be stretched further.
M.A.T. Original and Latest Process
A new manufacturing process has been developed to produce König’s next generation of light weight alloy wheels. The Most Advanced Technology (M.A.T.) combines a one-piece wheel casting technology with a rim forming technology called the spinning process. This new technology of casting and rim forming by the M.A.T. process is critical in improving drastically the material property and strength of the wheels. 
Achieving Metal Flow in the rim part using M.A.T. Process
The M.A.T. Process has a drastic impact on the micro structure of aluminum and result in outstanding improvement of the mechanical property of the material. The process of spinning the rim allows the Metal Flow in the rim part, which resembles the properties obtained from forging process. The control of the metal flow in the rim section results in finer and more even aluminum structure.
Well balanced thinning rim thickness, weight reduction and anti-flex structure in high dimension by the M.A.T. process.
Following the demand for high performance trend every year, tires and wheels are getting larger year after year. In order to reduce weight under a vehicle’s suspension, it is important to reduce the weight of wheels. The M.A.T. process improves the mechanical property of the rim section by shaving the rim’s thickness and therefore reducing wheel weight. The latest manufacturing technology and wheel engineering is a direct feedback.
New Generation of Light-weight Wheels
The process to produce forged wheels and the material used to produce it have very high costs. Many end-users understand the benefits of owning forged wheels but they cannot afford it. König’s new generation of light-weight wheels, made with the M.A.T. process, achieves light weight, strong and anti-flex properties, while keeping the costs affordable to the end-user. The high performance properties and reasonable costs are definitely catching attention of enthusiasts and industry experts! Similar performance as forged wheels while keeping freedom of design using the M.A.T. manufacturing technology has added an exciting new dimension to performance wheels!
The weakest point of forged wheels is the fact that it limits the freedom of design. With years of experience developing light weight casted wheels, Konig has combined the high-tech casting with the new M.A.T. Process to develop an excellent product. König will develop new products with better performance, while removing the limitation of design found in forged wheels.
–Portions Courtesy of YHI
Wheel Finish Care
Properly caring for your wheels finish
One of the most asked questions is what is the best way to care or clean a wheel. The answer is far less complicated then most would think. The answer is soap and warm water. The use of chemical cleaners often cause damage to the clear coat which is used on the wheels. This can result in pealing, flaking or burn spots. The use of special cleaners and wheels soaps should be viewed very carefully. Any soap, or cleaner that you put on your wheel may contain chemicals or some type of acidity to help remove dirt. This is why we only recommend a “safe” vehicle soap and warm water for wheel cleaning.
The best care for any wheel is to clean them often so that brake dust and other contaminants do not remain on the wheel for too long. Things like Brake dust overtime actually becomes acidic and corrosive itself. Others who experience winter weather driving, should be proactive in cleaning “road salt” off their wheels during the winter also. These chemical that they place on the roads to aid in snow melting and tire traction, “salt”, can be a few different chemicals. In either case it should be cleaned off your cars paint and wheels regularly during the winter to maintain a safe and proper finish. The best way to care for a wheel is to think of it like an extension of your vehicles paint. If you wouldn’t put it on your paint you shouldn’t put it on your wheel.
Another thing you may want to think about is the use of car wash cleaners. Next time your rolling through the car wash tell the car wash workers NOT to spray anything on your wheels. The chemicals they use are almost always acidic. Whenever possible try to avoid car washes and clean your vehicle the old fashion way.
Tightening Your Wheels
Properly tightening your wheels
All wheels should be installed using a torque wrench. This ensures that the wheels are not too tight or too loose. Check your vehicle’s manual for correct settings. When you install wheels for the first time, you should re-torque the wheels after about 60 to 90 miles. Always refer to Owner’s Manual for proper factory specifications that take precedence over the listed recommendations.
Here are some basic starting numbers you can follow: 12mm = 70-80 ft. lbs, 7/16″ = 55-65ft. lbs, 1/2″ = 75-85ft. lbs, 14mm = 85-95ft. lbs, 9/16″ = 95-115ft. lbs, 5/8″ =135-145ft. lbs.
This torque should be applied in the correct pattern for the amount of studs of that particular vehicle.
Upsizing Your Wheels
What does Plus-Sizing or Up-Stepping mean?
Plus-Sizing or Up-Stepping are two terms given to the practice of increasing the diameter of your wheels while simultaneously reducing the profile of your tires to keep the overall rolling diameter the same.
Benefits – Plus-Sizing will improve the handling of your car! – each step will reduce the proportion of flexible tire ’sidewall’ to rigid alloy. This will improve response, will help keep the tire tread square to the road and will improve your car’s ‘feedback’. If done properly speedo and odometer accuracy will be retained and the car’s sure to look better (note: properly refers to maintaining the vehicles stock overall rolling diameter).
Disadvantages – In the majority of situations, tire inches are lighter than wheel inches. Plus-sizing can make your overall wheel/tire package heavier. Reducing the profile of your tyres will also reduce your car’s damping deflection under compression [the ride quality will get worse]. Other disadvantages can include you needing more expensive tyres, your brakes looking puny.
One more important thing to think about whenever you change the tire or wheel size. Consider your environment and the area your usually drive on. If you drive in areas where the road surface tends to be rough (i.e. non paved roads or pot hole invested streets) you may want to consider leaving a decent amount of tire. The more tire and cushion the less wheel bends you may encounter. Sometimes choosing a wheel is more then just what looks best.
–Portions Courtesy of YHI
Hub-Centric and Centerbore
What is the Centerbore of a wheel?
The ‘centerbore’ of a wheel is the size of the hole at the back of the wheel which the ‘hub’ fits into. To help the wheels to seat properly this hole needs to be an exact match to the size of the hub.
Most modern wheels are what’s called ‘hub-centric’ – this means that the hub which protrudes from your car [and mates with the equivalent sized hole at the back of your wheel] is ‘load bearing’. All the studs or bolts do therefore is hold the wheel onto the hub!
Some people will say the term ‘lug-centric’. They are referring to the use of the lugs to position the wheel on the vehicle in the proper position. If you have’ lug-centric’ wheels, the state of your studs or bolts is obviously more critical – be sure to replace these from time to time and always 3/4 tighten the wheels off the car to ensure they’re centered. However, this is a term that should not really be used with modern day vehicles. Hub centric rings are the correct way to align a wheel properly on the vehicle.
Why are hub-centric rings so important?
As mentioned above these rings keep the wheel aligned on the vehicle hub while you’re fastening the wheel to the vehicle. After the wheel is properly torqued the hub-centric ring does NOTHING! The ring is only used at the time of fastening.
Does the hub-centric ring material matter?
The answer here is NOT REALLY. Again these rings only are needed while fastening the wheel to the vehicle. While some people may think that metal is better because it’s stronger, there is no need for a strong ring because it is not a structural piece. Additionally, metal rings tend to corrode and can make it difficult to remove the wheel or the hub-centric ring from the vehicle.
The argument has also been made that plastic rings melt. Well while at some point this may be true, we have witnessed the use of race vehicles using them on track for multiple seasons without ever running into this melting problem.
Do hub-centric rings come with the wheels?
No. Wheels will not come with any installation or mounting hardware. The reason is simple, we have no idea which specific vehicle a wheel will end up on. That is why installation and mounting hardware is a retailer or installer supplied accessory that is most commonly provided at the time of the sale or installation. Your retailer/installer is able to order the correct fastening and mounting accessories needed once they know what vehicle you have.
What is PCD
What does PCD mean?
The Pitch Circle Diameter (PCD) is the diameter of the circle which passes through the centre of all the studs, wheel bolts or wheel rim holes.
The easiest way calculate the PCD is as follows:
1) Measure the distance ‘S’ between two adjacent studs from the centre of each hole.
2) Calculate from the formula below
**Note: on 4 lug fitments you can measure from the center of one stud to the center of the stud directly opposite.
PCD Calculation Formula
4 Stud PCD = S / 0.7071
5 Stud PCD = S / 0.5878
6 Stud PCD = S / 0.5
–Courtesy of YHI
Wheel Offsets Explained
What does Offset mean?
Offset is the distance between the hub mounting face at the back of the wheel and the wheel’s center line.
Offset is usually stamped or engraved into the wheel and is measured in millimetres of ‘ET’ [ET is the short form of the German word ‘Einpresstiefe’ which literally translates as ‘insertion depth’]
Positive Offset wheels have their mounting face toward the front face of the wheel. Most front wheel drive vehicles have positive ET wheels.
Zero Offset wheels have their mounting face even with the center line of the wheel and are by definition “ET 0″.
Negative Offset wheels have their mounting face toward the rear of the wheel – powerful rear-wheel drive cars often have wheels with negative offset.
–Courtesy of YHI
