Wheels are the metal or alloy rims that support a vehicle's tires, providing structural integrity and

mounting points for tires. Tires are rubber or composite components that cover wheels, providing
traction, cushioning, and grip on the road surface, enhancing vehicle handling and
performance. Wheels and tyres play a crucial role in ensuring the safety, performance, and
comfort of a vehicle. These components form the vital connection between a vehicle and the
road.

A wheel is a circular object consisting of a rim and a hub, with its primary function being to rotate
around an axle, facilitating smooth movement across various surfaces. A tyre, on the contrary, is a
cushion provided within the wheel of an automobile.

Types of Wheels
The following are the types of wheels:

o Pressed Steel Disc Wheel

o Wire Wheel
o Light Alloy Wheel
o Divided Rims Wheel
o Split Rims

1. Pressed Steel Disc Wheel:

Fig: Presstressed steel disc Wheel

o The majority of manufacturers worldwide use this type.

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 o Consists of a steel rim and a pressed steel disc.
o The tyre can be mounted or removed using the well.
o Used for better cooling of the brake drum.
o Flat-based rims are used for heavier vehicles like trucks and buses.

Advantages:

o Robust construction
o Simplicity
o Lower cost
o Less maintenance
High production.

Applications: Heavy vehicles like buses and trucks.

2. Wire Wheel:

Fig: Wire Wheel

o Lighter in weight with high heat dissipation.

o Components: Steel Rim, Spokes, Hub.
o Spokes transmit vehicle weight and torque, and withstand side forces.
o Spokes under tension are mounted in a criss-cross fashion.

Advantages:

o Suitable for tubed tyres

o Efficient heat energy dissipation.

Disadvantages:

o Unsuitable for tubeless tyres

o Challenging to clean.

Applications: Racing cars, vintage cars, some bicycles, and earlier bike models.

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3. Light Alloy Cast Wheel or Forged Wheel:

Fig: Light Alloy Cast Wheel

o Light alloy cast wheels for cars and forged wheels for heavy vehicles.
o Light alloy wheels conduct heat well, dissipating tyre and brake heat.
o Appearance improvement may require machining.

Advantages:

o Lightweight (about 50% of steel and 70% of aluminium for similar strength)
o Allows wider rims for stability, high impact and fatigue strength (magnesium alloys).

Disadvantages:

o Prone to corrosion (magnesium alloys), higher cost.

Applications: Aluminum alloy wheels for cars and commercial vehicles, magnesium alloy wheels for
sports and racing cars.

4. Divided Rims Wheel:

o Wheels are divided into two halves and joined with bolts.
o Easily assembled and disassembled.
o Used when tyres are inflated without separating the rims.

5. Split Rims:

o Employed in larger vehicles like trucks, buses, and forklifts.

o Multi-piece wheels with a locking ring to secure the tyre.

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Types of Tyres
In general, tyres are classified into two categories, those are:

o Conventional Tubed Tyre

o Tubeless Tyre

1. Conventional Tubed Tyre:

Fig: Conventional Tubed tyre

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This type of tyre contains a tube within the tyre and rim assembly.

Components:

o Rim: A steel structure that supports the tube and tyre, bearing the vehicle's load. It has a hole
in the tube valve.
o Tube: Made of rubber and holds air under pressure through a valve. It conforms to the tyre's
shape.
o Tyre: The primary rubber component in a tyre that plays a crucial role in vehicle movement. It
transmits power from the engine to the wheels and provides traction.

Advantage: Simplicity in design.

Disadvantage: Vulnerable to sudden air loss in case of punctures.

Function: The tyre's treads and grooves create friction with the road, allowing the vehicle to move
smoothly.

2. Tubeless Tyre:

Fig: Tubeless Tyre

A tubeless tyre lacks the inner tube found in conventional tubed tyres but includes an integral air-
retaining liner made of special rubber-like materials such as bromobutyl or chlorobutyl for improved
air impermeability and resistance to heat and weather.

o The bead in the tyre stabilizes it and helps maintain air pressure.
o A valve cap is used to pressurize the air inside the tyre for optimal vehicle performance.
o Tubeless tyres offer reduced air loss in case of punctures during driving, enhancing safety
compared to tubed tyres.
o Reduced air in tubeless or tubed tyres can decrease vehicle mileage since the system requires
more effort to move the vehicle.

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o Tubeless tyres, unlike tubed tyres, do not have an inner tube. They incorporate an air-
retaining liner for improved air impermeability and stability. The bead and valve cap play
essential roles in maintaining air pressure, and tubeless tyres offer advantages such as
enhanced safety during punctures and improved fuel efficiency.

Tyre Wear Type & Causes

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A car uses quite a lot of electricity to work the ignition and other electrical equipment.

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If the power came from an ordinary battery , it would soon run down. So a car has a
rechargeable battery and a charging system to keep it topped up.
The battery has pairs of lead plates immersed in a mixture of sulphuric acid and distilled water.

Half of the plates are connected to each terminal. Electricity supplied to the battery causes a
chemical reaction that deposits extra lead on one set of plates.

When the battery supplies electricity, exactly the opposite happens: the extra lead dissolves off the
plates in a reaction that produces an electric current.
The battery is charged by an alternator on modern cars, or by a dynamo on earlier ones. Both are
types of generator , and are driven by a belt from the engine .
The alternator consists of a stator - a stationary set of wire coil windings, inside which a rotor
revolves.
The rotor is an electromagnet supplied with a small amount of electricity through carbon or
copper-carbon brushes (contacts) touching two revolving metal slip rings on its shaft.

The rotation of the electromagnet inside the stator coils generates much more electricity inside
these coils.

The electricity is alternating current - its direction of flow changes back and forth every time the
rotor turns. It has to be rectified - turned into a one-way flow, or direct current .
A dynamo gives direct current but is less efficient, particularly at low engine speeds, and weighs
more than an alternator.
A warning light on the dashboard glows when the battery is not being adequately charged, - for
example, when the engine stops.
There may also be an ammeter to show how much electricity is being generated, or a battery-
condition indicator showing the battery's state of charge

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 Inside an alternator the belt-driven rotor becomes an electromagnet when current is fed to
it. As the rotor revolves it generates a higher current in the stator windings.

How the alternator works

Moving a magnet past a closed loop of wire makes an electric current flow in the wire. Imagine a
loop of wire with a magnet inside it.

The north pole of the magnet passes the top of the loop as the south pole passes the bottom of it.
Both passes make current flow in one direction round the loop.

The poles move away, and current stops flowing until the south pole reaches the top and the north
pole the bottom.

This makes current flow again, but in the opposite direction.

A car alternator uses an electromagnet in order to boost output of electric current

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How a dynamo works
In a dynamo the electromagnets are stationary, and are called the field coils. The current is
produced in an armature - another set of coils wound on to a shaft and turning inside the field coils.

The principle is the same as that of the alternator, but the current goes to accumulator - a metal ring
split into segments that are touched by carbon brushes fitted in spring-loaded guides. Two
segments touch a pair of brushes and feed current to them.

As the armature turns, the current changes direction. But by then another pair of commutator
segments has come under the brushes, and this pair is wired up the other way round - so the current
coming out always flows in the same direction.

Regulating the current to the battery

The current from an alternator is rectified into direct current by a set of diodes that allow current to
flow through them in one direction only.

To charge the battery the voltage supplied to it must not be too low or too high.

The alternator has a transistor-operated control device that regulates the voltage by supplying more
or less current - as required - to the electromagnet.

The rectifier and regulator are usually inside the alternator housing, but on some alternators they
are outside, mounted on the alternator body.

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A dynamo does not need a rectifier -there is a voltage regulator in a separate box, which has
relays .

One relay controls the voltage level by briefly cutting off the current in the field coils.

The second relay prevents the dynamo from overcharging and damaging the battery.

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