Getting Larger Rims - I Shall Resist, NOT!

Car buffs have one thing in common - we all love large sporty looking rims. That's because large rims make even ugly looking cars "nice".

But the problem with large rims, especially aftermarket ones, is that they come with problems.

Firstly, larger rims almost always mean thinner profile tyres. Thinner profile tyres mean more problems going over potholes and bumps, e.g. bent rims, ruptured tyre walls, etc.

Secondly, larger rims mean more expensive tyres. And if you're into performance tyres that wear out more quickly than normal tyres, then you'd be spending a heck of a lot more on replacement tyres yearly.

Thirdly, larger rims mean higher fuel consumption, especially when accelerating.

Fourthly, while they look really cool filling the wheel wells, larger rims and tyres mean that you risk scraping your tyres against your car's wheel wells over humps.

Then, there's the issue of vibration. After market rims don't usually fit your wheel pin nicely, which means that there is a lot more "play" before screwing in the wheel bolts to your rims. While you could compensate by using a centre cone, the "play" isn't as minimised as much as how your factory fitted rims are (which have been designed to exact specifications).

Of course, there's the issue of theft. When your care looks nicely "bling-ed" out by your rims, it's going to attract a lot more attention from car thieves.

And what do you do with your nice looking old sports rims? You never really get a good price for them - the trade in offer I got for my original Kia Forte rims and tyres was RM500 and I said, in not so many words, "kiss my behind".

So, it's best to not upgrade to larger, nicer looking rims, yes? No. Come on! Can you honestly expect a car enthusiast not to bling out his or her car? :P

So, after resisting the urge to upgrade for almost two years, I finally bought 18-inch rims for my Kia Forte 2.0SX.

And I FEEL GOOD! Nenenee nenee neneh!

I KNEW THAT I WOULD! Nenenee nenee neneh!

:D
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Addendum: I sold my old, still good tyres, for a measely RM400 and took home my old rims. Anyone who's interested in buying them can contact me by replying to my post. Offer price = RM800 for 4 x 17-inch PCD 114.3 rims.

Riding on Free Service and Extended Warranty

If you have a car model that's not a hot-sell, you can expect to increase sales with free servicing and extended warranty. This is the "trick" car manufacturers resort to in order to increase the sales volume of their slow going models.

A good example is Ford. For the longest time, Ford cars had been trailing Japanese and Korean makes when it comes to sales volume, until Ford wised up and started offering 3 years free service to go with its 3 years warranty. As a result, Ford Fiestas have become a common sight on Malaysian roads.

Note that it doesn't matter if Ford cars are good or bad. The fact that they now come with 3 years free service means that Fiesta and other Ford owners don't have to worry about expensive servicing costs associated with Ford cars.

There is also another benefit that comes with the 3 years warranty. More Ford cars on the roads means better economies of scale for Ford's supply chain. So, when the 3 years are over, replacement parts for "now popular" Ford cars would be easier to obtain and more affordable (I don't know why the heck Ford didn't do this when I owned the quirky Ford Focus S2.0 hatchback that needed expensive replacement parts).

And if a car model is really slow moving, some manufacturers offer 5 years free service and warranty, e.g. the Peugeot 207 sedan. Imagine having to pay nothing for servicing for 5 long years and imagine not having to worry about expensive replacement parts for the next 5 years. Awesome!

Provided, of course, you can live with the difficult-to-like Peugeot 207 sedan's looks...