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Wheels and tires form an integral part of a vehicle. An automobile wheel has a circular frame that has a capability of rotating on its axis thereby helping in the movement of a vehicle.

Wheels are available in a wide variety of sizes, designs, and styles. Wheels are attached to an axle, which are used for moving or turning wheel in a circular motion around a point or fulcrum. There are different types of wheels available in the market namely alloy wheel, wire wheel, chrome wheels, rubber wheels, aluminum wheel, magnesium wheel and steel wheel.


While automobile tires are usually rubber tubes or more specifically pneumatic enclosures affixed around a wheel which helps in facilitating rotation of a vehicle. Almost all types of automobiles ranging from two wheelers, cars, to airplanes use tires. Tires are filled with air, which ultimately offers a flexible support to the vehicle. Tires enhance the performance of an automobile by providing a smooth and comfortable grip of the road. Mostly, tires are manufactured using ductile elastomer material like rubber, fabric and wire. Presently, more than one billion tires are manufactured annually in the world with the three leading tire manufacturers occupying more than 60% of a global market share.

We have divided automobile wheels and tires into following major heads, which are explained in greater details below:

1. Automotive Wheels: are those devices that are circular in shape, surrounded by a rubber-based tire used for moving a vehicle. These wheels respond very quickly to all types of road conditions and provide uniform and frictionless riding. There are diverse ranges of wheels used in automobiles but alloy wheels and wire wheels are the most common.

• Alloy Wheel: As its name suggests, alloy wheels are generally made up of aluminum alloy. Alloy wheels have greater strength, lightweight, durable and attractive. These aluminum-based wheels lessen the rotating mass of suspension components of an automobile and ensure perfect steering feel and effective braking response.
  
  
• Wire Wheel: comprises of three major components that are inner rings, outer rings, and a series of spokes used for linking the inner rings and outer rings together. Steel, brass, aluminum, iron, and other types of metals can be used for making wire wheels.

2. Automotive Tubes: are the natural rubber based flexile and bendable hollow rings, which are installed into the casing of a tire. In simpler terms, automobile tubes are inflated torus shaped balloons used for preventing the leakage of air from the tires. The automotive tubes are generally heat resistant and have an ability of transporting heavy loads for far away distances on unleveled roads under any weather conditions. Moreover these tubes assures the longer tires life by offering excellent air retention and lower of blowouts after punctures. Tubes are highly tensile, powerful, and tear resistant.

3. Flywheel: refers to a rotating disk affixed to a rotating shaft, which smoothen the delivery of power from a motor to a machine. These heavy rimmed rotating wheel are the energy storage devices that lessen variations in angular velocity and revolution per minute. More precisely, these heavy metal wheels are fixed to drive shaft in which most of the weight is consolidated at the circumference.

4. Linkage Parts: consists of many devices, components or equipment used for joining, inter linking or assembling the various parts of an automobile wheel and tire. Linkage parts can be further segregated into following categories:

• Front Axle: Also known as steering axle, the front axle is a supporting shaft through which set of wheels rotates. Axle forms an essential part of a wheeled vehicle, which is generally affixed in a position with bearings or bushings inside a hole in a wheel of a vehicle
• Rear Axle: Often considered as dead axle, this type of axle is placed at the front of another axle called pusher axle. Rear axles are mostly used by trailers and trucks to bear the heavy loads.
• Tie Rod: are metal-based bars used for fastening, binding and linking the various components of a wheel of the automobile.
• Tie Rod End: refers to flexile and tensile coupling placed in the steering linkage that are further used for connecting the tie rods to the steering knuckles.

5. Lug Bolts: These are the round shaped bolts which are flat from the head and aims at providing traction on a tire of a vehicle. Lug bolts are the mechanical parts having flat extension along with a hook but not head. These bolts can be made up of steel, iron, brass, aluminum, copper and many more metals.

6. Lug Nuts: refers to a large circular shaped nut affixed over a bolt used for connecting the wheel of a vehicle with its axle. Lug nuts are usually strong, lightweight and comes variety of sizes and metals.



7. Radial Tires:are one of the types of pneumatic tires, in which ply cords are connected to the beads that are placed perpendicularly to the centerline of the tread. Generally these tires have a radial ply casing consisting of properly arranged organic fiber cords that are tied around the bead cores. The radial tires have belt plies that are surrounded around the tire under a tread, which braces the tread and enlarges the tread area.


8. Steel Radials: provides greater advantages over any other conventional off road tires. Steel radials have sturdy shoulders, durable, and ultra-hard wearing tread compounds. This category of radial has flexible and extremely long lasting spokes, bars, and lines arranged in a shape of radii that are fitted on to a wheel of the vehicle.

9. Tires and Wheels Accessories includes whole ensemble of supportive devices, equipment or parts used along with automobile tires and wheels. These accessories are useful in assembling, installing and protecting automobile tires and wheels. Some of the tires and wheel accessories are:

• Pressure Relief Valves
• Tire Covers
• Valve Stems
• Wheel Plugs
• Wheel Weights

10.Tubeless Tires: is another category of pneumatic tires, which does not have a separate butyl inner tube. This is one of the advanced tire technologies in which even if the tire gets punctured then the air is released only through the hole, ultimately leading to a smooth deflation of the tire. Moreover a liquid tire sealant can be applied on to the surface of tubeless tires with the main aim of preventing deflation.

11. Wheel Studs: are the another forms of bolts used especially for joining the wheel of a vehicle to an axle. These round headed bolts are fixed up inside the holes of an axle flange face with the help of a press and its knurls hold them firmly.


12. Tube Expanders includes devices and tools used for opening, stretching, calibrating and expanding a tire tube of an automobile.

SIZE OF THE AUTOMOBILE WHEELS AND TIRES INDUSTRY

Currently, more than one billion tires are produced every year in the world with the three leading tire manufacturers absorbing more than 60% of a global market share. China, India, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand are the leading manufacturers of tires in the global market.

The global market size of the automobile wheel industry accounts to US $ 55 billion, which is forecasted to grow in the coming years. The key exporting countries of automobile tires in the world are China, India, Russia, Japan, and Taiwan.