In the US alone, national forests and grasslands cover about 193 million acres of area. Within these spots are more than 150,000 miles of recreational trails. There are also over 400 wilderness areas to go on exciting off-road adventures in.
Off-roading isn’t just about thrills, though; it’s a great way to connect with nature, too. Nature immersion, in turn, is a science-backed stress antidote. According to scientists, it may help improve mood and even lower blood pressure.
Before you go off-roading, though, it’s best to swap out your ride’s factory road rims with 4×4 rims first. This is especially true if you plan to conquer extreme dirt roads and terrain. Standard wheels may end up stuck, putting you at a safety risk, or at the very least, a damper in your adventure.
To that end, we created this guide on the pros of 4×4 wheels and rims over factory ones. Read on to discover why these aftermarket products are a worthy investment.
1. Increased Ground Clearance
Ground clearance, or ride height, is the distance between the bottom of a vehicle’s body and the road. The greater the ground clearance, the more clear space between the body and the surface of the road. This is also how the rims and wheels influence how big or small the vehicle’s overall ride height is.
Most vehicle manufacturers specify ground clearance in inches. For example, most typical SUVs have an average ground clearance of 7 to 8 inches. By contrast, smaller sedans have only about 5 to 6 inches.
However, it’s vital to note that manufacturer-provided ground clearance is for unladen vehicles. This means the indicated ground clearance doesn’t account for passenger or cargo weight. So, once loaded, the available ride height becomes lower than the specified dimension.
Now, keep in mind that off-road trails are full of big rocks, huge exposed tree roots, and other obstacles. So, if your ride doesn’t have enough ground clearance, its underbody is likely to hit these hurdles. This can then lead to the chassis and all its mechanical parts sustaining damage.
Fortunately, off-roading wheels help address ground clearance issues with their bigger sizes. For example, you’ll find 4×4 rims and wheels ranging from 16 to more than 20 inches. By contrast, it’s typical for the average standard road rims to only be at 15 inches.
By fitting your ride with bigger off-roading rims and wheels, you get to increase tire size, too. As a result, they can provide a significant increase to your vehicle’s ride height. This can then help your ride succeed when it comes to conquering all those off-road obstacles.
2. Better Handling on Rough or Even Extreme Terrain
The larger tires you can fit onto 4×4 rims and wheels can help your ride perform better on off-road trails. For starters, larger tires are wider, so they also have a greater patch area. The patch area is the section of the tire that comes into contact with the ground.
The greater the patch area, the more traction the tires provide. When you go off-roading, higher levels of traction are often necessary for the tires to have a better grip. This way, the tires can successfully maneuver over loose rocks, gravel, and sand, or patches of mud.
Moreover, tires designed to fit onto 4×4 rims and wheels have deeper grooves. These channels expel water from beneath the tires to keep hydroplaning at bay. So, the deeper the grooves, the safer it can be for your ride to pass over shallow streams.
In addition, the bigger the tires, the greater their aspect ratio and sidewall length are. The aspect ratio, also called profile, is a tire’s sidewall height measured from the rim to the top of its tread. The greater the aspect ratio, the higher or taller the sidewall is.
The sidewall, in turn, is the smooth area of a tire sitting between the tread’s edge and the tire bead. It’s the groove-less vertical section of a tire that you can see when looking at the rubber from the side of a vehicle.
Increasing the aspect ratio increases the sidewall, too. For off-roaders, having more sidewall can boost their tires’ grip on boulders and rocks. As a result, they can better handle the obstacles common on more extreme off-road trails.
3. Off-Road-Worthy Properties
Fun fact: the global aftermarket automotive wheel had an estimated value of $6.2 billion in 2020. According to analysts, this sector will grow further to rake in revenues amounting to $7.1 billion by 2025.
One of the chief reasons for that growth is the rise in the demand for performance-based vehicles. Rims and wheels play many roles in this since they’re the frame of the tires that have contact with the ground. For these reasons, they make up a huge chunk of the automotive aftermarket segment.
Alloy rims and wheels are particularly huge in the 4×4 scene due to their off-road worthiness. Some of their top properties include durability, high tensile strength, and corrosion resistance. Alloys are also malleable and ductile while being lighter than standard steel.
All those properties make alloys perfect materials for rims and wheels. After all, trails have far more extreme conditions than public roads. They can be very rough, bumpy, wet, sticky, or a combination of all that.
With their smaller size and standard materials, most road rims may not be up for such tasks. They won’t last long in such severe environments.
Swap Out Your Factory Wheels with Top-Quality 4×4 Rims Today
There you have it, your ultimate guide on how 4×4 rims outperform standard road rims. Just make sure that you invest in high-quality aftermarket rims designed to last. After all, these upgrades aren’t cheap, so you should get a set made for intense off-the-road tasks.
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