The Problem

On a wet and rainy day, when you jam on the brakes, the brake pedal starts to shudder violently. This shudder is actually the car's anti-lock braking system (ABS) pulsating the brakes so that they don't lose traction with the slippery road surface.

Things To Check

As this shuddering is supposed to occur when the ABS cuts in on a slippery road surface, then everything is working well, and there is nothing to check. The problem is that this does not occur every time it is wet, but only when the tyres lose traction, which is more difficult to predict and catches many drivers off guard. If the brakes start to shudder when conditions are dry, then something is wrong, and you should get the brake pads checked.

What To Do

The important thing to remember is that the shuddering of the brake pedal as a result of the ABS cutting in is perfectly normal. The mistake that some drivers make who are not used to this happening is to take the foot off the pedal. In fact, a British magazine reported that in the UK and USA, more cars equipped with ABS brakes are involved in accidents than those without ABS because drivers lift off their brakes when they really shouldn't. So the next time your brakes start to shake, don't release them.

When used correctly, ABS significantly reduces braking distances and even allows the driver to steer around obstacles while his foot is stomping on the brakes.

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The Problem

Car battery can fail without warning. If your car fails to start one morning and you don't hear any sign of life from the engine then chances are the battery is weak or dead.

Things to check: If your battery has not been serviced for two years or more, here are a couple of things to check. See if the terminals are tightly secured and look out for corrosion marks. The battery water level is crucial also. It has to be at the minimum required level at least for the battery to work properly.

What To Do

Buy a bottle of battery water from any gas station and top up to the maximum allowed level. You can remove the corrosion on the terminals by using sandpaper and apply some grease after that to minimize it from coming back. If the terminals are loose, use a pair of pliers or adjustable-wrench to tighten. All this should be done with the ignition off. Ultimately, you can invest in a voltmeter. If it reads 10 to 12 volts then the battery is fine. Anything below 10 volts means the battery is barely acceptable. Battery water should be checked fortnightly and the average lifespan for a car battery ranges between two to three years. It is strongly advised to have the car battery replaced at that age.

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The Problem

There are many misconceptions about petrol with the notion that "all fuels are created equal" being the most common. Like a highly-trained athlete that depends on a carefully-chosen diet for optimal fitness, the modern car is a sophisticated work of engineering that should be well 'fed' for it to perform its best.

Things To Check

While most cars will run on any grade of petrol available locally, every model has a recommended octane rating that should be adhered to. The owner's manual your car came with should have the recommended octane rating or if you're not sure, you car's dealer will be more than happy to advise.

What To Do

If you select an octane rating that is lower than what is recommended for your car, it might feel sluggish or worse, its engine might start to 'knock' or 'pink' under acceleration or climbing a steep slope - in extreme cases, an engine misfire can also be experienced.

Filling your car with petrol of a higher octane than your car needs will simply be a waste of money as no discernable advantage will be felt. Not only does higher octane fuel cost more, a car's petrol consumption also tends to increase if the wrong grade is selected.

As the leading brands of fuel also contain additives that also clean fuel injectors and other parts of your car's engine, third party additives are usually not necessary.

Cars with direct petrol injection engines such as the Mitsubishi Lancer, Galant or Pajero GDI, Alfa Romeo 156 JTS or the Volkswagen Golf, are also known to be sensitive to the sulphur content in some petrols, but the latest formulations of fuels from leading companies like Shell, for example, are fully compliant with these engines.

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The Problem

On a straight and level road, instead of maintaining a straight line, the steering veers to the right or left.

Things To Check

Make sure that all the tyre pressures are correct. A deflated tyre could also cause the steering to veer to one side. Be sure to take tyre pressures when the tyres are "cool", like the first thing in the morning. A reading taken after in the morning. A reading taken after a long drive will be inflated and inaccurate. Uneven tyre wear may also lead to a steering not tracking properly. Tyres on the same axle - both front tyres for example - should have the same tread wear.

What To Do

If the tyre pressure and tyres are okay, and the car still tracks to the left of right, then its time to get the alignment of the steering corrected.

It should take less than half an hour and cost less than $100. Most AAS approved car workshops will have tyre alignment facilities.

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The wettest season of the year is here and these handy tips will help you get through it unscathed

In what has been a season of record rainfall for the December-January period, it was common to see scores of cars stranded on local roads and expressways as a results of flooding or accidents.

SLOW DOWN
As obvious as it sounds? Well, not everyone pays attention to speed. The handling characteristics of any car changes when it's subjected to wet driving conditions. Slippery road surfaces mean that cars need longer distances to stop and cornering speeds are lowered as well.

Even if your car doesn't feel any different to drive, the vehicle in front might not be able to respond as well to its driver's inputs, so leave a bigger following distance than you normally would.

NO HAZARD LIGHTS, PLEASE
In the event of a sudden downpour, especially on an expressway, it is common to see cars with hazard lights on as many drivers feel that this makes their cars more visible. This can actually be more dangerous as the function of the hazard lights is to indicate that your car has broken down and has come to a complete stop. Instead, switch on your car's headlamps and the illuminated tail lamps will be sufficient.

BIG SPLASH? DON'T PANIC
It's happened to all of us before, a truck drives over a big puddle onto our car's windscreen and suddenly, you can't see a thing. In this scenario, many drivers slam on the brakes in panic which can caused you to lose control of your car, or the car following you might not be able to stop in time.

The best thing to do is to avoid the situation altogether by being observing the other vehicles around you. Is there a big truck ahead? Are cars further up the road making big splashes? This is where leaving enough room between your car and others can give you time to react to sudden splashes or other drivers panic braking.

If you do get caught in a big splash, don't panic. Keep a firm grip on your steering wheel with both hands and keep your feet off the pedals. Slamming on the brakes or accelerating can cause your car's tyres to hydroplane or loose contact with the road. Try your best to coast through the water hazard until you can see where you're going.

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Besides keeping your tyres properly inflated and treading lightly on the accelerator, there are a few other tricks to improving your car's fuel consumption.

With the introduction of hybrid cars making the news lately, environmentally friendly motoring is very much in the news and so it should be. With fuel prices spiralling, it definitely pays to go green. However, if you don't drive a hybrid car, take heart, there's still plenty you can do to stretch that petrol dollar.

Choose the right octane. Unless you're driving a high-performance or luxury machine, chances are that your car's engine is designed to run on 95 octane petrol. If you're not sure, refer to your car's owner's manual or dealer. Using the correct grade of fuel allows the engine to run optimally and return better mileage.

Switch to synthetic. Fully synthetic engine oils can cost more than three times the price of conventional, mineral or semi-synthetic oils but their benefits can pay off in the long run. Friction among an engine's moving parts takes away energy (and therefore uses more fuel) that would otherwise be used to move the car. As synthetic oils have superior friction-reducing properties, an engine that's lubricated with it will run more efficiently than one that uses an inferior oil.

Tint your windows. The latest window tinting or solar films on the market can dramatically reduce the amount of sunlight that heats up the car's cabin. This in turn, requires less effort from the air-conditioning system, which is powered by the engine, to cool the car.

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The Problem

When you switch on the air conditioning in your car, instead of getting clean smelling, cool air, there is the smell of dampness and mould.

Things to Check

If you have already made sure that all the mechanical components of the air conditioner are working well, the source of the damp smell could actually come about because the air conditioner is working too efficiently.

In Singapore's humid atmosphere, the cold air conditioned air does tend to cause a lot of condensation, especially within the ducts that channel the air to the face-level air vents on the dashboard. This happens more on rainy days and while driving at night as the sun isn't around to cause this moisture to evaporate. After a while, the moisture will accumulate and sometimes mould will form, causing all the air that is blown across it to carry the smell into the passenger compartment.

What To Do

The idea is to regularly flush all the aircon ducting will clean, fresh and less humid air so that whatever moisture that has condensed within the system will evaporate. Five minutes before approaching home or the carpark at the end of the day, to switch off the aircon's recycle function - this will allow fresh air to enter the system. Switching off the aircon and turning the fan to a higher speed will also allow more air to be blown through the system. If this is done for a few minutes at the end of each journey, the mildew, and its smell should disappear. Also, in order to keep the air in the passenger compartment dry, the same colleague recommends keeping a drying agent, within the passenger compartment. You'll be surprised how much water is absorbed.

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The Problem

The many speed bumps, or 'sleeping policemen', on the roads not only make one slow down, it also causes the whole car to crash and shake violently.

Things To Know

The speed bumps are in place to remind the driver to slowdown, more often because there is a school or pedestrian crossing nearby. It is not meant to destroy the car or cause the suspension to crash violently.

If a speed bump is not taken properly, some of the lower mounted components of a car, such as the engine sump or exhaust manifold, can be damaged.

Proper Technique

Rather than allow the bump to slow the car, or braking over the bump, the correct procedure to mount a speed bump is to actually brake just before reaching it. One should gently accelerate just as one is crossing over it.

By gently accelerating over it, the driver is causing the front suspension to stretch and rear springs to compress, allowing the speed bump to pass while the suspension is fully extended.

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The Problem

Turning right at a junction, and when you flick the indicator, it beats more rapidy than its normal pace.

Things To Know

A car's indicator is wired in series and is designed to let the driver know if any of the indicator light bulbs are blown. More often than not it is by beating rapidly. Some cars may have a warning light on the instrument panel.

Proper Technique

The best way to find out which bulb is blown is to put on the hazard warning lights since this gets all the indicator lights going at the same time. Once blown bulb has been identified, it can be replaced with a new one. In most instances, this is a straight forward procedure that should not require special tools or equipment. The car's owners manual should have simple step-by-step instructions, and even pictures to show how the bulb can be changed. The easiest way to make sure the correct replacement bulb is bought is to bring the blown bulb into the parts shop.

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The Problem

Many of us take for granted that our car's brakes are self-cleaning and are always in perfect condition. We assume that the brakes should work quick and effectively whenever we need them - especially in an emergency. What most drivers do not realise, however, is that the surface of brake discs do sometimes get contaminated.

Things To Know

When disc brake pads get badly soiled, the driver may notice that braking action is slightly delayed, and stopping distance is longer than usual.

Proper Technique

To clean a car's disc brakes, one car manufacturer recommends occasionally jamming the brakes. This will clear off anything that is on the brake disc or pad. The procedure should be performed on an empty road so as not to endanger any other vehicles or pedestrians. Another thing to take note of is if the brakes are working properly, the car should slow down in a straight line on a level road. If the vehicle pulls left or right, the brakes and steering alignment should be checked immediately.

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The Problem

Not all of us has the time or can be bothered to give our cars' paintwork the care and attention that's needed to maintain a 'showroom' shine.
It isn't just about making your car look good either. Studies have shown that dull or dirty paintwork really has a detrimental effect on your car's aerodynamics which in turn, leads to an increase in fuel consumption.

What To Do

The car polishing market is full of products claiming to be more effective and longer lasting than their competitors. Separating the best from the bogus can be daunting but keeping a few facts in mind should help.

Firstly, it is important to know the difference between a polish, wax and coating.

A polish is usually used in tandem with a wax and is the first step towards restoring your car's paint lustre. It has microscopically abrasive properties that remove a few microns (1 micron = 0.001mm) off the paint's surface. The process is not unlike undergoing an exfoliation or body scrub. It will do wonders if done occasionally but excessive applications will leads to disastrous results. As paint does not regenerate like skin, polishing to often or too much can remove the paint.

However, a proper polish reveals a new layer of paint which will of course look much better as it has been protected by the old layers of paint.

Next you'll want to protect this layer from oxidation and the elements with a wax or clear coat. A hard-wearing substance is desirable if you want a long-lasting shine.

As with everything else in life, the general rule of thumb is, there are no short-cuts and you get what you pay for.

Patience, skill and experience is just as important for getting the best results as the choosing right product so you might want to consider taking your car to a reputable professional.

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The Problem

Coffee is one of the most difficult substances to stain your car's upholstery. As with a coffee stain on clothing, it can be a stubborn stain that is difficult to remove.

Things To Know

Most upholstery cleaning solutions, which comprises of mainly detergent and water, should be effective. Some people have even successfully used plain washing detergent. Any cleaning agent should work as long as one can create lather, as it is the foam that lifts the stain from the surface. With this in mind, the next time someone has a stain to remove, perhaps one should try using shaving cream.

Proper Technique

Firstly, make sure it is the foam type from an aerosol can. The Highway understands that the Gillette cream works the best. Start by scrapping the coffee stain with a blunt knife to get the larger, encrusted bits off. These should then be vacuumed away. Next, apply some shaving cream onto the stain, rub it in thoroughly and use a damp sponge to soak it up. Remember to rinse the sponge with clean water occasionally to keep it clean and moist during the process. Once the stain vanishes, vacuum the upholstery to prevent water from soaking into the cushion. It is advisable to vacuum several times during the rinsing process also. This method has been known to be effective on leather, vinyl and fabric upholstery.

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• Put your gear in neutral and push the car to the extreme left side of the road when it is safe to do so
• Avoid leaving the vehicle at blind spots and dangerous areas like cross junctions and tunnels
• Switch on your hazard lights
• Put up the triangular warning sign at least 20m behind the vehicle, 60m behind if it is on an expressway. It is advisable to have and display a triangular warning sign for safety reasons since its designed to be eye-catching and is widely recognized.
• Open your bonnet and boot to serve as additional warning signs
• When getting out of the vehicle to check the damage, make sure it is safe to open the door
• Call AA at 6748 9911 for help
• While waiting for help, do not stay in the car or stand in front or behind it. Stand at the side farthest from traffic and behind guard rails if possible

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The Problem

Someone has run a key down your car's paintwork or fine scratches have appeared from environmental wear and- tear.

What To Do

Ultimately, for deep scratches (ie. for those that extend beyond the clear surface coat of your car's paintwork) theyare virtually impossible to remove completely without getting professional assistance. Henry Heng, project manager for scratch repair specialist firm, Advance Scratch Master, says: "For very light scratches you can remove them using these abrasive compounds from DIY stores and car marts." But he warns: "You only have so much thickness of the car's top clear coat, so you make this clear coat thinner, using these abrasives. If you polish for too many rounds, you will see paint on your cloth." Don't overpolish in other words, or your bare paintwork will be exposed to all of the elements - and this area of paintwork will also lose its gloss coat.

Once a deep scratch has cut into the paint and possibly into the metalwork itself, scratch repair experts need to prepare this area of the bodywork again to restore it to the original colour and gloss. This means sanding down the whole area or panel to even out the scratch before applying a compound paste into the scratch. Once this hardens, it is sanded down flush to the metal, so the scratch is no more. A primer is re-applied and several light top-coats of paint sprayed on before a top gloss coat is re-applied.

To ensure an accurate colour match, the car's 'colour code', taken from an information pack on the car is mixed via a computerized chart so the correct colour is applied. Henry says always check this facility is available, or the so-called 'professional' scratch restorer may not live-up to their claims. It is worth checking whether a paint shop is equipped with an oven to gently 'bake' paintwork and gloss coat to the metalwork. While not essential for a re-spray, a car oven will thoroughly harden new paint for a lasting finish.

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Xenon or HID headlamps are increasingly popular options on today's new cars. Is there an advantage to these systems over the conventional halogen items?

When driving at night, you've probably noticed that the headlamps of some cars that cast a bluish or whiter light, while others appear yellowish in comparison. As the colour temperature of these bluish lights are matched to resemble natural daylight, they appear brighter and help the driver see much better when driving at night. The improvement is even more apparent on roads with no streetlamps, such as certain stretches of the North-South Highway in Malaysia. Headlamps that cast this white or bluish light are likely fitted with High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps. Also commonly referred to as xenon headlamps, the latter is a gas found in the HID system which illuminates when exposed to an extremely high current (between 23,000 and 25,000 volts by way of a step-up transformer). Unlike halogen headlamps, there is no filament in the lamp itself. One big advantage with HID headlamps is that they are designed to last the life of the car.

A common misconception is that any car can be fitted with HID headlamps by merely replacing the halogen light bulb with a brighter one or 'bluer' looking one. These bulbs give the appearance of HID when they're new because they're coated with a blue gel that burns off after a few weeks or months of use. Other than style, there's no real performance advantage. The reflector design of a genuine HID lamp has to be different from the standard halogen item and is also self-levelling to ensure that the light does not dazzle on-coming traffic or drivers in front. Beware of workshops that offer HID conversions without replacing the existing reflector units of your car. The resulting light will be much too bright for other road users and you will also run foul of the law.

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If you think about it, the steering wheel is probably the most used part of the car when you're driving. While your right foot alternates between brake and accelerator pedals, at least one hand must be on the steering wheel at all times.

The basic, but crucial tip is the position of your hands on the wheel. If you imagine the steering wheel as a clock face, the driver's hands should be at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position. Holding the steering wheel this way gives a driver the most control should unforeseen emergencies like a tyre blow out occur or if there is a need to swerve to avoid a hazard.

How far your arms extend to the steering wheel also greatly affects the way you control a car. Sitting too far away from the wheel increases the chance of fatigue on a long distance drive as most of the steering effort is focused on the shoulder muscles. Ideally, this load should be shared with all the muscles in arms and even your upper body.

To do this, the backrest of your seat should be as upright enough for your shoulder blades to remain in contact with the seat even when your arms are extended in front of you.

To find out if the steering wheel is the correct distance away from you, both wrists should be able to rest on the steering wheel rim at the 12 o'clock position so that when you bring your hands back to the 10 and 2 position on the steering wheel, your elbows should bend gently.

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The Problem

Which oil will work best in my car? Just like petrol, engine oil is another vital liquid that no car can run without. As commonly referred to as 'lube' oil, this substance plays a significant role in limiting the engine's wear, influencing its fuel economy and even aids cooling to a certain extent. As with petrol, engine oil is available in several grades or viscosities. Also referred to as 'weight', these are denoted by numbers such as 5-W40. Generally speaking, older cars tend to require thicker viscosities such as 15-W50 while newer cars engines are built with finer tolerances and can use thinner oils such as a 0-W30 weight.

What To Do

To find out which oil suits your car, refer to the owner's manual or check with your car's dealer. There are many different brands on the market of varying qualities - price is usually a good indicator of how good an engine oil is, so shop around.

What It Means

The advantage of using a 'lighter' oil is that it flows more quickly to the engine's moving parts during start-up and a thinner oil also helps the engine's fuel efficiency as the moving parts within it have less resistance to work against.

Another way of explaining this concept would be to imagine how much more energy you'll need to stir a bucket of thick liquid verses a bucket of water.

Unlike petrol, cars are more sensitive to the engine oil that's put in them and as a general rule you should never mix different oils in the same engine.

Engine oils also come in three basic categories; mineral, semi-synthetic and fully synthetic. While mineral is often the cheapest, fully synthetic oil is the most expensive as it lasts the longest.

Oils 'break down' or loose their viscosity over time or distance driven. When this happens, the engine oil looses its ability to protect the engine. So long-lasting fully synthetic oil will ensure the best protection right up to your next service.

Even though most synthetic engine oils claim to be effective way in excess of your car's recommended servicing intervals, you should still keep to the latter schedule to maintain your car properly.

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The Problem

There can never be too much emphasis on safety when it comes to tyres. Rightfully, tyre companies spend a lot of money educating us on the fact that those four black pieces of rubber on your car are the only things between the car and the road.

While higher-priced tyres generally offer more grip that leads to better cornering, braking and acceleration properties, buying the most expensive tyres you can afford alone isn't enough for a safer handling car.

For any tyre to perform at their best, some simple maintenance should be carried out periodically.

What To Do

Different cars require different tyre pressures so check your owner's manual for the appropriate pressure.

Many new cars come with built-in tyre pressure monitors. If your car doesn't, it might be a good idea to keep a tyre pressure gauge handy as the pressures should be checked when the tyres are cold, like before you drive off in the morning for example.

Loss of pressure doesn't only mean a drop in tyre performance, an under-inflated tyre also creates more rolling resistance which in turn leads to higher fuel consumption as the engine will require more power to turn the wheels.

It also leads to a heavier steering feel which may not let you react as quickly if you need to avoid any hazards in an emergency.

There can be too much of a good thing with tyre pressure and over inflating can not only lead to an uncomfortable ride, it can also be dangerous as this could lead to a loss in car control or even an exploding tyre.

What It Means

Tyres are made of a compound that is porous in nature. Which means that the air inflating a tyre can escape through the billions of microscopic holes of the compound itself.

This is how a tyre usually loses its pressure and is also why you should check you car's tyre pressures at least every two weeks.

Some tyre shops can even inflate your tyres with nitrogen which has larger molecules than oxygen and therefore does not escape as easily as regular compressed air. Also, nitrogen is more resistant to heat build up so the tyre pressure does not fluctuate as much on your drive.

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All that stuff on your tyre's sidewalls rep- resents useful information about the rubber on your wheels. Besides the brand and model name you can find out about, its size, construction type, what kind of vehicle it's designed for, speed rating, maximum load and even when it was made. Here's how to read them.

TYRE SIZE AND CONSTRUCTION
As an example, if the tyre size is 195/60 R15 it means the tyre width is 195mm, the sidewall height is 60 percent of that particular tyre's width - which, in this case - would be 117mm - and the rim (or wheel) size is 15 inches. The "R" tells us the tyre is made with radial construction. Most modern tyres are of radial design.

TYRE TYPE
If you see codes like "L/T", it means the tyre is made for light trucks or large Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV). "P" normally represents passenger cars, but not all brands come with this tyre-type coding.

SPEED RATING
The speed-rating alphabet indicates the maximum speed the tyre can sustain for a ten minute endurance without coming to pieces and destroying itself. For example, a tyre with speed rating of "H" means it can with- stand up to 210km/h. Refer to the table below for the full list of speed rating.

LOAD INDEX
An additional number right next to the speed-rating alphabet represents the load index. A rating of '55' means the tyre is good to support 218kg. You'll need to refer to a load index chart to find out the other ratings, but the higher the number, the higher the weight the tyre is rated for.

DATE OF MANUFACTURE
Usually you can find four numbers next to the letters "DOT". The first two represents the week of manufacture, while the following two is the year. Let's say the number is "3005".

This means the tyre is made in the 30th week of the year 2005.

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Tyre Talk

Those four rubber tubes under your car do far more than simply propel you from A to B, as Bridgestone Tyres explain to us…

We often forget about and neglect the most important part of our car - our four tyres. These have four crucial roles:

SUPPORT
Sounds obvious, but it takes incredible design technology in modern radial tyres to support
the weight of an average car weighing around 1.6 tons. Tyres' sidewalls are designed to flex
both for weight support and cornering, yet must be stiff enough to maintain their profile.

SHOCK ABSORBERS
Yes, your tyres act as legitimate secondary shock absorbers, supplementing the hydraulic
dampers in your car's suspension system. The air in your tyres act like an air-shock. They
enable a car to negotiate a wide range of road conditions in comfort. The use of the wrong air
pressure in your tyres will also have an adverse affect on your car's suspension system.

BRAKING
Well of course the brakes fitted to the inside of your wheels start the entire process of braking,
but those braking forces have to be transmitted to the road somehow and that's what your tyres
do - they are the link between the friction on the tarmac and your car and they 'scrub off' speed.
They literally bite into the tarmac surface thanks to their grippy mixture of rubber and silicone.
Modern tyres offer good life considering the daily braking forces they are subjected to.

DIRECTIONAL FEEDBACK
Providing tyre pressures are maintained as recommended by the manufacturer, the tyres act
as a vital tool in telling you, the driver, just how your car is behaving in a corner. This crucial 'feedback' lets you know if you are barreling into a corner too fast for the car's suspension to
handle. If you feel the front end going light or the rear end starting to sway, these are all signals
from your tortured tyres telling you to ease off the power.

Brought to you by:

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One of the most popular ways of personalising your car is a rim (or wheel as it is otherwise referred to) upgrade. When done correctly, a new set of rims can change the way your car looks and handles without running afoul of the law or compromising the manufacturers warranty.

Most owners tend to go for bigger wheels when upgrading namely because they make a car look sportier and also require lower profile tyres where the sidewalls (the bit between the rim and tyre tread) are slimmer than a tyre on a smaller rim.

If your car has a 15-inch wheel, changing to 16-inch or 17-inch items would be known amongst enthusiasts as a "plus 1" or "plus 2" upgrades respectively because of the difference in the new rim from the original.

The thing to remember when getting bigger wheels is that the overall diameter of the tyres must always be the same so that your car's speedometer will still be accurate and that the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) will still work properly

A good tyre dealer should be able to advise on how much you can "upsize" your car's wheels by. When the wheel (with the tyre on) is mounted on the front wheels, they should ensure that no part of the rim or tyre interferes with any parts of the brakes, suspension or wheel fenders.
With bigger wheels, usually come wider tyres as well. While this can result in more grip when cornering and braking, going too wide can also lead to a higher risk of your car aqua-planning on wet roads, an increase in fuel consumption due to greater rolling resistance which can also caused diminished acceleration performance.

Real performance gains however, can be had if the rims you are changing to are of the lightweight variety because there is less mass or unsprung weight for the engine and brakes to power and stop respectively.

The variety of these kinds of rims tend to be limited and quite expensive as some of them are made of exotic materials like magnesium instead of aluminium alloy that the majority of rims are made of.

Most alloy wheels are made from cast alloy, but forged wheels are harder to find, being more expensive but much lighter.

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