Classic cars are in! More and more people of all ages are enjoying classic cars. They are having it restored or restoring it themselves and are increasingly giving the car a set of new wheels as part of the process. But why? Doesn't that contradict the principle of a classic car? Although opinions differ here, there are many reasons why it definitely makes sense to stop driving 30-50 year old wheels and companies such as Maxilite, which build new wheels that are confusingly similar to those of today in terms of quality and safety.
While a few years ago, owning a classic car was something for the second half of life, there has been a trend in recent years that is getting stronger and stronger: More and more young people, already in their early twenties, are driving a classic car. They are restoring the vehicles, putting a few new wheels on them and giving the car a new shine. Restoration ok, but why new wheels? Can't you just restore them and put a new tire on them? Theoretically this is possible, but in most cases it is not advisable for safety reasons.
Although opinions differ as to whether it is okay to put a new wheel on a classic vehicle for stylistic reasons, there are many reasons for doing so:
- SAFETY: After so many years, wheels can become a real safety risk as the strength deteriorates over time. Magnesium wheels in particular (used on many vehicles in the 70s, especially Italian brands), whose strength is already lower than that of aluminum or steel wheels, become brittle and must never be heated during reconditioning.
- PREVIOUS HISTORY: In the case of several previous owners, it is often impossible to say for sure what a wheel has already experienced. Was it used for racing? Has it been involved in accidents? Has it been reconditioned and thus heated up?
- COSTS OF ORIGINALS: Original rims are often hard to come by and therefore very expensive, despite their poor condition.
- COSTS OF RESTAURATION: In most cases, reconditioning an original rim is more expensive than buying a new one.
- QUALITY OF RESTAURATION: Usually, a reconditioned wheel cannot compete in terms of quality with a new one.
- TIRE AVAILABILITY: In many cases, tires for the original rims are no longer available or are very expensive. In this case, a small deviation in the size of a new wheel can ensure access to good, inexpensive tires for the vehicle.
- THE BIGGER THE BETTER: The size of the original rims often no longer corresponds to today's taste. They can be 1-2 inches bigger.
- CLASSIC DESIGN: Even if the quality of the new wheels corresponds to today's standards, they look confusingly similar to the originals.
- INCREASING VEHICLE VALUE: The restoration of a classic car should always include the replacement of the wheels. Not only to preserve the value of the vehicle, but also to benefit from the full increase in value.
- ORIGINAL RIMS OFTEN COLLECTOR'S ITEMS: For some vehicles, original rims are now collector's items that increase in value (e.g. Porsche). Another reason to keep them in the garage and use cheaper and safer new wheels on the road.
For these reasons, there are also more and more rebuilt rims. The best you can get on the market at the moment usually comes from Maxilite. The Swiss company fulfills a criterion that most others do not: All of its wheels are certified by the German TÜV. For this reason, Maxilite is the market leader worldwide and especially in Europe and Germany.
TÜV-CERTIFIED WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
The German TÜV is the toughest quality test in the world. The wheels are tested and certified for quality and period conformity. This means that they must meet the highest quality standards on the one hand and, on the other hand, their design must correspond to the designs that existed for the respective vehicle at the time of manufacture. Maxilite is one of the few manufacturers of specialist wheel rims whose products have this certificate.