For many drivers and car lovers in Oklahoma City, the wheel can “break,” literally and figuratively, the appearance and reception of their cars. They are not content with the physical appearance of the body alone, or they may simply want to adjust the wheels to create an impression or even perform in a specific fashion. To accomplish this, a driver has to consider the option of talking to a professional about a custom wheel job.
The Beginning of Custom or Customized Wheels
The term “custom wheels” refers to the wheels of any vehicle modified in some fashion. They may be an alteration of the original, manufactured work or a complete replacement. This preference for re-creating the wheel dates back to before the first car left the lot. Pioneers modified – or replaced wagon wheels with better, bigger and stronger ones when they found the originals failed to perform effectively.
However, it was not until cars became the favorite mode of transportation that the concept took serious hold. When people began to “trick” or “pimp,” their wheels is debatable. Some point to the 1930s. Coach-built cars from this decade sported beautiful hand-laced wire wheels. Others state the start of it all was in the 1950s. This was a time when race cars popped with cast magnesium wheels.
Between the 1950s and when rims exploded in the mid-1990s, other aspects of custom wheel preparation grew and faded. Finishes of chrome, polished or painted garnered support, then fall out of favor. Traditional chrome plating vies with the newer physical vapor deposition (PVD) Chrome. Favorite wheel colors also change. While silver and black painted wheels remain supreme, these are not the only colors on the wheel palette in Oklahoma City.
Custom Wheel Choice
Pimping up a vehicle is nothing new in Oklahoma City. Since the first wagons rolled into the area, people have customized them and their components. Planning a custom wheel is the norm for many.
