# Customizable Wheel Model

How a three\-piece car wheel is built from its lip, barrel and face, and how spoke style, finish, lip depth and barrel width change its look\.

By muad Pn

Topic: Engineering

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/Tt6yNENFQTlj)

## Transcript

### 1. Meet the wheel

This is a three\-piece wheel, the kind many custom wheels are built from\. It is an 18\-inch wheel, about 46 cm across where the tire sits\. Drag anywhere to turn it and look all around\.

Wheel size is measured where the tire's edges sit, not across the shiny outer edge\.

### 2. Three pieces, one wheel

Watch the wheel come apart\. The lip is the shiny front ring, the barrel is the wide hoop that holds the tire, and the face is the spoked middle\. A ring of small bolts clamps all three together\.

Because the pieces are separate, builders can mix and match them like a kit\.

### 3. Choose a face

The face carries the car's weight from the hub out to the rim\. Its spokes can come in pairs, be broad and simple, cross like a mesh or curve like a turbine\. Try each design\.

Five lug nuts on a circle 114\.3 mm wide hold this wheel to the car\.

### 4. Paint the face

A finish protects the metal and sets the mood\. Chrome is a thin layer of metal plated onto the surface, while paint and powder coat add colour\. Pick a finish for the face\.

### 5. Stretch the lip

Slide to make the lip deeper\. As it grows, the face sits further back inside the wheel, which fans call a deep dish\. Lip depth is usually measured in inches\.

A deep lip looks bold, but its exposed edge is easier to scrape on a kerb\.

### 6. Finish the lip

The lip catches the light first, so builders often give it a finish of its own\. A polished lip is buffed until it shines like a mirror\. Choose one to frame the face\.

### 7. Widen the barrel

Here is the wheel from behind\. Slide to widen the barrel, the hoop the tire grips\. A wider barrel holds a wider tire with more rubber touching the road\.

The dip in the middle of the barrel lets the tire slide over the edge when it is fitted\.

### 8. Ready to roll

Press the button to fit a tire to your design and give it a spin\. Air pressure pushes the tire's edges tight against the rim so they seal\. Go back to any step to change your wheel\.