[ho2go]

Hey, I see the Sky stats touting "18-inch flangeless alloy wheels". What's does "flangeless" refer to? I've never seen that before when talking about rims.

 

[brentil]

Well when it comes to tubing/piping a flange is the end of the tube where a special tool has been forced into it to cause it to warp outwards. Here's an image of a pipe with it's end flanged.
http://www.vici.com/cfit/flanged.htm

I believe it has to do with how the edge of the rim where the tire meets up with it is formed. On a flanged wheel it might be they use a flange tool to fource out the edges, so you end up with a rounded edge where the tire meets with the wall of the rim. But on a flangeless rim, I'm betting they're usually cast rims with a mold that allows a box style edge instead of the rounded edge. I might be totally wrong though, because I'm basing this off my knowledge of working with copper tubing.

 

[Rik]

I think it may be how the center section of the wheel is constructed. Most GM aluminum wheels are kind of over built in this area for durabilty sake, maybe the Sky's wheels will be closer to a set of good aftermarket wheels and weight a lot less than what GM normally puts on its cars.

 

[Fformula88]

This is a total guess, but maybe it has to do with the rims lip along the edge of the tire. Most factory wheels seem to have an extra lip along the outer edge of the rim on both sides, where a wheel weight is normally clamped. On most aftermarket rims, this little edge/lip where you would clamp the weight isn't there (instead, stick on weights are used on the inside). I wonder if they have removed that lip/edge from the wheels to make them look more like aftermarket, to have a smooth transition to where the tire begins. Again, thats just a guess.

Does anyone have any closeups of the Sky's rims?

 

[Fformula88]

Here is a pic of one of the Sky rims from the gallery. Its a little fuzzy. It does appear to have the lip on the edge to attach the weight too, so I guess thats not what they mean.

As Rik mentioned, Unlike most factory wheels, it doesn't have all the extra material in the middle. Its open between the spokes except in the middle like an aftermarket rim. He may be right, that might be what they mean.

 

[LatinVenom]

I think it has to do with the outer edge of the wheel, I think Brentil's is on the right track, and so are you Ff88, since they called them Flangeless.

 

[ho2go]

Here is a pic of one of the Sky rims from the gallery. Its a little fuzzy. It does appear to have the lip on the edge to attach the weight too, so I guess thats not what they mean.

You guys might be right that "flangeless" is referring to the outer edge. To me it doesn't look like it has an outer lip "outdent" (opposite of indent) at all.

Either way, those rims sure look sharp, don't they? Some of the best factory rims out there IMO. Heck, maybe "flangeless" means "sexy as hell". lol

 

[SCCA HP Racer]

Yes, it is the flange where the wheel meets the tire. On conventional rims, there is a lip or flange which you could probably go look at on your own car. Lately, it has become stylish to not have these, but the problem is that they are difficult to put tires on. New processes have been and are being developed to mount tires on flangeless wheels quickly.

That pic above shows it well.