Not to know what whether or not my car has alloy wheels

[Rascalls3]

Just been told off by the Green Flag operator because I didn't know if my Mini had standard or alloy wheels Apparently ( he said ) that as I hold a driving licence I should know ALL about my car!!!! Interested to know how many ladies out there know what a alloy wheel is. My lovely car mechanic has told me that I am the proud owner of four alloy wheels!

Not wanting to change a tyre is fine. I don't change mines.

Not knowing how to if you were stuck in an emergency situation is just plain daft. It's nothing like not knowing about how your shoes are made - that is a really really stupid thing to say. With a car you are responsible for a tonne of heavy machinery which can take you anywhere.

Ok, scenario - you are in the country, on a back road, and you have a puncture. You pull over and there is no mobile signal. No houses are in sight, it's getting dark and the road is very quiet.

Wwyd then????

And yes posting things that suggest women are less likely to know basic vehicle maintenance IS letting the side down. It's not some big huge girly in joke about how vacant we are.

I would make exactly the same sort of response to man posting a stereotypical comment about not knowing how to use Thr washing machine.

And also as op has amply demonstrated, it leaves you extremely vulnerable to being ripped off. Fifty quid for expanding foam indeed!

(op, it doesn't have to be Asda btw, eBay, most supermarkets, halfords even should have it for less than a tenner and they are MASSIVE rip off merchants)

I don't know if anyone said that not knowing how to change a wheel is like not knowing how shoes are made - if it was my comment about designer shoes that you're referencing I meant not knowing if they're alloys is like not knowing about shoes.

I agree that it is helpful (and easy if someone shows you how) to know how to change a tyre should you need to but as other posters have said it is not reflective on your ability to drive and you can't know everything.

Is it necessary to know if they are alloys or not?

I had no idea if the car had alloys and had to ask the garage what they looked like when they asked me when I rang for breakdown recovery.

I do know how to do weekly maintenance checks though!

I know mine has alloy wheels. I know how to change a tyre too - you phone the breakdown people and wait for them to do it.

Sorry if I have offended some posters. I am not remotely interested in car design and bought this one because it would be reliable and cheap to get from A to B. I have a car mechanic in the family thankfully ( who laughed when I told him what Green Flag had said) a willing husband and car recovery to fill in the gaps. The tyre foam sounds fairly useless and fortunately I was able to resolve the situation without having to use it. It's been a rubbish day and I am grateful for the many understanding posts.

I don't drive (not allowed).

So I shall take a guess - alloy wheels are the shiny ones, aren't they?

having just bought the newest car I've ever owned, 10 years old, the question of alloys came up because I couldn't find anything without them that met my other requirements. They are lighter but much less robust and provide less shielding for the brake disks. Like many things they were introduced for looks (no idea why, who with a brain cares what wheels look like?) at the expense of function. The weight reduction is irrelevant for the UK where no-one can drive for performance, roads are too busy.

Obvious difference is the metal, but short of an analysis... general not very good description is that steel wheels are more solid, whereas alloys have spokes. Steels usually have hub covers but not always. (if you have these, fix them on with cable ties and keep a pair of scissors or a knife in the glove box)

best I've found:
www.ehow.co.uk/about_5316116_steel-wheels-vs-alloy-wheels.html

my car is a Ford and there is a website where the VIN tells me the exact spec as it left the factory; the first owner 'upgraded' to alloys. Some insurers see factory fit options as modifications, which is the insurance issue. Other makes may offer the same info.

hope this is of some help.

I know mine has alloys, as do both of dh's cars.

I can also change a wheel.

Sorry Special most alloy wheels are in fact heavier than steel wheels. Unless you get some specialist forged wheels or even more specialist magnesium wheels. And yes the difference is noticeable on the road I'm afraid.

Special thanks! I feel stupid for not finding that myself!

So alloys are shinier, thinner, brakes are visible and most importantly they don't have hub caps.

Alloy wheels are shiny and look a bit swish. Ordinary steel wheels are very boring and usually have plastic covers called hub caps to cover them up. Years ago it used to be very expensive to have alloy wheels, so steels were the norm, but nowadays alloys are much more common. Probably cheaper to make by now. I don't know why they're different. Perhaps the 'alloy' wheel is a much shinier metal.

I love my car. It's a 2.2 turbo diesel 4x4. It's got individual climate control, Bluetooth, a media socket so I can play all the music on my phone through the cars speakers, automatic lights and wipers, keyless entry, electric heated seats, a touch screen info centre, bags of room for all my crap and a towbar and roof rails for more crap-carrying capacity. It's lovely to drive and probably the most luxurious thing I own. It's a proper 4x4, not some Chelsea tractor, I can sling it round fields and everything

I would hesitate to change a tyre though. They're big and heavy and as the wheel nuts are usually tightened with an air gun in the garage I doubt I'd be able to get them off. I'm not sure where the jack point is either. But that's what breakdown cover is for.

Minis amongst many other cars have run flat tyres therefore you will not need to change tyre.

I know what an alloy is.

I would imagine knowing if they are alloys is to do ?ith the locking nuts.

So no you wouldn't need to know if they were alloys if you knew whether or not they had locking nuts on them and where the kit was if needed.

Do people still steal alloys? They are indeed much more common than even about ten years ago.

Hub caps are the little ones usually on old American cars, the plastic ones we tend to have are wheel trims.

I have alloy wheels and I have an idea how to change them but would call out the RAC or DH to do it.

I also have a spare wheel as I told the dealership I only wanted a car with a spare and not a stupid can of foam that wrecks the tyre!

I know what alloys are, I know what size mine are, where the locking nut is and what type of tyres I have on mine too. I can change a tyre but not my own - don't have they physical strength to do my own ones - too big.

Exactly ILove I drive a big dirty Landrover. I am small and weedy. I seriously doubt I could physically change a wheel, though I've watched DH do it and know the theory.

I think you now need to know how to do it as part of your driving test now along with checking oil. When doing my bike test I had to tell him how to check oil and check brake fluid.

My dad wouldn't let me book driving lessons until I could change the oil on a car and change a wheel. Thought it was a pain in the ass being shown how to do it at 16 but when ds was 6 weeks old a few years I got a flat on back roads with no phone signal and had to do it.

Hub caps

You're right Ludways, I am going back a bit. Hub caps were the metal caps that used to cover the studs on your wheels many years ago. They're called wheel trims now, yes.

Tinkly I've got a little Landrover!

Technically I know how to change a wheel..I probably wouldn't do it as I dotn really have the strength to do it (RSI etc)

I had to have a new tyre a few weeks ago and event the mechanic had trouble getting the wheel off. (ooh must remember to get some new nuts)

My locking wheel nut is in a plastic Paracetomol tub and if its not someone who knows us we always get a call..

Many years ago we were at a wedding waiting for a taxi an some friends were admiring the blue (I think steel) wheels on a guys car. He girlfriend said

"They were really expensive, and they didnt even come with the plastic covers"

Yep, but I'm reasonably good with mechanics. I drove a Morris minor for years and dis most of the work on it myself (taught by dh). You kind of had to know the basics for when it broke down art inopportune times, though using the crank handle never failed to make me smile.

I have progressed to more modern cars (thigh i recently parted with my 82 TR7) and i know my way around those pretty well.

It's good practice to do an oil, water and washer check every week. Also check tyre wear, wiper wear and check all your lights as well. I'm probably one off the weird few that's happy in overalls scrabbling around under a car though.

OP, what the eff is a "Green Flag operator" when it's at home?

Green Flag are a break down service like the AA or RAC, so the Green Flag operator is the person you speak to on the phone when you ring up to report the breakdown.

Thank you for the info on Green Flag; it's been almost 50 years since I left England.

Personally, I don't know whether our two cars have alloy wheels or not. What does it matter? Why should I care?

What is the big deal with alloy wheels? Indeed what is the big deal with low profile tyres?

My car has both, not because I chose them, but it was a good deal to buy that car. The low profiles make the car rubbish to drive in snow, and I don't drive like a lunatic in non snowy weather, so why do I need low profiles? Is it just cosmetic or do they offer significantly better road handling?

For the record, I know in theory how to change a wheel, but I just don't have the brute force to do it myself. I also know how to check tyre pressures, oil, water, screen wash, windscreen wipers and lights. I know how to change a light bulb and what type we need, and how to wire a plug. Oh, and I know where the locking wheel nuts are kept.