GKN Rim Aims to Make Tyre Changing Easier, Wheels Lighter

GKN Wheels Division, part of the GKN OffHighway division has pledged to make “tyre-fitting easier and bring efficiency benefits for manufacturers of off-highway vehicles” through simplifying tyre changing. The company is one of the world’s leading provider of wheels for off-highway vehicles in the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors, with seven global manufacturing plants in the UK, USA, Denmark, Italy and China.

Steve Cragg, design and development director at GKN Wheels says, “We have an established track record of successfully delivering innovative solutions to wheel manufacture and design that improve cost and performance; the new rim design reinforces this capability in the marketplace.

“In recent years, increased use of low pressure tyres, which are reinforced with stiff beading, has made it even more difficult and time-consuming to fit or remove tyres without risking some damage.”

In addition to making tyre-fitting easier, GKN says that the new wheel rim profile includes a number of design features that help to strengthen the wheel at the same time as reducing the cost of materials used in the production of off-highway rims by up to 10 per cent.

The new design, subject to a current patent application, features a rolled-over outer edge, which strengthens the rim and works towards making initial tyre fitting easier. Other features include the introduction of a double “bump” and a gauge reduction on the inner part of the wheel rim. These changes are designed to make it easier to inflate low pressure tyres while on the wheel at the same time as allowing wheels to be produced more cost-efficiently and sustainably, using less steel.

Cragg concludes, “We are constantly testing the assumptions of wheel design to ensure we are producing off-highway wheels that are product leaders in terms of their efficiency and performance.” The new wheel rim profile is currently undergoing field trials.