When it comes to the terminology of alloy wheels, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of demarcations in existence. Many of which seem somewhat unusual in the words used with some being almost foreign in appearance. On such term is "Staggered Fitments"; at first glance this term, as it applies to alloy wheels, does conjure up images of funny wheel holes or different sized alloy wheel nuts. However, the actual definition is quite simple and easy to understand.

Staggered Fitments refers to using different wheel widths between the front and rear wheels. It's quite often employed on rear wheel drive vehicles for a number of reasons:

1. To provide greater traction and stability to the drive alloy wheels - rear wheel drive vehicles have their drive or power wheels in the rear. This is often done to improve performance and durability as front wheel drive systems generally cannot handle high horsepower engines and the high torque they produce. The more common currently produced rear wheel drive vehicles are the Infiniti models, Nissan Z, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, Mercedes-Benz models, BMW models, Pontiac GTO and Solstice, Jaguar, Porsche and the list goes on. It is readily apparent that the vast majority of rear wheel drive vehicles are performance oriented, often with high horsepower engines. The wider the rear tread, the greater the ability to keep or maintain traction under acceleration.

Many times, owners will not only stagger the width of the alloy wheels but also the diameter of the alloy wheels by placing 17" wheels on the front and 18" wheels on the rear. Coupled with low-profile tires (the tire sidewall is shorter than a passenger car tire) tires, and the stability or handling of the vehicle is not proportionately better as well. A lower profile tire can and does corner much better than a passenger car tire. The easiest way to understand is if a turn is made too quickly on passenger car tires, the tires will squeal and slide; but at the same speeds, low profile tires will grip the road and make the turn.

2. Enhance the looks, stance and aggressiveness of the vehicle - having the rear alloy wheels wider than the front wheels gives the vehicle a more aggressive look and many owners prefer this visual effect. In addition, the look is noticed whether sitting still, coming or going, one cannot help to notice the "fatter" tread on the rear alloy wheels. A good way to realize this is to look at a few performance vehicles and note the alloy wheels size and width the factory used on the model. Generally, all higher performance vehicles come from the factory with staggered fitments.

3. Less tread width on the front alloy wheels means less friction and horsepower – this is a common sight at the quarter-mile drag racing competitions; vehicles with narrow, skinny little wheels on the front and large, wide, fat tires on the rear, especially in what are the professional classes: Pro-Stock, Top Alcohol and Top Fuel. A thin or narrow front alloy wheel width causes less friction and resistance as compared to a wider fitment. This equates to less horsepower being used to push the front alloy wheels and this increases the usable amount of horsepower.

So there you have it, Staggered Fitments refers to the width and height of the front alloy wheels compared to the rear alloy wheels.

If your company is looking for staggered fitments for alloy wheels, then look no further we can help!!!

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