People have had a love for the car ever since it first came into being. We can guess that the very first mechanics also had the very first ideas for how to improve a car's looks by improving its wheels. This is true today, as well, though the sheer number of wheels out there can boggle the mind. And larger sizes are even more popular, so if moving up to 22 inch rims is on your mind, continue reading.

Wheels are timeless

Wheels first came into use on carts and chariots over 5500 years ago, back in Mesopotamia, when they tricked out a war chariot or two with large wheels. Wheels, in fact, are probably one of the most important inventions man has ever devised.

Peas and carrots

Cars and their wheels go together like peas and carrots, so intertwined are the two with each other. It's a sure bet that not long after a motorized buggy was brought out of the shop, somebody thought about how a nicer set of wheels could improve the appearance of the "horseless carriage." As far as what we called them back then, we know that the word "automobile" came into wide use around 1896 or so.

Size matters

Wheeled vehicles require wheels, naturally, and those wheels also can be of many different sizes and materials or types. Back during the horseless carriage era, the wheel itself was probably the same one that was on it when it was being pulled by a horse.

Engineers got it

But engineers even then understood the relationship between the size and width of a wheel and the handling or performance characteristics that could be affected by that wheel when it was on a vehicle. This is where the fascination with wheel sizes nowadays becomes so important.

To "bounce" or not to "bounce."

For most of the last hundred years, as the automobile took its place as the king of all transportation, at least in the United States, wheel sizes were mostly a matter of what engineers felt the proper size of the wheel needed to be to give the car its best mix of handling, fuel economy, and overall performance. Over the last 15 years or so, the idea of customizing "rim" size has come more and more to prominence, especially in urban areas, where a custom or tricked-out car can be an expression of art. A custom rim of a larger size can help a car's "bounce." If you don't know what that word means, look it up in any online urban dictionary.

Go big or go home

Over time, tricked out car wheel sizes have moved from 16 inches to greater than 22 inches and above. In fact, if the car isn't sporting at least 20 inch "dubs" it probably isn't completely ready for showing off! And the styles and colors of a rim are only restricted to an owner's imagination these days. There are even variations of "dubs" called "spinners," the surfaces of which spin on the rim.

Wheels, wheels everywhere!

The car and the wheel have been together nearly since the car's inception. And the hip urban custom-looking car with roll with even bigger 22 inch rims that sport spinner tops or wild chromes and other colors. In fact, 22 inch rims are all the rage for many smaller cars, these days. But really.there are so many sizes out there, it's hard to choose what looks best! For more information visit http://www.hubcap-tire-wheel.com.