I have a 1996 Volvo 850 Sedan, I have hubcaps on the car, and i wanna know if i can install rims on the car. What do I have to do, and what kind of alloy rims can I get? If you have any information that can assit me I would be very gracious. This bulltion board is great. Thanxs everyone.

Tully

I just want to clarify. Your 96' 854 has steel wheels with hubcaps?

Unless you or someone has done something wacky to your car, there should be no reason that you cannot put on alloy rims.

All you basically have to do is loosen the bolts, jack the car, remove the lug bolts, remove your steel wheels, put the appropriate alloy rims onto the car matching up the cut out on the rim with the locating pin (otherwise the rim won't sit on the hub), tighten the bolts to 81ft-lbs, and lower the car. Due to the design of the jack, you can do one side at a time.

As for which rim you should get, it all depends on road conditions, looks, weight, price, etc. If you live in a an area with potholed or poorly maintained roads, you probably won't want to go beyond 17", and for some, even 16" diameter rims. Then the issue of width comes into play. For 16" rims, it is preferable that you get 6.5" or 7" width rims with either 205/50/16 tires or 205/45/17 tires (both tire sizes are oe sizes, many have experimented with other sizes that may cause rubbing, and or changing the gearing of the car due to a different size overall diameter. Furthermore, there is also the offset you must consider. The offset of the wheel determines the central point of the width of the tire in comparison to the mating surface of the rim. For the 850, I believe it is around 37. Then there is material. Aluminum alloy is probably your most common alloy rim. However, rims can be made in many different ways such as low pressure die-cast, high pressure die cast, forged (each construction method is lighter and stronger as well as more expensive). Then there are issues of multi piece rims. In general most rims are single piece, but some alloy rims are two or even three piece (as pieces increase, so does the strength to weight ratio). Then there are the different finishes such as chrome, silver painted, anodized, and many more. Each offers a distinct look and different requirements for care. And if you are willing to spend big bucks for high end rims, there are magnesium rims, which are more for the track then for street use as the finish is difficult to maintain as well as being flammable at a certain flash point.

As you can see there are many things to consider, and there are many more I have not mentioned in this post. Some more info on your part with a better description of what you want out of an alloy rim would help greatly.