Wheels, Wheels and More Wheels

Lets take a closer look as some wheel types possible for customizing:

Free-wheeling wheels - By this we mean wheels that are free to spin on the axle shaft itself. Most all Hot Wheels vehicles incorporate this type of axle/wheel combo. The advantage is that these wheel/axle sets are easy to work with and abundant. The disadvantage is that you're pretty restricted on axle widths unless you dare to attempt Jim's Axle Shortening Technique.

Anchored wheels - These are wheels that are firmly anchored to an axle. The entire wheel/axle assembly spins (as opposed to just the wheels). These arrangements are somewhat rare, but can be found in a few Racing Champions cars. The advantage is that the wheel can be plucked from the axle allowing the axle to be shortened very easily. Then simply push the wheel back onto the shortened shaft. The disadvantage is that your axle/wheel assembly must be re-attached to the base of your custom in such a way that the entire assembly is allowed to turn (assuming you want the finished car to roll). To learn about some techniques for accomplishing this feat please see Creating an Axle Channel.

Free-wheeling (non-floating) wheels - This is a somewhat exclusive group. These are wheels that spin on the axle, but that aren't free to move side-to-side much. Some examples of these would be the Pro Circuit type wheels from Hot Wheels and the Speed Rebel wheels from Johnny Lightning. In fact, most of the Johnny Lightning wheels fall into this category. The advantages and disadvantages are mostly similar to the normal free-wheeling wheels. One big disadvantage however, is the inability to perform Jim's Axle Shortening Technique on these wheels. Therefore it's important to acquire a set of these wheels with an axle width matching that of your custom's base.

Go to Wheel Sources