Re-engineered to reduce weight by 5-7 percent (3 to 4 pounds depending on size), the new aluminum wheels are both standard type 22.5 x 9 wheels produced at the company’s aluminum wheel production facility in Erie, Pa.
“I heard pretty clearly in 2012, you had to get lighter in this industry,” says Accuride president and CEO Rick Dauch.
The new wheels will be available in March.
Specifications for the new wheels include:
- 41730 wheel – replaces previous part number 29730 and features a reduced weight of four pounds (total weight per wheel: 58 pounds).
- 41012 wheel – replaces previous part number 40012 and features a reduced weight of three pounds (total weight per wheel: 51 pounds).
Dauch called Tuesday’s introduction of the company’s two new aluminum wheel options “just the beginning of what customers can expect to see from Accuride,” predicting Accuride “sooner rather than later, we’ll have a wheel that really is 40 pounds.”
Dauch says Accuride is increasingly becoming a player in the aluminum wheel market, having produced 1.28 million aluminum wheels last year and noting Accuride’s revenues from aluminum wheels surpassed that of steel for the first time in the company’s history.
