RIM SIMULATOR? INTRODUCING RIMULATOR! TONS OF RIMS AND TYRE OPTIONS TO SELECT FROM

Rimulator is here to help you pick the right rims and tyre options for your car.

If you're a petrolhead, then you've experienced the agony of wondering what aftermarket rims will take your car from zero to hero. Well, now there's no need to ask your graphic designer buddy to help Photoshop a terrible pic of the wheels you like onto that really bad image you took of your car in the dark.

And then there's the pain and heartache of finding out that the wheels you desperately want don't come in a five-lug bolt pattern, only four. Or that you will have to adjust the offset to accommodate a wider tyre. It is very complicated if you just like the aesthetics and know none of the technical stuff, which makes US-based Rimulator damn cool.

Finding the right wheel and tyre package that will precisely fit your vehicle of choice now only requires this simple, online tool and, with thousands of fitment possibilities, there is no more guess-work. "That's where Rimulator beats the competition with a huge inventory of rims and tyres," or so says their website.

Gone are the days of not being able to afford to purchase your dream wheels too because the nice chaps over at Rimulator offer financing options to suit your budget and, according to them, they also have the best prices and lowest interest rates. In fact, it's just three steps to apply and finance approval is "easy and fast!" Basically, you have no excuse anymore of riding on those boring stock rims, it is time to make a statement. In fact, the only problem you're going to face is choosing a favourite style of wheels from their massive selection.

The basic idea is that you go to the Rimulator site, hop on their configurator (we're just going to call it the Rimulator, it's so much cooler), select the year, make and model of preferred vehicle and what size rims you want and the Rimulator displays all the available styles in their inventory that'll fit your cabbie. And they have hundreds of vehicles available, really, hundreds. Out of curiosity, and because we're easily distracted, we decided to see what selection of 18-inchers they had for the oldest car they have – a 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air. They have 112 options, and in the 17-inch category, you ask? There are 233 options. For a 68-year-old car, that's a lot of options. And then there are still the tyres to choose from.

And that's just one classic car, they also "have the most current styles for all cars, trucks and SUV's, import and domestic". You can even pick certain colours for the vehicle itself from the handy colour palette.

They also have a rim plus-sizing guide, so you know that what you purchasing will fit correctly and, if you aren't sure, they have knowledgeable Rimulator sales staff at hand that'll help. Which is splendid considering they supply rims and tyres from 15 to 22 inches from over 70 wheel suppliers and 30-plus tyre manufacturers.

We weren't kidding, the selection is incredibly vast.

Other cool options include a 'request a quote', which will send the sales dudes a form that you fill in which also contains the spec of rims and tyres you've optioned in the Rimulator. It is ridiculously easy, and all quotes are for four rims and four tyres. If you decide to purchase, the entire setup is shipped to you with the tyre's mounted, balanced and inflated correctly. They include a set of lock and lugs and you also receive a free detail kit. It's a pretty sweet deal.

Rimulator claims that delivery can be in as little as 6 days from one of their multiple warehouses, which is pretty good considering you're purchasing online and they're delivering to any of the 50 states.

So, with the ability to view wheels on your vehicle before you buy, it is a no-brainer, and considering Rimulator have the "hottest styles in custom wheels on the internet" you'll definitely find what you want. Heck, you'll probably find a style you never thought would look good but actually looks properly boss.

Keen to see how it works? Check out the easy steps below.

So, first things first, open www.rimulator.com

Then, at the bottom of the page, hit the big red "Click To Search" button. This will bring up a new page whereby you can pick your make and model of car. "Build Your Dream Ride".

At the top left of the Rimulator, choose your year model

Keep in mind that your specific year model might not be available, but nevertheless, another year model might be exactly the same design as your car or close enough. Remember, that this is only to get an idea of how your ride will look like with a new fresh set of shiny rims installed.

Next, click on the make of car

If you own a Ford don't bother embarrassing yourself. After selecting your make, you can proceed to the next step.

Then your model

Now it's time to for the model so, for an example, if you're a happy and successful true automotive enthusiast then you'd have selected Volkswagen from the previous step, now it's time to select "Golf" from that list. 

Then sub-model

It's time to flash out those bragging rights and select the sub-model. E.g: GTI. This will eventually be a much more accurate representation of your car in the Rimulator once it's time to select your wheel sizes to get the closest to your actual ride as possible.

Then preferred rim size

Now, where it all starts happening and gets exciting. It's time to select your preferred rim size: Depending on the vehicle, the Rimulator will let you choose from 17 inch, 18 inch, 19 inch or 20 inch wheels.

Time to choose your body style

Will all those options filled out, you can proceed to choose your body style, and please don't expect to find "bodybuilder that skips leg day". We mean whether it would be a 2 door or 4 door.

And lastly, it's time to select your paint colour

Cleverly enough, Rimulator has integrated the original factory paint options already listed for your specific make and model, so unless you have a custom wrap or paint job, you should have no problem finding the exact paint for your ride!

And now you're ready for rims

Thereafter, scroll down, and you are now ready to choose your new rims and wheel designs available in the size you chose in the earlier steps.

Once you've found your match, or if you're struggling to decide on which you prefer, the Rimulator allows you to share your image to a variety of social media platforms and, if you don't want to purchase right then and there, you can save and download your combination as a PDF. 

Another cool feature is the "Photo Galleries" where you can view images of actual cars with the rims of your choice. That is, if the owners have shared them, so not every brand is available on every car.

Even though you might not be able to find the exact wheels you have in mind or have seen in a local aftermarket shop, no doubt you'll find something close enough to give you a good idea as to how they will look on your ride.

So go on then, give it a whirl and who knows, you may even find a style you never considered would look so good!

To understand wheels and tyre fitment, have a look at these two SXdrv articles here and here.