Each Rim should be marked in different places and with different codes:
- Manufacturer's name: ensures traceability in case of civil or criminal liability for the motorist and promotes so-called "corporate branding" for the manufacturer
- Production site code: allows tracing back to the place where the rim was produced
- Approvals and lot number: allows tracing back to basic information for product safety and quality. They are actually two different codes: a five- or six-digit code depending on the type of approval and a four- or five-digit code for the lot number. There are different types of homologation, from NAD, which is in force in Italy but not in the rest of Europe, to the German KBA, TUV to the European ECE homologation.
- Rim size code and offset: these are important codings because they allow the right rim to be identified for the type of vehicle. It usually looks something like this
6J x 14 H2 ET43
Where:
- 6: rim width in inches
- 14: rim diameter in inches
- ET43: offset of the rim
- The letter J corresponds to the channel profile of the rim. There are different types for different types of vehicles:
| Marking |
Vehicle type |
| A |
For bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, semi-trucks, heavy trucks, forklifts. |
| B |
Standard car (rim width : 6 inches) |
| D |
For bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, semi-heavy-duty trucks, forklifts. |
| E |
Heavy duty vehicles, semi-heavy duty |
| F |
Heavy vehicles |
| G,H |
Heavy equipment |
| J |
Automobiles in series |
| JJ |
4×4 |
| P,K |
Historical cars |
| S,T,V,W |
Utility cars |
When purchasing an auto rim, it is necessary and mandatory to comply with the rim channel profile compatible with the vehicle and tires.
THE H2 MARKING, finally, represents the profile of the rim cup.
How to mark the rims?
For all the types of marking just seen, the most commonly used technology ismicrodot or micropercussion marking. Micropercussion markers allow, through a tip of different sizes and with cuts of different angles, to engrave with extreme precision small codes on the surface of the rims even in hard-to-reach places, so as not to compromise the aesthetics of the rim itself. Other possible technologies includesmear or laser technologies, but these are less suitable for these types of coding.
There are also other types of marking on the rims that are not mandatory, such as datamatrix codes used in production to track the product throughout the manufacturing process.
