Left to right: Alcoa’s new Ultra One 24.5-in. by 8.25-in. wheel, 22.5-in. by 14-in. wheel, and 22.5-in. by 9-in. wheel. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)
NASHVILLE. Alcoa Wheel Products added to its Ultra One family of lightweight aluminum truck wheels with three new sizes here at the 2016 Technology & Maintenance (TMC) annual meeting:
A 24.5-in. by 8.25-in. wheel that weighs 51 lbs., 3 lbs. less than its predecessor;
A 22.5-in. by 14-in. wheel that weighs 52 lbs., which is 2 lbs. less that the model it replaces;
And a 22.5-in. by 9-in. wheel that weighs in at either 48 lbs. – which is 3 lbs. lighter than the model it replaces – or at 56 lbs., based on fitment needs, with a 10,000-lb. load rating, making it ideal for refuse collection, logging, mining and other heavy-haul applications.
Todd Hershberger, VP-sales and marketing for Alcoa Wheel Products, said during a press conference that those new wheel sizes will become available for ordering May 15 this year and touted them as “heavy-duty wheels without the ‘heavy.’”
He added that the wheels are also backed by Alcoa’s limited 5-year warranty and, because they are corrosion resistant, they do not require stripping and repainting – further lowering operator maintenance costs.
Hershberger added that Alcoa’s new MagnaForce alloy makes the new Ultra One wheel sizes 17% stronger than models made with its previous 6061 aluminum alloy; allowing Alcoa to achieve those weight savings.
Sean Kilcarr is a former longtime FleetOwner senior editor who wrote for the publication from 2000 to 2018. He served as editor-in-chief from 2017 to 2018.
