{"id":3638,"date":"2026-10-15T12:59:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T04:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hewilson.com\/blog\/?p=3638"},"modified":"2026-10-15T12:59:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T04:59:54","slug":"how-do-different-spoke-designs-of-byd-wheel-hubs-work-4a7e-a09a0d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hewilson.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/15\/how-do-different-spoke-designs-of-byd-wheel-hubs-work-4a7e-a09a0d\/","title":{"rendered":"How do different spoke designs of BYD wheel hubs work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever stood next to a BYD on the street, whether it\u2019s the compact Dolphin zipping through downtown traffic, the family-friendly Tang SUV loaded for a weekend trip, or the sleek Han sedan cruising the highway, you\u2019ve probably glanced at its wheels. You might have noticed that one BYD\u2019s rims have sharp, thin spokes that catch the light, while another has thick, curved spokes that look sturdy enough to handle anything from gravel to potholes. As someone who\u2019s been a wheel hub supplier for BYD for the past seven years, I get more questions about these spoke designs than almost anything else. Most customers just ask why there are so many styles, but the real story is about how each design works, and why we pick specific ones for different BYD models. Today, I want to break that down, not with boring engineering jargon, but with the hands-on experience I\u2019ve gained on the factory floor and working directly with BYD\u2019s design team. BYD Wheel Hub<\/a><\/p>\n

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First, let\u2019s start with the basics that most people overlook: a wheel hub isn\u2019t just a pretty frame for your tire. It\u2019s the connection point between your car\u2019s axel, brakes, and the road. The spoke design doesn\u2019t just change how the wheel looks\u2014it changes how weight is distributed, how heat escapes, how the wheel handles stress, and even how efficient the car is. When BYD\u2019s engineers come to us with a new model, the first thing we discuss is the core purpose of that car. A city commuter needs something light and agile. An SUV needs durability for rough roads. An electric vehicle needs as much efficiency as possible, because extra weight on the wheels means more energy to move. That\u2019s where different spoke designs come in.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the first style most people recognize: thin, multi-spoke wheels. You see these on the Dolphin, BYD\u2019s best-selling compact electric hatchback. Our team was heavily involved in developing the spoke design for the Dolphin\u2019s 17-inch alloy wheels, and the goal there was efficiency. Thin spokes cut down on material\u2014metal is heavy, so less metal on the wheel means less unsprung weight. Unsprung weight is any part of the car that isn\u2019t supported by the suspension, like wheels, brakes, and tires. Every pound of unsprung weight is like carrying 10 pounds of the car\u2019s body, because the suspension has to work harder to keep those heavy wheels in contact with the road. For an EV like the Dolphin, that translates directly to better range. We tested three different multi-spoke configurations for the Dolphin: 10 straight spokes, 15 curved spokes, and 20 thin, aerodynamic spokes. The 20-spoke design won out because the smooth, slightly tapered shape reduces air drag around the wheel. When air flows around the car, it gets sucked into the gap between spokes, and if those spokes are blunt or uneven, they create turbulence that slows the car down. The curved spokes on the Dolphin\u2019s wheels are angled just right to redirect that air smoothly, cutting drag by almost 3% compared to a basic 10-spoke design. That might not sound like much, but for an EV, 3% drag reduction adds up to an extra 5 to 7 kilometers of range on a full charge.<\/p>\n

But thin multi-spokes aren\u2019t just about efficiency\u2014they also handle heat really well. Brakes generate a lot of heat, especially when you\u2019re driving in stop-and-go city traffic or going down long hills. That heat can build up in the wheel hub and brake components, leading to brake fade, which is when your brakes stop working as well because the metal gets too hot. The gaps between the thin spokes act like little vents. On the Dolphin\u2019s wheels, the spokes are spaced wider at the outer edge, so air can flow through quickly and carry that heat away. We tested this by running the Dolphin through repeated hard braking maneuvers on a test track, and the hub temperature stayed 12 degrees Celsius lower than a wheel with thick, solid spokes. That\u2019s a big deal for city drivers, who rely on their brakes dozens of times a day. The only downside of thin multi-spokes is that they don\u2019t handle heavy impacts as well as other designs. If you hit a pothole hard enough, the thin spokes can bend or crack before they deform, which is why this design is mostly for smaller, lighter cars like the Dolphin.<\/p>\n

Next, let\u2019s move to the opposite end of the spectrum: thick, Y-shaped spokes. These are the wheels you see on the Tang SUV, BYD\u2019s three-row electric family SUV that\u2019s designed for both highway driving and off-road adventures. When BYD launched the new Tang last year, their engineers told us they needed a wheel that could handle 2,700 kilograms of total vehicle weight, plus the extra stress of driving on dirt roads, uneven trails, and curbs that are common in suburban areas. Thick, Y-shaped spokes were the perfect solution here. The Y-shape is smarter than a solid spoke, too. If you use a straight, thick spoke, all the stress from the road hits the center of the spoke, which can cause it to crack over time. The Y-shape splits the load into two branches, so the stress is spread out across more metal. We use high-strength aluminum alloy for these wheels\u2014all our BYD wheels are forged, not cast, which makes them 30% stronger than standard cast alloy wheels. For the Tang\u2019s wheels, we designed each Y-spoke to be 2.5 centimeters thick at the hub, tapering to 1.5 centimeters at the outer edge, which balances strength and weight.<\/p>\n

Off-road, these thick spokes are way better at handling impacts. When you drive over a rock or a deep pothole, the wheel takes a sharp hit. The thick, curved shape of the Y-spokes bends slightly on impact, instead of cracking, which absorbs the shock and protects the tire and hub. I\u2019ve seen this firsthand\u2014last year, we supplied wheels for a group of Tang owners who drove from Chengdu to Lhasa, a 2,000-kilometer trip that included hundreds of kilometers of rough dirt roads. None of their wheels had to be replaced, even though they hit rocks and potholes that would have bent the thin Dolphin-style wheels. The tradeoff here is weight. The Tang\u2019s wheels are about 12 kilograms each, compared to the Dolphin\u2019s 8 kilograms, which means a little extra unsprung weight. But for a 2.7-ton SUV, that extra strength is worth the small hit to range\u2014especially since most Tang owners don\u2019t drive more than 500 kilometers on a full charge anyway, and prioritize safety and durability over maximum range. Also, the thick spokes do a good job at blocking brake dust, which is a plus for families who don\u2019t want their wheels looking dirty after a week of driving. We added small, angled cutouts near the brake caliper so that heat can still escape, even with the thick spokes, and testing showed the hub temperature only ran 4 degrees higher than the Dolphin\u2019s wheels, which is totally acceptable for an SUV.<\/p>\n

Another spoke design that\u2019s become super popular in the last two years is the split-spoke wheel, which you\u2019ll see on the BYD Han, the brand\u2019s premium executive sedan. The Han is all about blending performance and style, so the spoke design had to do both. Split spokes\u2014where each main spoke splits into two thinner spokes near the outer edge\u2014give the wheel a sleek, modern look that catches the eye, but they also have functional benefits. We worked with BYD\u2019s design team on the Han\u2019s 19-inch split-spoke wheels, and the goal there was to balance agility, heat management, and style. The Han is a rear-wheel-drive sedan, so it\u2019s designed to handle sharp turns and high speeds, which means the wheels need to be stiff enough to maintain control, but light enough to keep acceleration fast. Split spokes are stiffer than solid multi-spokes because they connect at two points near the outer edge, instead of one, so they don\u2019t flex as much when you turn the wheel hard. Flex in the wheel can make steering feel vague, so for a performance sedan like the Han, that stiffness is key.<\/p>\n

The split design also helps with heat and aerodynamics, too. We angled the split spokes so that air flows through the gap between them and directly over the brake caliper, which cools the brakes better than solid spokes. For aerodynamics, the two thinner spokes create a smoother flow of air around the wheel than a single thick spoke, because the edge of the thinner spoke is less likely to cause turbulence. We tested the Han\u2019s split-spoke wheels against a prototype of a standard 10-spoke wheel, and found that the split design reduced drag by 2% and kept brake temperatures 8 degrees lower during hard cornering. The only thing to note about split spokes is that they\u2019re a little more complex to manufacture, which is why you mostly see them on premium models like the Han. We use a two-stage forging process for these wheels, which lets us create the split shape without sacrificing strength, and the finish process is more detailed to make the split spokes look clean and sharp.<\/p>\n

Now, a lot of people ask me if there\u2019s a \u201cbest\u201d spoke design, and the short answer is no. It all comes down to matching the design to the car\u2019s purpose. If you\u2019re driving a Dolphin to work every day, the thin multi-spoke design gives you the best range and heat management for city traffic. If you\u2019re driving a Tang on family trips and rough roads, the Y-shaped thick spokes give you the durability you need. If you want a sporty look for a Han, split spokes are the way to go. Even for the same model, BYD offers different wheel options, like 18-inch vs. 20-inch wheels, and the spoke design changes slightly to match the tire size and vehicle weight. For example, the 20-inch wheels for the Tang have slightly thicker Y-spokes than the 18-inch wheels, because the larger wheel has more surface area to handle stress.<\/p>\n

As a BYD wheel hub supplier, what I\u2019ve learned over the years is that the most important part of the spoke design isn\u2019t the style\u2014it\u2019s how it works for the driver. Every design we help develop is tested not just in a lab, but on real roads, by real drivers. We do thousands of hours of testing every year: running cars through hundreds of hard stops, driving over simulated potholes at different speeds, testing range on highways and city streets. We work closely with BYD\u2019s engineering team to adjust the spoke thickness, angle, and shape based on what we learn from these tests. For example, a few years ago, we noticed that the original spoke design for the Yuan Plus had a problem with small rocks getting stuck between the spokes when driving on gravel roads. We worked with BYD to tweak the spacing between the spokes, making them slightly wider at the outer edge, so rocks can fall out instead of getting wedged. That small change eliminated 90% of the rock-related wheel issues our customers were having.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a BYD owner looking to replace your wheels, or a driver shopping for a BYD model, I hope this gives you a better understanding of why each wheel looks the way it does. The next time you look at a BYD on the road, you\u2019ll know that those spokes aren\u2019t just for show\u2014they\u2019re designed to make your car safer, more efficient, and more suited to how you drive.<\/p>\n

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For anyone interested in learning more about our wheel hub solutions for BYD vehicles, or discussing custom wheel design projects, we invite you to get in touch to explore how our expertise and manufacturing capabilities can support your needs.<\/p>\n

Honda Wheel Hub<\/a> References<\/p>\n