so wtf is the "fifth wheel"

03-paul_wall-break_em_off_(feat._lil_keke)_(prod._by_mr._lee) (m.t.i.).mp3

says it about 3:30 into this song

11/14/2008 11:40:14 PM

The fifth wheel coupling provides the link between a semi-trailer and the towing truck, tractor unit, leading trailer or dolly. Some recreational vehicles RVs are in a fifth wheel configuration, requiring the coupling to be installed in the bed of a pickup truck as a towing vehicle. The coupling consists of a coupling pin (or king pin) on the front of the semi-trailer and a horseshoe-shaped coupling device called a fifth wheel on the rear of the towing vehicle.

The term fifth wheel comes from a similar coupling used on four-wheel horse-drawn carriages and wagons. The device allowed the front axle assembly to pivot in the horizontal plane, to improve turning.

11/14/2008 11:44:10 PM

well that doesnt sound baller at all

11/14/2008 11:48:13 PM

he's referring to the externally mounted spare tire that came on a lot of older luxury cars. the proper/technical term for it is a continental kit. they used to be very popular and considered to be stylish. some actually serve as the storage for the spare tire/wheel, others are fake and just there for looks.

example:

11/15/2008 12:28:39 AM

^what do you think about the fifth wheel? i dont really like it...dont get why a rapper would like it either...i'd think a rapper would have rims too

11/15/2008 10:32:40 PM

ballerdom. thats what it is. fifth wheel shit is fucking sweet. shit started cause rappers couldnt afford cars. and the drove there grand parents big body shit. lol not

11/15/2008 11:07:14 PM

^^personally, i don't really like them on most cars. they look silly and out of place to me. a few older cars from the 40's/50's look decent with them, but that's it imo.

besides the original indications of style/luxery, having rims is exactly why a rapper would like this. it's a way to show off you have/can afford 5 rims instead of just 4. you're so baller that not only do you have a set of 22's, 24's, or whatever on the car, you have a matching spare on the back as well.

11/17/2008 6:22:45 PM

remember that rappers weren't all about rims until the early part of this decade. they liked the oldschool luxury shit with whitewall tires before that (and of course Lambo's etc).

11/17/2008 7:03:10 PM

the excessively large diameter stuff and the benchmark size of "dubs" didn't become widespread until this decade, but larger/flashy rims have always been a part of the culture. it's just that 16's/17's/18's were what was considered big back then, like what 20's/22's/24's are today.

the rim culture in general all started back in the early-mid 80's when cadillac introduced an optional limited production wire wheel known as "84's" or simply "4's". from there is was things like daytons, the bigger chrome stuff, etc.

there was and is subtle yet decided differences between east coast and west coast wheels/vehicles.

11/17/2008 7:55:46 PM

Quote :

"the rim culture in general all started back in the early-mid 80's"

Well i wouldnt say it started then. Even back in the 60's and before it was cool to get some aftermarket wheels. Think of the old Halibrands, the Keysone Classics, the Western Mags, etc. Hell even dayton wire wheel has been around for ages, dont forget wire wheels on knock-off hubs are as old as the automobile if not older. Look at the top of the website, they have been around a while.
http://www.daytonwirewheels.com/images/dayton_middle.jpg

and the 84s were special Eldo option wheels, actually made by Cragar, offered in 1983 and 1984 and they looked real nice. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b13oOa7dwZ0 at the 1:22/2:42/3:21 marks you get a good look at some real examples.
Most of the people buying cadillacs back then werent into that style wheel though, and didnt order it. Remember the Eldorados were FWD and this was still the golden age of RWD. Cadillac discontinued the option after 84 or so and thus the rarity of the wheels. As the cars got older and began to get cheaper, more blacks could afford them but they wanted to get some of those special wheels they remembered seeing on a new one back in the day. So as the hunt for the elusive wheels grew stronger, the prices have gone up.
This was not the first time Cadillac offered special wire wheels though, its been sort of a theme for them for a long time, or was I should say. I know it was popular on the late 70's Sevilles (few realize they were the smallest, yet highest priced Cadillacs at the time) and Eldorados. My Eldorado had the special order mags on it though

[Edited on November 17, 2008 at 11:01 PM. Reason : ediut]

11/17/2008 10:59:21 PM

Quote :

"Well i wouldnt say it started then. Even back in the 60's and before it was cool to get some aftermarket wheels."

i guess i should have been more specific. i was speaking in terms of rim culture as it pertains to the hip hop/rap crowd. i know firsthand that it goes way back before that otherwise. my dad is an old school rim whore. before manufacturers really started making nice rims standard features in recent times, the wheel/tire store was always his first stop after buying something new. there's probably at least 20-30 pristine sets of steel wheels and hubcaps sitting in the storage building at our office.

Quote :

"My Eldorado had the special order mags on it though"

yeah, those were pretty nice looking wheels and an interesting touch. i'd never seen one with them until yours.

11/18/2008 1:00:00 AM

the retard on youtube has the hook lyrics all wrong...

oh, and hell yeah i know about some keystones. our old family van (81 dodge b150) that became one of my first vehicles in high school had a set. i can't remember the style though. they looked similar to like what the A team van and the general lee had. they were wiiiide too, like 15x10 or something. combined with the aluminum running boards with integrated running lights and the blacked out windows it was a hot ride.

my brother had a set on his first car too, holeshot style. a 4 door dart with the leaning tower of power, lol.

[Edited on November 18, 2008 at 2:04 AM. Reason : .]

11/18/2008 1:36:53 AM

I remember hearing old guys talking about how they had to take wheel balancers and use them to hold the rims from their car still while they spun it and marked a line, then they would cut out the center and do the same with a wheel from a truck. then take the wide shell from the truck and carefully weld it to the center from their wheel so they could run bigger tires on dune buggies with corvair motors and shit.

11/18/2008 2:18:23 AM