It’s that season again, and you want to give your teenager a gift they want, then brush up on your car add-on knowledge with this tutorial. With a little jargon in your pocket and a good set of ears, you’ll be able to decrypt what they want under the tree for Christmas.

Lately, it’s all about the wheels – the all important link between the car and the tires. Some like to select brilliantly hued, bulge acorn lug nuts or a cool center cap for rims of chrome, gun metal or customized color. Alternatively they can go for spinners and act that they are a rap star like 50 Cent. Another popular option is under carriage LEDs. It will surely get you noticed.

A Few Terms To Get You In The Know:

• Spinners are wheel accoutrements that move on roller bearings, giving the wheels the visual impact of unexpected movement. Since they move independent of the rims spinners spin around even when the wheel is stopped, the law of momentum kicks in and they continue to spin due to the low resistance of the roller bearings.

• A factory center cap is what is in place in the center of the wheel when you purchase the car from a dealer. To make your rims more catchy, there are many a wheel center cap you can buy to set your rims apart.

• The new center caps can be put in place when you upgrade your rims and tires. The caps cover the center of the rim and can have all manner of patterns – domestic or foreign logos, even a concept design. If you want to save some cash on a set of center caps for rims then stop by a salvage yard and take a look around. Check out the Web; there’s a huge network of suppliers ready, willing and happy to help.

• Rims purchased from a manufacturer other than the car maker are called aftermarket rims and are used to personalize your car. These are usually coupled with center caps for rims that either come as a set or can be bought separately from a dealer.

• Hub caps are wheel covers that protect the lug nuts and rim by attaching to and covering the whole rim.

• LEDs are another option to add to rims. The LEDs emit a glowing light and are powered by small long-life batteries.

• With wheel spacers you can add extra width to the wheels, moving them a little closer to the fenders. This improves handling and visually adds a more aggressive presence.