A SERIES OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED TO RATIONALIZE THE FATIGUE DESIGN OF SHEET FABRICATED ALUMINUM WHEELSAND THE RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO ASSIST THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN ACHIEVING AN IMPORTANT WEIGHT REDUCTION. BASED ON STRESS ANALYSIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH FATIGUE TESTS ON ALLOY 5454, THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WHEEL WAS EVALUATED AS A FUNCTION OF RIM AND DISC PLATE THICKNESS. THE THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STRESS AND FATIGUE LIFE WAS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE RESULT OF A ROTARY CORNERING FATIGUE TEST. IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH ABSTRACT.