Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum banner

Hub-centric vs. Lug-centric

16K views 30 replies 16 participants last post by  Clayton1985 
#1 ·
OK what is the point of having a hub-centric wheel?

I know the obvious answer that most people will say, but as long as you have tapered lugnuts, really what is the big deal :shrug:

If your lugnuts are tapered and you torque them right, the wheel isn't going to runoff.....

Isn't hub centric wheels just for ease of installation?

discuss....
 
#4 ·
Hubcentrics are used to point balance a large balanced tire. Its difficult even for the electronic/laser balancers to get the balance completely correct on a big AT or MT tire. Hubcentrics merely take up the slack from that. They work really well, especially for our trucks here. They also help keep the tire balanced as it wears between balance/rotation cycles.
 
#11 ·
You're killing me guys......

I said I know what the obvious answer is. I know what they claim, and why they are designed the way they are.

How bout this instead. Does anybody actually know anyone who has had problems with lug-centric wheels?

What is the shear strength of our bolts? Really, what does it take to break them? I trust them.

As far as balancing and being out of round (runoff), like I said if your lugnuts are tapered, and they are torqued right, they should run true, right? Any runoff would be due to a defect in the wheel.
 
#12 ·
I don't know what the shear is, probably upwards of 100k psi which is easy to accomplish given the tiny edge of the wheel that sits against it.
I have twisted off more than one lug bolt if that tells you anything.
 
#13 ·
Have you really?

Interesting.
 
#15 ·
Remind me not to arm wrestle you at SSS :lol:
 
#16 ·
well, to partake in the flinging of poo......
I takes a lot of energy to break/shear lug bolts on anything, repeated stress of course will make a difference, but aside from that think of a top fuel dragster launching.
Some 3000+ horsepower going to an enormous amount of traction in les time than u can let yur foot of the brake in our trucks, all running through just 5 9/16 or 5/8 studs torqued to 100-150 ftlbs.
We have 8 to do the same with much less power and traction.

Aside from that, i dont know what the deal was but i used to work at sears auto(yah i know) and had a customer with a bmw that hold lug centric bolts, and wheels that had a hub centric option. We could not get the car to stop vibrating no matter what we did until we ordered special rings. Didnt make much sense because the factory wheels were lug centric......
I dont know if that helps but that is my experience
 
#18 ·
Flinging poo? You don't believe I can twist off a lug bolt? And the dragster scenario is a bit out there. Those are not by far the same as a factory ford lug... And there's a whole lotta physics involved there to that I really shouldn't get into.
 
#17 ·
Good points ^ Looks like you're arguing both sides there.....:lol:
:joke:

That's all i'm looking for, is opinions and experiences. I may be wrong(I am all the time), but i'm just not convinced that hub-centric wheels are really that much of an advantage.

Just looking to have an intelligent conversation about it. :D
 
#19 · (Edited)
I didn't say that you cant break lug nuts/studs off. I just stated my experience.
It takes 150,000 psi to break a 9/16 grade 8 stud. so it would take roughly 1,200,000 psi of force to sheer all eight. Again not saying its not possible it just not easy.
I didn't mean any disrespect with the flinging poo comment, just a joke, im sorry if i offended you.
And tell me what about the dragster scenario is a little bit out there?
The studs on a top fuel car are not grade 8 i know. they are arp/s2000 studs. which have a shear strength of 220,000 psi. and yes there are only 5 most of the time. sometimes 6. Fill me in if you dont mind?
 
#20 ·
It's not hard to twist off of stud on a SD...I did that last year on one of our DRWs as I didn't catch that the thread on the stud got damaged.


I did see pics of a truck with lug-centric wheels that had some lugs snap, and pulled some studs through the hub itself....and I think some lug nuts were gone. Which happened first and what was the cause, who knows. It was towing a 14k gooseneck coming on a steep decline if I remember correctly.



Personally I can't say that I've seen any issues, and we sell a lot of lug-centric wheels as that is what the majority of all wheels are for the Super Duty.


Myself, I do run Weld wheels on both my SDs as Welds are hub-centric. And they are one piece forged which I also like :D
 
#21 ·
now i know its not the same thing, but due to this, I would suggest hub centric rings if you have a lug centric wheel... they sell the rings to center the wheel for you....

On my chevy, I have lug centric and once and a while I get a vibration out of it... and I actually snapped one of my studs the other day while driving... I am going to go and but the rings.... to take a little stress off the studs I think its worth it
 
#22 ·
Couldn't hurt!!
 
#23 ·
Interesting.

Thought I'd bump this one up for the hell of it considering the other thread related to this....
 
#26 ·
Lug centric wheels are ok if you just driving to show. But if you tow heavy loads ( agg or equipment) You really NEED hub centric wheels. Those rings are not made to hold weight at all. I know from personal experience with my friend. Got AR wheels and used the rings on his 02 F250 and the driver side wheel broke the lugs off and the ring just bent. He had a small front loader.
 
#27 ·
MAJOR BUMP!!!! I'm bringing this old post back up! So... I never did get a verdict after reading all of that.

Is it okay to go with Lug-Centric Rims if we don't pull anything???
 
#28 ·
I bet you there are a ton of guys on here that tow with aftermarket lug centric wheels......
 
#29 ·
on my old 01 i had lug-centric wheels and towed a backhoe that weighed 16k add a 6k trailer and it was 22k combined, did that a few times. But most of the time it was a trailer loaded to about 13k-15k combined. and never had any issues.:beer:
 
#30 ·
How many companies actually make hub centric wheels for our trucks now?
 
#31 ·
I sheared off all studs on an f550 a few years back. The deck was overloaded a couple thousand pounds...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top