Wheel Accessory Overview

So you’ve just bought that new set of wheels for your ride from the “other guys”. You’re excited, and in anticipation of hitting the streets that very same night to show off your new rollers, you run outside and get your car up on jack stands. You pull the old wheels off, hold your new wheels up, and it hits you. Your stock lug nuts or bolts won’t work, and the wheels aren’t hub centric. You don’t have everything you need to install the wheels on your car. You realize now that you should have gone through Element Wheels.

With a wide range of products and accessories, and with the knowledge our sales reps have, you’ll be sure to get exactly what you need to get you out on the streets tonight. Let’s talk today about the three major accessories you may need to get the look you want.

Lug Nuts or Bolts

Most cars and trucks use lug nuts to hold the wheels in place. The lugs are threaded onto the stud and hold the wheel in place. Most European cars, such as Audi, Mercedes, and Volkswagen, use bolts to hold the wheel onto the hub. This takes the place of the wheel studs that are on most other makes of cars. Because factory wheels are hub centric, they can use many different styles of lugs to hold the wheels securely to the hub. However, most aftermarket wheels will need to use a conical seat style lug, as displayed in the image to the right. This is used to help center the wheel on the hub, and is true of both lug nuts and lug bolts.

The second major different between lugs is whether a hex style is used or a spline is used. Generally, spline bolts will be much more narrow and are good for dual drilled wheels, as well as wheels that have narrow openings for the lugs. This is most common on “tuner” style wheels such as Tenzo and SportMax. A hex style is used on most single drilled wheels, as well as wheels with larger lug holes. If you’re ever in doubt about which lugs to use, we can help you out.

Hub Rings

Hub rings are another important item to consider when purchasing wheels. If your aftermarket wheels are not hub centric, you’ll be relying on the lugs to both center the wheel and keep it secured to the car. This is known as lug centric. While this is acceptable in most situations, it may cause slight vibrations on some cars. This is where the hub rings come into play. A hub ring is used to center the wheel on the hub, and distribute the weight more evenly across the hub. If you’ve recently installed aftermarket wheels, and you’re getting a vibration, hub rings may be the way to go.

Spacers and Adapters

Spacers and adapters are very similar to each other, and basically serve the same purpose. They space the wheel out from the hub, pushing it out farther and giving a more aggressive look. Spacers come in many different sizes, ranging from 3mm, 5mm, and 7mm, and they just slide over the stock studs and the wheel is bolted on after. These will work for most applications, but you will always need to make sure that you can still get at least six turns of the lugs before they tighten to ensure a proper fit. If they don’t, you may need to upgrade to longer studs or longer bolts.

Adapters serve the same purpose as the spacers, except they usually provide more space such as 20mm, 25mm, and 30mm. These are more popular with the 350z and G35. Adapters will also bolt onto your stock studs, and they have new studs pressed into them. Adapters should always be torqued onto your stock studs by hand to ensure a secure fit. If you do not have a torque wrench, you should contact a shop to install the adapters, or if you live in Arizona, we can install them at our shop here in Tempe, AZ.

There are many different wheel accessories available when you purchase aftermarket wheels, and many are available right here through Element Wheels, however this list just shows the most common accessories as well as how they work. If you are ever in doubt, or feel that you need an accessory to complete your wheel and tire package, feel free to talk to us about it. We’re always here to help.