Vertini Savari

Vertini Hennessey

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.

This was also the case for the guys over at Jones Motors, when they contacted us about adding a touch of originality to their customer’s car.  The stage was set – a stock 2006 Infiniti M45 that looked to be fresh off the showroom floor.  This car had class, and had style, but something was missing.  This needed something more to complete the overall look that the customer was going for.

We started off the transformation with a set of new shoes.  The wheel and tire package includes a staggered set of hyper silver MRR GT-1′s, 20×8.5 up front, with an aggressive 20×10 in the rear.  This package was made complete with a set of Nitto NT555 245/35/20 front and 275/30/20 rear tires.  Just this alone really set off the car, and gave it an aggressive look, especially with a 10 inch wide rear wheel.  The 4 inch rear lip made a bold statement and let everyone know what this car was all about.

Even with a daring wheel and tire combo, this car needed more, and the customer knew that as well as us.  Next on the list was a set of Eibach Pro lowering springs.  We wanted the car to hug the pavement, but still provide a great ride and excellent performance at the same time.  Eibach was the undeniable choice to meet these strict demands.  We installed the springs right here in our shop in Tempe, Arizona, and the results were unquestionable.  The car sat roughly 1.6 inches lower in the front and 1 inch in the rear, and had a nice aggressive stance.

With everything that was done to the car, the customer couldn’t have been happier.  We achieved every look he was going for – the car was sleek, low, and aggressive.  It had style now, and it had it’s own touch of originality that is unmatched by any other.  We were happy to help out a customer, our customer was happy with the end result, and fortunately, there will never be a case of identity crisis with this completely original M35.

Update 6/9/09:

Here is another M35 we installed 20″ staggered GT-1′s on.  This car is slightly newer than the first M35 we did and is a ’07 model with the OEM lip kit.  This car also was lowered with Tein H-Tech lowering springs.  This customer chose to run nothing but the best for tires, hence the 245/35/20 & 275/30/20 Toyo T1R’s.  This proves once again that you can’t go wrong with the clean, classy and sporty look of the Hypersilver MRR GT-1′s.

The offset of a wheel is the distance from the hub mounting point to the center line of the wheel. This is shown in the image to the left.

A Zero Offset is present when the hub mounting surface is even with the center line of the wheel.

A Positive Offset is when the mounting surface is moved towards the front of the wheel. This is more common on front wheel drive cars.

A Negative Offset is when the hub surface is moved towards the back of the wheel. A negative offset is usually found on wheels that have a very deep lip.

If the offset of the wheel is not correct for the car, the handling can be negatively affected. When the width of the wheel changes, the offset also changes. If the offset were to stay the same while you added width to the wheel, the additional width would be split between the inside and outside. For most cars, this won’t work correctly, and can cause problems.

Some exceptions to what will and won’t work also depend on the overall look you are trying to achieve with the vehicle. Generally, lifted trucks will run a negative offset to create more room in the wheel well for oversized tires, as lowered and bagged trucks will run a high positive offset to make sure the wheel will clear the fenders when tucking inside the well. The same goes for most cars as well, depending on the particular look you are trying to achieve.

Once it’s explained, offset is actually a very simple concept, and the knowledge of your vehicle and the available offsets for your application can make the entire process of selecting wheels much easier.

So the question is, what’s it going to take to keep a company growing?  You Definitely need a loyal following, but you can’t rely on that alone to pay the bills.  This is where Element Wheels is different.  With a website that expands day by day, you can be sure to find the product you’re looking for, either by searching our large selection of wheel brands, or by a more specific vehicle search.  With thousands of products to choose from, along with a wide selection of tires to match, and free shipping to top the package off, you’ll be sure to find what you need at Element.

Our website is updated daily, to make sure we are giving our customers the most accurate and up to date wheel and tire information available.  Don’t see what you need?  Call us!  Our knowledgeable and friendly sales representatives can help you choose the right package for your vehicular styling needs.  So with your new wheels and tires on their way to your doorstep, you’ve got nothing left to do but brag to all of your friends about the new rollers you’re about to have on your ride.

And don’t worry.  We’ll still be here when your friends need wheels too.

Well, Ti seems to prove this very wrong with the debut of their new titanium finish lips.  This is a new concept in the automotive world, and let’s face it, everyone is looking for a little touch of originality.  From the deep 5 spoke Ti5, to the sleek and contemporary TiRM, these wheels have a style for everyone.  With a price tag under $300 per wheel, even the backyard racer can turn hopes and dreams into reality with a new set of titanium finish wheels.

With this eye catching style and fresh new look, you’ll have every jaw in the neighborhood hitting the pavement when you roll by.  

Be sure to check out the newest wheel from Ti at www.elementwheels.com