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Hub / Lug excentricity

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Old 09-26-2011, 10:22 AM
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Hub / Lug excentricity

Ok, This has gotten pretty ridiculous. FUEL wheels are hub-centric, oh no, wait, no they're not. KMC wheels are hub.......no make that lug centric. The only wheels that I can find / confirm to be be hub centric are stock FoMoCo & BMF. But BMF only makes them in 17" & 20" and are quite expensive. Any one out there in FTE land know for a fact of other manufacturers of hub centric 18' Super Duty wheels with some selection of offsets. I've contacted several manufactures by email and if they do respond, it's non hub centric or they supply hub centric rings which to me are not an option. I have buyers for my factory 18" rims but it looks like I'm going to have to keep them until someone manufactures some more choices. Any accurate input would sure be appreciated.
 
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Old 09-27-2011, 08:16 PM
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There are no others. FoMoCo stock wheels thats it. There is a company and I can not remember their name right now. They will custom make you rims but they cost ALOT. So other than stock will be LUG-CENTRIC.

I have researched this and researched it, on and on. Nobody does.
 
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Old 09-27-2011, 11:29 PM
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V10ZILLA, Not the answer I was looking for, but apparently it is the correct answer. I have spent dozens of hours looking online & calling manufacturers, distributors etc. Guess I just needed some verification. Appreciate the response.
 
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Old 09-27-2011, 11:37 PM
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How can this be? I have seen aftermarket wheels on F250s.
 
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Old 09-27-2011, 11:52 PM
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I am a bit confused as to why you are even wondering, or looking for hub centric only wheels. Are you concerned about load rating or swaping lug nuts or what. I just put some Moto Metal 18" on my f250 and found out the hard way about lug nuts... So I was interested in why you were looking specificly for hub sentric only
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 01:08 AM
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Originally Posted by PA-Mark
I am a bit confused as to why you are even wondering, or looking for hub centric only wheels. Are you concerned about load rating or swaping lug nuts or what. I just put some Moto Metal 18" on my f250 and found out the hard way about lug nuts... So I was interested in why you were looking specificly for hub sentric only
The lugs aren't meant to take the weight of the truck that's the job of the hub but the wheels need to be designed to put the weight on the hub in the first place.

Here is a post I made up for now several threads on the subject.

Originally Posted by Hybris
WHEELS AND SPACERS - YouTube

This guy does a good job explaining what hub centric wheels are.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 09:37 AM
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I've seen the claim made a few times now that the wheel lugs on a Super Duty are not strong enough to use lug centric wheels. I've yet to hear anyone offer any evidence of this, other than just opinion.

Lug centric wheels were used on all F-250's and better prior to 1999. So in 1999 Ford either had to have changed to weaker wheel lugs, or the axle weight rating had to have increased past what the lugs will support. I've not seen any evidence that either of those are true.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 09:57 AM
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Originally Posted by PA-Mark
I am a bit confused as to why you are even wondering, or looking for hub centric only wheels. Are you concerned about load rating or swaping lug nuts or what. I just put some Moto Metal 18" on my f250 and found out the hard way about lug nuts... So I was interested in why you were looking specificly for hub sentric only
PA-Mark, what exactly about lug-centric did you learn the hard way? I have a 1200# plow and often pull a 12k trailer. I have heard of issues w/ balancing due to excessive lug tolerances, stripped studs etc. I realize these are usually quality control issues with manufacturers but it just seems that if Ford started building Hub-centric wheels 10 years ago that wheel manufacturers would have followed by now. There must be a benefit of strength / alignment to have gone to hub-centric. It may be easier to make 1-size hub bore to fit multiple lug patterns but that doesn't mean it's the best choice.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 10:01 AM
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You just stumbled on one of the major reasons why I keep my stock wheels. I have both hub and lug centric on my trucks (not SD) and trailers, much prefer hub centric.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 10:08 AM
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Originally Posted by dchamberlain
I've yet to hear anyone offer any evidence of this, other than just opinion.
Well, I've 'actually' ruined a few of my front studs, but it's my 'opinion' that it was the lug centric wheels and not an eager-beaver Discount Tire employee that got happy with a impact gun. The wheel was a solid 1/8th of an inch from the hub all around, so it was as lug centric as you can get.

Don't bother with what a wheel is called, just get a wheel with a center bore of 4.93", because that will sit on the hub. Use whatever lug nuts it's cut for, if it uses conical ones it's not like it will center it anywhere other than around the hub.

Originally Posted by Thomas D.
PA-Mark, what exactly about lug-centric did you learn the hard way? .
I'm gonna guess conical lug nuts, and not being able to reuse the factory flanged ones. I got rid of mine because of bent and stripped studs. Could be a lug nut problem, could be a weight problem, could be lots of things. Hasn't happened again in double the miles at the same tire size, just factory wheels.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 10:16 AM
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With lug centric wheels, the lugs aren't really taking the weight of the vehicle. The vehicle weight is supported by the friction between the wheel and hub while the lugs provide only the clamping force (as they do in hub centric applications. Problems only arise when the lugs are not tight enough, with less clamping force allowing slip between the wheel and hub, which then transfers weight onto the lugs. Keep your lug nuts tightened to spec and you'll never have an issue.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 10:47 AM
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What I learned the hard way was that I needed to swap lugnuts to put my new wheels on.
I ordered the wheels and tires seperately and did them myself at my friends garage. I wanted to do all the work, and he was just going to charge shop fees. So im out in the rain ready to put them on after mounting and balancing. I pop off the factory hub caps step back and go..... oh crap! It never occurred to me to check.
So i had to run to three different local parts stores to get the 32 tapered bulge lugs needed to put the wheels on. I now have a set of 2" spline drive lugs on the way to replace the mismatched ones from the parts stores.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 10:56 AM
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On a side note four of my eight factory lugs were loose on the steel factory wheel and backed off all the way to the hubcap, I just took a trip to Texas with it like that, Im glad the other four were tight and it was a hub centric wheel. That could have been a very interesting ride :-/
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 10:57 AM
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Yep I also have been looking for Hub-centric wheels for my 2005 SD. Going to get new tires in spring and was looking for black wheels, right now I might just buy some factory Lariat 18" wheels and paint them black.
 
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Old 09-28-2011, 01:33 PM
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Originally Posted by cartmanea
With lug centric wheels, the lugs aren't really taking the weight of the vehicle. The vehicle weight is supported by the friction between the wheel and hub while the lugs provide only the clamping force (as they do in hub centric applications. Problems only arise when the lugs are not tight enough, with less clamping force allowing slip between the wheel and hub, which then transfers weight onto the lugs. Keep your lug nuts tightened to spec and you'll never have an issue.
X2... This is the first bit of sanity I have heard on the subject! Rep sent!
Jim & fat Monty
 


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