How to Select the Suitable Hubcaps for Your Beloved Car

Size: Don't blindly enlarge the hubcaps. Enlarging the hubcaps requires using wider and flatter tires. Although it can improve stability, the thinner tire thickness will lead to worse shock absorption performance, reduced comfort, and easy tire damage when encountering road obstacles such as sand and stones. Generally, increasing by one or two sizes based on the original hubcap size is more appropriate. For sedans or station wagons, 18-21-inch hubcaps are usually a good choice, while 22 inches or above are more suitable for SUV models. In addition, you can refer to the formula "Tire diameter = Tire width × Aspect ratio × 2 + Inner diameter of the tire (i.e., rim diameter)" to ensure that the tire diameter does not change significantly. At the same time, the track width of the modified vehicle will change with the width of the rim, and the rim offset determines whether the rim edge interferes. If necessary, an offset washer can be used for correction, but the thickness of the washer should generally not exceed 10 mm.

Three distances: namely, the pitch circle diameter, the distance between the screw eyes, and the offset distance. Listen to the advice of technicians and consider whether these three distances are suitable for your vehicle model. The appropriate three distances can improve the handling and safety of the vehicle.

Shape: Hubcaps with complex and dense structures are beautiful and classy, but they are troublesome to clean and may be refused for cleaning or charged more; simple hubcaps are dynamic and neat instead.

Manufacturing process: Common ones include cast and forged hubcaps. The casting process of cast hubcaps is relatively simple and the cost is low; forged hubcaps have high rigidity and are lightweight, but the price is relatively high. When subjected to the same impact force, forged hubcaps may not deform, while spun-cast hubcaps may deform. In addition, "heat treatment" processes are commonly used in Europe to strengthen the cast rims to make them stronger and more elastic. If you focus on the high-speed performance of the vehicle, you can choose forged rims; if the vehicle is mainly used as a means of transportation, cast rims are more suitable.

Product performance: Consider the heat dissipation and lightweight of the hubcaps. Aluminum alloy or magnesium alloy hubcaps have smaller mass and better heat dissipation effect than steel hubcaps. Some hubcaps are designed with heat dissipation considerations. At the same time, it should be noted that a wider tire/rim combination can improve the vehicle's handling, but an overly large combination will increase the unsprung weight. If the vehicle's brake disc is less than 10 inches and you do not plan to replace it, when purchasing rims, the increase should be at most 1 inch, otherwise the originally unattractive brake calipers and brake discs will be exposed.

Rim specifications: The specifications of the rim are indicated by the nominal width code, rim height code, rim structure code, nominal diameter code, and rim profile type code. The selected rim specifications should match the tires, with a focus on the rim diameter. It should be noted that some so-called "enlarged sizes" on the market may refer to increasing the diameter and width of the rim by a certain size based on the original rim.

Vehicle type and usage scenarios: For the same type of vehicle, different models may have different hubcap sizes. For example, the choice of hubcap size for sedans depends on the vehicle model's volume and torque; heavy vehicle models such as off-road vehicles, SUVs, and trucks require larger-sized hubcaps for better passing through various road conditions. If you like driving in mountainous areas or off-road routes, larger hubcap sizes can bring better passing ability and off-road performance; while driving in urban areas or highways, smaller hubcaps can improve comfort and driving stability.