aftermarket wheels with lug-centric design

[HG07JKRubi]

Considering adding some aftermarket Dick Cepek GM7 wheels to my otherwise stock Ram1500.   I've been doing quite a bit of research on the concerns of going from the factory hub-centric wheels to an aftermarket lug-centric design on a tow vehicle due to the load on the wheel studs vs. the axle hub.   Does anyone have any opinion on this or reason why I shouldn't install aftermarket lug-centric wheels considering i tow a 31' travel trailer (~8000 lbs) with this truck ?

[LarryJM]

McZippie wrote:

Do your lugs a favor and always brush any loose stuff off the hubs and insides of the wheel before mounting them and apply proper torque to the lug nuts. Lube the threads or washers as appropriate.

I have to comment on the last sentence. While it's O.K. to wipe the washers with a little oil one should never, ever put anything on the actual threads especially any sort of lubricant. I even question some that put things like never seize on the threads and you can also wipe some oil on the wheel and hub pilot interface surfaces to prevent seizing.

Larry

For decades I've been applying a light coating of wheel bearing grease on hub mounting surfaces and lug nuts/bolts. I assumed it was not the correct thing to do but with winter road salt welding everything together, it makes wheel removal much easier.

In days past one might have gotten away with lubing the hub threads mainly because as I stated earlier the tapered seat fastening system is more forgiving in torque values, but that is not the case with the flat washer type fastening system. This system requires a higher torque than the other system and is much more sensitive to proper torquing so again I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT LUBING the threads on that system in particular.

Also on trucks with the extra torque stressing of towing these HUGE TTs and 5ers makes the proper torquing and attention to the details even more important.

Larry

[McZippie]

Do your lugs a favor and always brush any loose stuff off the hubs and insides of the wheel before mounting them and apply proper torque to the lug nuts. Lube the threads or washers as appropriate.

I have to comment on the last sentence. While it's O.K. to wipe the washers with a little oil one should never, ever put anything on the actual threads especially any sort of lubricant. I even question some that put things like never seize on the threads and you can also wipe some oil on the wheel and hub pilot interface surfaces to prevent seizing.

Larry

For decades I've been applying a light coating of wheel bearing grease on hub mounting surfaces and lug nuts/bolts. I assumed it was not the correct thing to do but with winter road salt welding everything together, it makes wheel removal much easier.

[LarryJM]

Sport45 wrote:
I'll have to give LarryJM kudos for a great post on the subject.

Whether the wheel is hub- or lug-centric there should be no significant sheer load on the hub or lugs. That is taken by the friction between the wheel and hub due to the clamping force applied by the lugs. The wheel lugs only see sheer stress if the nuts are loose in either case. More so with lug-centric rims as the weight of the vehicle applies sheer stress to the lugs when loose. The hub-centric lugs really only see sheer stress on acceleration or braking when the lugs are loose as the hub will carry the vehicles weight.

Do your lugs a favor and always brush any loose stuff off the hubs and insides of the wheel before mounting them and apply proper torque to the lug nuts. Lube the threads or washers as appropriate.

I have to comment on the last sentence. While it's O.K. to wipe the washers with a little oil one should never, ever put anything on the actual threads especially any sort of lubricant. I even question some that put things like never seize on the threads and you can also wipe some oil on the wheel and hub pilot interface surfaces to prevent seizing.

Larry

[Sport45]

I'll have to give LarryJM kudos for a great post on the subject.

Whether the wheel is hub- or lug-centric there should be no significant sheer load on the hub or lugs. That is taken by the friction between the wheel and hub due to the clamping force applied by the lugs. The wheel lugs only see sheer stress if the nuts are loose in either case. More so with lug-centric rims as the weight of the vehicle applies sheer stress to the lugs when loose. The hub-centric lugs really only see sheer stress on acceleration or braking when the lugs are loose as the hub will carry the vehicles weight.

Do your lugs a favor and always brush any loose stuff off the hubs and insides of the wheel before mounting them and apply proper torque to the lug nuts. Lube the threads or washers as appropriate.

[Bumpyroad]

EldIr wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

EldIr wrote:
Neither the op nor myself asked for anyone's opinion on whether or not to get new wheels. The op asked a technical question relating to new wheels. He doesn't need you telling him he's wasting his money.

I think he already knows he is wasting it. and yes, I used to modify automobiles myself, starfire hub caps, etc. of course that was 50 years ago before I grew up.
bumpy

I think you mean grew old, not grew up. Personal style doesn't die with age unless you let it. What a ridiculous, pompous, arrogant statement to claim the op knows he is wasting his money. Clearly, he is not. It is something he wants and is willing to spend his money (NOT YOURS) to get it. You are wasting our time. Maybe you need to update your screen name to Grumpy.

like they say, the truth hurts. and yes as I heard years ago, you never grow old if you never grow up. try it.
best regards.
bumpy

[EldIr]

Bumpyroad wrote:

EldIr wrote:
Neither the op nor myself asked for anyone's opinion on whether or not to get new wheels. The op asked a technical question relating to new wheels. He doesn't need you telling him he's wasting his money.

I think he already knows he is wasting it. and yes, I used to modify automobiles myself, starfire hub caps, etc. of course that was 50 years ago before I grew up.
bumpy

I think you mean grew old, not grew up. Personal style doesn't die with age unless you let it. What a ridiculous, pompous, arrogant statement to claim the op knows he is wasting his money. Clearly, he is not. It is something he wants and is willing to spend his money (NOT YOURS) to get it. You are wasting our time. Maybe you need to update your screen name to Grumpy.

[HG07JKRubi]

Thanks for the information everyone 🙂

[time2roll]

If the installer does not have a lug centric adapter for the balancer you should go elsewhere.
We had adapters back in the 1980's. The trick is getting the tech to actually pick it up and use it.

[BurbMan]

I went to American Racing rims on the burb back in 2004 and have not had any issues. I wanted to go to 265 tires for additional offroad ground clearance over the stock 245's, and the factory 6.5" rims would not support that (7" is min width for 265's.). I went to 16x8 rims and have had no issues with balancing, running true, etc. One issue is that the wider rims have different backspacing....or is it offset, I always forget...due to the suspension clearances, that extra 1.5" of width gets pushed outboard, effectively increasing the track of the vehicle by 3". Great for handling and stability, but you pay the price with extra wear on the front end with all that unsprung weight hanging out there.

To the OP, if you get a quality wheel with the correct weight rating, you won't have any issues.

[LarryJM]

smkettner wrote:
Lug centric should not be an issue. The seller/installer will need to use lug centric balancing and should warranty vs having any issues.

Most of the balancing machines I have seen use the wheel pilot to center the wheel on the balancing machine by use of centering cones and not any sort of lug system and as such they are NOT LUG CENTRIC BALANCING. The most common is the COATS which uses the cone centering system using the wheel pilot. If there are adapters that use the studs to mount the wheel I sure wouldn't pay to have a tire/wheel balanced that way since repeating the exact same centering via the lugs with an oversized wheel pilot is basically impossible. As I mentioned the wheel pilots are not so oversized that true lug centric centering is possible. The wheel will hit the hub shoulder in several places as the lug nuts are tightened against the conical seats in the wheel.

About the only way around this is to do on vehicle balancing and then that must be redone if the wheel is loosened and is not something just any tire shop has the equipment to do IIRC.

Larry

[time2roll]

Lug centric should not be an issue. The seller/installer will need to use lug centric balancing and should warranty vs having any issues.

[Bumpyroad]

EldIr wrote:
Neither the op nor myself asked for anyone's opinion on whether or not to get new wheels. The op asked a technical question relating to new wheels. He doesn't need you telling him he's wasting his money.

I think he already knows he is wasting it. and yes, I used to modify automobiles myself, starfire hub caps, etc. of course that was 50 years ago before I grew up.
bumpy

[EldIr]

Bumpyroad wrote:

EldIr wrote:


Uh, they look cool? And if you want to go with wider tires, you usually need a wider than stock wheel.

didn't see wider tires mentioned in the OP. and look cool?
plenty of extra money wasted on one's ego. :s
bumpy

It's not ego, it personal style. Look around you at all the aftermarket pieces available for just about every vehicle made. Many, many drivers want to individualize their ride a bit. This isn't a new concept. The sheer number of different aftermarket wheels available says that this is a big market. Neither the op nor myself asked for anyone's opinion on whether or not to get new wheels. The op asked a technical question relating to new wheels. He doesn't need you telling him he's wasting his money.

[HG07JKRubi]

EldIr wrote:
Pretty much all after-market wheels are lug centric. Their center bore is larger to fit a variety of vehicles with different axle diameter. Most are also available with hub centric spacers to fit the specific application. Check with the place selling the wheels, they should have, or can point you to, the proper spacers for your needs.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. TireRack will include hub-centric rings along with the wheels to ensure they are installed centered and run true even though the conical lugs take care of that. I understand the differences around how they mount and are centered but is there really that much concern with towing with aftermarket lug-centric wheels ? Anyone ever hear of lug-centric wheels failing due to load ? Looking around the campgrounds...many truck owners are running aftermarket wheels and hauling a lot more weight than my 31' TT (~8000 lbs). keep the feedback coming ...