Wheel Tech - Centerbore, Hubcentric etc.

One other element of wheel tech that directly affects whether or not a custom rim will fit a car, truck or SUV is the centerbore. All custom rims need to be Hubcentric. The centerbore is a hole that is machined to exactly match the hub so the wheels are precisely positioned as the lug nuts are properly torqued down.

Centering, centerbore, hubcentricity and hubcentric are all terms used to describe the center hole of a wheel that fits closely over a round feature on the hub. The hub feature serves to center the wheel on the axis of the spindle and carry the vertical weight of the vehicle. The wheel bolts or studs of a hubcentric wheel then serve simply to hold the wheel onto the hub. Factory wheels are machined to fit their specific application exactly.

Even some of the better aftermarket wheels also have a machined centerbore. Keeping the wheel precisely centered on the hub when it is mounted will minimize the chance of a vibration.

However, some aftermarket wheels are designed to fit multiple vehicle models. These aftermarket wheels use a centering ring to reduce the bore size to match the hubs of different vehicles.

These rings keep the wheel hubcentric as the wheel lugs are torqued down. This is obviously easier to do and makes inventory a complete wheel line much simpler and less costly. If you buy wheels that use centering rings, be sure that the ring fits snugly. If they are loose then how accurately can they be centering your wheel.

By design some wheels are non-hubcentric and are known as lug-centric wheels. With these wheels it is critical to torque the lug nuts with the vehicle on a jack stands and off the ground. This allows the nuts or bolts to center the wheel without the weight of the vehicle pushing them off center.