The #1 reason for lost hubcaps is the way the hub caps have been installed on the car. After having work done on your car or truck, visually check to see if your hubcaps, wheel covers or center caps have been evenly placed on the entire wheel. Use your hubcap tool to tap on the hubcaps to make sure that they are installed properly. If the hubcaps or center caps are not placed on evenly, there is a good chance you and your hubcaps will soon part ways. All you need is 50 mph and a small bump in the road and say good bye to your hubcaps or center caps!
Most all hubcaps and center caps today are made from a strong plastic or ABS, providing a lighter weight and better looking hubcaps for your car or automobile. Because of this, hubcaps and center caps must be carefully installed on the wheel, first resting the hubcaps or wheel covers in place, then gently tapping on the edge of the hub cap or wheel covers with a hubcap tool . Never pound on the hub cap or wheel center cap as this will break the clips on the hubcaps or center caps. There is a specific place on the wheel where the hub cap clips are supposed to fit!
Keep Hub Caps and Wheel Covers away from the curbs! Hitting curbs weakens the hubcaps and center caps where the clip joins at the base of the hub caps allowing it to fly away the first chance it gets, leaving you with worthless damaged hubcaps, center caps or wheel covers. Retrieving hubcaps on the roadside is at best a dangerous waste of time!
Remember, your hub caps flew off for a reason and will fly off again.
How do I determine my hubcap size?
You can only determine your correct hubcap size by the numbers and letters on the side of your tire! You are looking for something similar to 205-75-R-15. The last 2 numbers are the tire size and that would be the hubcap size also. Please do not measure the hubcap to get the size.
What is the difference between original hubcaps and after market hubcaps?
Original hubcaps have been made by the manufacturer of each specific car or truck. Ford hubcaps are made by Ford, Chevy hubcaps are made by Chevrolet, etc. After market hubcaps are all the rest that are made by companies other than the original manufacturer.
Do I need a center cap or a full wheel cover?
Full wheel covers cover a less expensive steel wheel to bring a better look to the vehicle and a center cap typically goes on a more expensive alloy or aluminum wheel. All center caps must be engineered for a specific wheel, meaning you can not switch one center cap with another just because you like the looks of that cap. It must be designed for a particular wheel.
Is there a difference between a full wheel cover and a hubcap?
People use Wheel Cover and Hubcap to describe the same thing but actually a wheel cover covers the entire wheel whereas the hubcap only covers the hub or the lug nut area of the wheel.
Are there any metal hubcaps for my vehicle?
Since about 1980 most hubcaps and wheel covers have been made out of strong and beautiful ABS plastic. A person can sometimes find an older metal hubcap or wheel cover to fit their vehicle but most people will not like the look as things have changed in design. The older hubcaps look good on older cars but might not on a newer car. Both metal and plastic have good and bad in the design for hubcaps and overall we think that plastic is the best if the factory designs them correctly. Please email me with any other questions you might think of and we’ll add them to this FAQ.
Thanks and I hope you all have a great weekend!
April
Hubcaps.com