What is the Difference Between Hub-Centric and Lug-Centric Wheels?

Whether you drive a muscle car, an off-road truck, or a daily driver sedan, your wheels impact the performance, safety, and aesthetics of your vehicle. And for anyone who likes to customize or modify their car, wheels are a great place to start, because you may be able to dramatically improve performance and looks by switching from factory wheels to aftermarket wheels. It’s no coincidence that wheels are a common aftermarket addition for gearheads and driving enthusiasts.

We love wheels, and we’re big fans of giving your car the best set of them. But choosing the best set of wheels can be a difficult task. You need to find a set of wheels that fits your performance desires, and also fits the style of your car. And most importantly, you need to make sure that the wheels are actually compatible with the vehicle you’re planning to put them on.

There are a lot of different variables when it comes to wheels, including hub-centric vs. lug-centric wheels. Here’s everything you need to know, so that you can purchase the right set of wheels for your car.

What Are Hub-Centric Wheels?

Hub-centric wheels are a very simple concept. They are wheels in which the center bore – the middle section of the wheel where the lug nuts are – perfectly fits the vehicle’s hub pilot. With hub-centric wheels, the wheel fits on the hub pilot perfectly, similar to a bolt with a correctly sized wrench.

Nearly every stock vehicle has hub-centric wheels, because the cars are designed for all the parts to fit perfectly. Manufacturers design the wheels to snugly fit the hub pilots, making for a foolproof way of attaching them with no wobble. Because of this seamless connection, hub-centric wheels are almost always accurately centered, which makes for great performance.

What Are Lug-Centric Wheels?

Lug-centric wheels are wheels in which the center bore is larger than the vehicle’s hub pilot. To return to the tool analogy, it’s like a bolt with a wrench that’s a size too big. The hub pilot won’t fit snugly into the center bore of the wheel, and as a result, lug nuts are needed not just to attach the wheel, but to center it on the hub as well. The lug nuts have a deep V that aligns the lug holes in the rim onto the studs.

Almost all aftermarket wheels are lug-centric, because that allows them to fit a wider range of vehicles, not just one model or carmaker. All else being equal, as long as the center bore is larger than the hub pilot, you can always attach a wheel. But if the center bore is smaller than the hub pilot, it’s impossible to attach the wheel. So, aftermarket wheels have larger center bores, so that they can accommodate any vehicle, and any hub pilot size.

Is There a Performance Difference Between Hub-Centric Wheels and Lug-Centric Wheels?

In a vacuum, hub-centric wheels often offer better performance than lug-centric wheels, because they’re guaranteed to be perfectly centered. Lug-centric wheels are completely safe, but may not be as accurately centered. And since there is space between the center bore and the hub pilot, there is room for the wheels to shift slightly, which can make for a less smooth ride, impacting both performance and comfort. Thankfully, there’s a simple fix for drivers who want to maximize the comfort and performance of their aftermarket, lug-centric wheels: hub-centric rings.

Why You Might Want to Consider Hub-Centric Rings

Hub-centric rings are a great way to get hub-centric wheel performance with lug-centric wheels. The concept of a hub-centric ring is very simple. It’s essentially just a spacer that goes inside your aftermarket wheel’s center bore, eliminating the empty space and making the wheel fit perfectly with the car’s hub pilot. A hub-centric ring basically turns a lug-centric wheel into a hub-centric wheel, and gives the same accuracy and smoothness as stock hub-centric wheels would.

It’s not necessary to use hub-centric rings, as your car will drive just fine with lug-centric wheels that don’t have a spacer in them. But your vehicle will drive more smoothly, perform better, and experience less road noise, especially when you’re traveling at high speeds. Hub-centric rings are also very easy to install, so you can easily add them to your aftermarket wheels, either when you purchase the wheels or after the fact.

Now that you know the difference between hub-centric wheels and lug-centric wheels, and the value of hub-centric rings, hopefully you’re ready to purchase some wheels for your car. If so, then we’ve got a team of sales techs standing by to answer all your wheel questions, and get your vehicle equipped with the perfect set of tires and wheels