Hubcentric refers to when the centerbore of a wheel fits perfectly over the mounting hub of the vehicle. Many factory wheels are designed with such close specifications that even a small amount of overspray from refinishing a wheel can cause the wheel not to mount. A simple solution to this problem if you ever run into it is to take a wire brush to just that center bore part and scrape out the excess paint.
Although most factory wheels are hubcentric not all wheels out there are. Many aftermarket wheels come with a larger hub size to insure that it can fit over the hub of most vehicles. When the hub does not fit snuggly into the wheel then the wheel is considered “lug centric” because all of the force from the wheels is being put onto the lug nuts rather than the central bore.
The Advantages to Having a Hub Centric Wheel
Although you can technically drive on wheels that are lug centric there are many advantages to having a hubcentric system. A car will ride smoother with less vibration with a snug-fitting centerbore because all of the work for centering the rim is taken care of by the center hub rather than the lug nuts. There is also far less risk from a lug nut failing or from damaging the lugs because the forces exerted on the wheel by the road are managed by the large center hub.
With a lug centric system you’re dependent on the lugs to hold and center the wheel. The stability and safety is dependent on the lugs being properly torqued down and not loosening over time. This increases the likeliness of running into problems down the line that could cause some serious damage.
Making a Wheel Hub Centric
Here at OriginalWheels.com, we would always recommend just sticking with the factory parts. It was engineered to fit perfectly for your vehicle, but if you do decide to stray there is still hope. There are companies out there that actually make an adaptor ring that attaches to the center hub and will increase it’s diameter to match up with whatever the center bore size is for the wheel you’re going to put onto the vehicle. These can be made of everything from plastic to aluminum. Although it does help to improve the problem you’re still depending on another small part that could potentially fail. Why not just pick out some nice factory rims; there are even some nice OEM Toyota rims for your Toyota Camry.
