I thought lugcentric meant that the car was resting on the wheel solely through the studs while hubcentric meant that the wheel was supported by the wheel hub as well.

Lugcentric, only the lug nuts are supporting the wheel,


Hubcentric, the hub is supporting the wheel, taking a lot of stress off the lugs


Am I misunderstanding something?

 

I'm not buying the "too tight" line. Sounds like there was a defect in the rim that caused a crack to form between two of the lugs which just propagated from there.

Matt, that is 100% correct. I really doubt this was a hub-centric vs. lug-centric deal. Those type of problems typically end up breaking the studs or causing vibrations.

 

Yea that's what I was understanding it as as well.

On the Explorer, that hub ring is smaller than the rim. So it's clearly resting on the studs. On the Blazer, it's split...some force on the hub, some on the studs.


What I'm thinking, is if these pro-comp rims are hub-centric, the mounting holes for the studs may not be strong enough to hold up to the force of a lug-centric application like the Explorer...causing the holes to eventually widen out.


Edit: Kyle I agree...I'm waiting on pics of the damaged rim to post up

 

Aftermarket rims are typically designed for lug-centric use as it allows for the broadest application range for a given bolt pattern.

 

Kyle the only problem with the failure-->crack route is that all 4 rims have damaged lug-holes. Bad batch would be the only way all 4 could fail right?

 

Can you get a pic of the damaged rims?

Matt, the center will take lateral stress off the lugs. The studs themselves don't touch the wheel, the lug nuts do. The lug bolts are centered and provide clamping force.

Wolfpack, are the 3 remaining rims still on the vehicle? I just wonder how loose the lugs where. Loose lug nuts are usually the cause of the kind of damage you described on the remaining 3. You don't think there's a chance the bolt pattern on the wheels isn't correct, do you?

 

It is very possible that a bad batch is to blame.

 

When it's hub centric there is no lateral force on the lugs, keeping the wheel perfectly centered and allowing the studs to keep the wheel tight up against the hub.

I'm skeptical about the "nuts too tight" comment... besides, aren't they the idiots who installed the rims? They just admitted fault. New rims please.

 

That's what I'm talking about.

 

Sorry to hear this news. But the sad truth is that a lot of this aftermarket stuff just doesn't meet very good standards. I'm finding more & more aftermarket car parts that are not of good quality. Just an example. I bought a new NAPA high end serpentine belt in the fall. Well less than 6000 miles & this thing is squealing to beat heck. This is the second time I have had this problem with a NAPA belt. It was making so much noise today my wife complained about it. So I had another new NAPA belt I installed tonight. I asked a mechanic buddy about it tonight & he said he is seeing the same thing. Aftermarket parts not cutting it. That NAPA belt is like $50.
I vote for defective wheels. If they were loose, a stud or two would of broke, Too tight, I don't buy that. It has been determined the right studs for the wheel were used. So that pretty much leaves the wheels themselves.
We see it here with spark plugs & fuel pumps use OEM Delco/Delphi for best results, & the list goes on. The scary part is that it isn't the cheap crap that is the problems, it has moved to the high end products. Sometime the cheap crap holds up better.