Lug Centric vs. Hub Centric Wheel Spacers

[04LJ_TX]

I've been looking at wheel spacers (not adapters) for my TJ. I've noticed that some of them are hub centric and others are lug centric.

My question is this: Does it make a difference which one I go with? Is one "stronger" than the other? Will either amount to less "stress" on the hub assembly than the other?

Just trying to figure this out.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

There's no significant difference overall. Pretty much all aftermarket wheels we run are lug centric while the factory wheels are hub centric. It's no big deal either way.

 

[Chris]

I'm pretty sure neither is going to be stronger than one-another, and neither of them have anything to do with stress (at least I think this is the case).

My understanding is that it's just about how they center the wheel. Putting a wheel on with a hub centric wheel spacer is always easier, as it just sits in place.

As for the stress issue, I think that's a moot point, because if either spacer is properly installed, the conical shape on the end of the leg nut will center itself in the recess on the spacer once it's fully torqued down, and that should add even weight distribution.

Just make sure to use the star method of tightening the lug nuts down when installing the spacers. I always used blue loctite on mine. Not sure how necessary that is.

I'm going to tag @mrblaine in this since he knows anything and everything about fasteners and stuff like this it seems. If I made any errors here, he'll point them out.

 

[IPerkWVU]

I just ordered hub centric synergy 1.25 spacers, my tires rub my AR arms. 70 a pair when on sale. Felt better about those then the ones sold on amazon. Just my .02

 

[mrblaine]

I've been looking at wheel spacers (not adapters) for my TJ. I've noticed that some of them are hub centric and others are lug centric.

My question is this: Does it make a difference which one I go with? Is one "stronger" than the other? Will either amount to less "stress" on the hub assembly than the other?

Just trying to figure this out.

As Jerry stated, there is no strength difference once the nuts are tight. I prefer hub centric at least on the back side so the spacer centers on the OEM pilot on the unit bearing. After that it doesn't matter since most wheels we run aren't hub centric anyway.

The reason I like it that way is tolerance stacking. If I can narrow that down some and at least get half of the spacer to center correctly, that slows down the chances of something being misaligned.