Technical Why do hub caps fly off my wheels ?

did the original wheel have the little bumps around the rim like tri 5 chevys? i know my 57 would not hold hub caps without the original wheels

 

We've been down this nit-pickers road before....we don't need to go there again.

 

Do people who come in late ever go back and read the thread from the beginning????

 

When I decided to put the hub caps on my 53 Pontiac I realized I had a problem when I could put them on with one thumb and a little push from the palm of my other hand. My 53 has original wheels and belted tires.


Fortunately, I had one NOS hub cap.


So I made a gauge from cardboard cut out to match the location of the tabs. As many have said in above posts "bend tabs out". Here is how I did it.


I used the cardboard guide to consistently bend the tabs to where the NOS tabs are.


another view of gauge


Then after finding a vise grip that fit the tab I slowly bent the tabs to match the gauge.
When I was done I needed a rubber mallet to put the hub caps on. I don't have one of the old fashion hub cap mallets with the pry bar on one side and a rubber mallet on the other. So I used just a plain rubber mallet. So far I haven't lost one yet! My experience has been if you can put it on with the palm of your hand it ain't staying there. If you don't have an NOS sample, at least this method will help getting a consistent bend job.

 

I had the same problem on my '55 Buick with OE Chevy wheels and '55 Olds hubcaps. When I installed radial tires (BFG T/A wide whites) you could hear the hubcaps moving around as the wheels flexed in slow corners. I spent some time carefully spreading the hubcap tangs so that the hubcaps fit TIGHT. That stopped the noise and the loss of the hubcaps.

 

did they fly off your rim or your wheel?

 

WHY DO HUB CAPS FLY OFF MY WHEELS

physics.

 

Even some factory equipped radial tires/steel wheel combos could not take the flexing.
I've flexed several 70'-80's era Ford steelies enough times to cause cracking at the center section to hoop weld. Took me a while to realize chucking covers and loosing air pressure were related.

 

I smell what you are cookin'. That is a pet peeve of mine too, hubcaps are hubcaps and wheel covers are wheel covers!

 

Wheels

 

I use 3M anti skid tape on wheel to allow more bite

 

The only thing that worked for me was screwing them on. Our terrain is mostly deep turns and hills.
Use a small machine screws and thread the holes in the rim so they can be taken off easily.. Three screws evenly spaced would work.

 

Get some 1965-66 Olds caps they bolted on . You removed the center and the rest were held on by 3 of the 5 lug nuts. Guys would grab a bar and pop them off at $85 each.

 

Everything on this subject has been said, except for one thing. If those steel wheel are flexing like we all know they are. What are the chances that at some point in time and space when what you see flying off is not a hubcap? Steel when it moves back and forth flexing on a line crystallizes and eventually separates. Instead of reasoning being about losing hubcaps, I think it's about something else. Every person who has posted about the problem and given a solution missed the most obvious bit of information. Or, am I wrong? Think about it.

 

new stuff to help with an old problem...
Hello,
Back in the old days, there were wire lug nut devices to keep the hubcaps from flying off. That was great, but the hubcap stayed going around with the wheel and banged the crap out of the cap surface. So, those wires did not last long. Then we jammed cardboard between the metal tabs and the steel wheel. Great fit, they were snug and stayed on long enough for the next car wash or puddle. Finally, it was little tabs of waterproof glue in a pattern all around those metal tabs.

But, if the hubcap was going to be changed for another set of spinners or designs, then the glue had to be broken to get the hubcap off. Hopefully, you won't have a flat tire, either. That became a hassle. My brother solved that problem with a set of screw in Moon Discs that made any car look fast.


A new solution to this or any displaced item is solved by quality double sided tape.

I had a long edging I needed to reattach to an upside down surface. The ½ round molding had worn out the skimpy tape from the factory. I used this tough and clear mounting tape from the Gorilla Products line. It is a little thicker, but ever so sticky. The upside down edging stayed in place in heat and moisture. This stuff is very strong as is most Gorilla Products. So, minimal little tabs around the whole circular hubcap will keep it in place. It is removable, if needed. No need for screws, tapping or altering the hubcap for any wheel surfaces.

Jnaki

If the little tabs are placed in various areas of the hubcap tabs, it will hold well and shouldn’t come off, even with moisture or bumps. Instead of long strips, a pattern of little tabs would probably work better, distributing the attachment points, all around. YRMV

 

My wheelcover hub caps flew off my rim wheels.

 

..... With a badass fastback....

 

Early rims with radial tires will do it every time. Too much flex for the rims.


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

I think it depends on the type of wheel cover? Some covers such as 53-66 corvettes had a lip on the cover around the diameter of the wheel cover. The wheels had nubs at 4 locations to hold the cover on. Tri 5 Chevys used this style as a lot of other GM cars of the era also had the style that needed nubs. If your covers have this style you need wheels with the nubs.

 

Maybe we just found the answer to flying off wheel covers.....the Charger Steve McQueen was chasing loses more than 4 wheel covers in the chase scene.... I guess the Charger had multiple layers of wheel covers on each wheel Maybe we should try multiple layers

 

"Early rims with radial tires will do it every time. Too much flex for the rims."....True if it where wheels.

 

More likely to have a flat before the hoop departs on its own.
Just like everything else on a vehicle that has some age/miles on it, operators should inspect and verify condition of components. Older/used wheels should be inspected, and constantly checked. Anyone who open tracks or road races knows that wheels are consumables just like brakes or tires. With traditional hot rods, when using original equipment, you must be as diligent with equipment checks as a racer.

 

Sometime in the late '40s or '50s, someone traveling on US 278 near Rockmart GA lost a hubcap off his '46 Ford. Decades later, I found it in the ditch near my driveway. It's now the top of the air cleaner on my truck.

 

Maybe run a little lower air pressure in the tire, so it flexes before the rim does.

When I ran my '60 Pontiac daily the '79 Buick rims on the back I ended up with trim rings and parts store cheap baby moons on. The stock caps on stock front rims stayed on but they would walk a little, it had some 14 inch radials on it. I had the tangs so spread on them that I recall laying on my back and kicking them on tight with my sneakers so I could hit them in two spots at once, because if you whanged them with a rubber mallet they'd pop off.

 

On my old Ford the wheel covers would also rotate over time, pulling the valve stem over quite a bit, as well as often fly off. I gave up and used dog dish covers.

On a current thirty year old daily driver I ditched the full covers completely and just put on hubcaps (those little 2 - 3 inch diameter thingies).