What to Look for in a Wheel Adapter

Good wheel adapters have three qualities in common. They’re made of a high quality material. They are built to do one thing only. Lastly, they’re the exact thickness that you need. If the adapter you’re looking at doesn’t fit one of these three criteria, they’re not the vehicle enhancement for you. There’s enough at stake with your wheel adapter that you shouldn’t settle for anything that’s less than perfect.

High quality material

The most important factor in choosing a wheel adapter is safety. Good wheel adapters will be as safe as running your vehicle to factory specifications. The risk when you add a new piece of hardware to the mix is that you may create a weak link in the chain. Wheel adapters, especially those that change the lug pattern of your vehicle, are subjected to a lot of stress. Inferior products may crumple or wear unevenly shortly after their installation. This puts you at risk. Good wheel adapters don’t have that problem.

When you choose an extruded billet wheel adapter, you’re running top of the line wheel adapters. Your wheel adapter may be stronger than the axle that you’re bolting it to. Extruded billet is a solid piece of metal that has very high strength. Aluminum keeps it light, but the way it’s made keeps it strong.

One single pattern

There are wheel adapters out there that try to bill themselves as the only adapter or spacer that you’ll ever need. They can convert any pattern to any other pattern, etc. It can be very tempting to get one of these. After all, if you like customizing your car, you’re unlikely to stop at just one aftermarket upgrade, right? You think that you’re getting a good deal by purchasing a wheel adapter that can convert in multiple ways. However, you’re actually just buying yourself a bigger headache.

Good wheel adapters do one thing, perfectly. They convert a 4-lug setup to a 5-lug setup. They space your wheel the exact amount that you need. All the holes and connections that you need to make a multi-conversion wheel adapter eats into the strength of the product. You’re running an unneeded risk. Get good wheel adapters that do what you need them to.

The exact thickness

How your wheel adapter spaces your wheel is very important. You need a wheel adapter that moves your wheel out enough without running into fender clearance issues. This becomes even more important if you’re adding other upgrades. For example, if you’re running a larger brake kit on your car, you could have your tire hitting the caliper if you don’t move it out. You should find a wheel adapter at the exact thickness you need. If you absolutely have to, a wheel spacer can be added, but typically you don’t want to use a wheel adapter and a wheel spacer together.

Good wheel adapters are the right size for the job. They’re made of strong material that will last. Good wheel adapters are also built to do one job to perfection. When you’re shopping for wheel adapters, remember these three tips and you’ll avoid the most common mistakes when buying wheel adapters.