Why Choose Billet Aluminum Wheel Adapters

Billet aluminum wheel adapters are the best of the best. If you’re looking for a wheel adapter, billet aluminum cannot be beat. The process of creating billet aluminum parts results in highly precise, very strong, safe wheel adapters. The same cannot be said for cast aluminum.

1. Higher degree of precision

When you’re customizing your vehicle, every fraction of an inch counts. “Close enough” isn’t close enough to give you the handling you need. Whether you’re off-roading with the guys or just want better handling on city streets, precision is key. Changing your tires is about looks but also about function. Billet aluminum parts are constructed from a single block of aluminum. It’s then tooled away to create the perfect part. It’s precise. Cast aluminum is melted and then poured into a mold. The mold was made with sand. As precise as casting can be, it cannot compete with skilled craftsmanship. Cast aluminum parts are not as sharply defined as billet aluminum.

2. Stronger parts

Billet aluminum results in stronger parts. Not only is every part of the billet aluminum wheel adapter made with solid aluminum, the metal is of a higher grade than those used to make cast aluminum parts. The process of heating the metal only once, to make a solid block, keeps the grade high. Cast aluminum is easier to work with if it's a lower quality. It’s more malleable and better able to fill the mold. That doesn’t help you on the road, however.

3. Safety is key

At the end of the day, safety is the most important feature of any after market customization. You want your vehicle to look cool and handle like a dream, but you want to be safe in it while that happens. Billet aluminum combines precision and strength into a part that’s going to wear out more slowly. It’s going to be safer for longer than cast aluminum. A billet aluminum wheel adapter can be checked on less frequently because it’s going to have a longer life. That’s the bottom line: billet is better.

Safety, strength, and precision make up a fantastic car part. Wheel adapters take a beating on the road. They connect a tire to a vehicle that it wasn’t made to go on. While they can really do a lot of good, they can be a risk. Reduce risk by picking the best adapter. Billet aluminum wheel adapters are the way to go.

Why are There So Many Lug Patterns?

Wheel adapters and wheel spacers exist so that you can adapt your vehicle to whatever tires or hubcaps you want it to use. These little pieces of metal can change your vehicle from a five bolt pattern to an eight bolt pattern, and/or change the spacing between bolts. This is great for customizing your car. You can put whatever wheels and hubs on it that you want, and you don’t have to worry about what it’s built to carry. Why is everything built to be different, anyway?

Torque and a vehicle’s needs

The number of bolts in your hubcap depends on the amount of torque that’s put on the tire by the axle. The more power your vehicle has, the greater the number of bolts. Bolts handle the torque and make sure that the wheels spin. Running a very powerful vehicle on fewer bolts is a risky business. They will wear out faster, and when they do, it could be a dangerous situation for you.

Typically, your light, low powered car only needs four bolts to be safe. Anything above the most basic cars use five bolts. Five is the most common number for U.S. cars. Most wheel adapters are built to increase this as heavier, more torque tires are put onto lighter frames. You can adapt a standard five bolt pattern to a six or eight, and your tire will be more secure on your vehicle. Lug patterns work that way.

Why is spacing different vehicle to vehicle

While the number of bolts in lug patterns follows a standard explanation, the spacing doesn’t. Wheel adapters and wheel spacers can be used to simply make the bolt holes on the tire match up to the ones on your vehicle. The difference in spacing is largely due to an individual brand’s preference. Most spacing standards haven’t been updated since the modern lug pattern was introduced. Companies picked whatever spacing made sense to them at the time, and they’ve kept it as a grandfathered style choice. While most manufacturers keep it standard across their models or within a particular line, they don’t have to. Since they manufacture all the original parts themselves, it doesn’t cost more to order one spacing than another.

There are so many lug patterns because there are many car manufacturers. The spacing requirements are annoying to work around, but don’t serve a particular purpose. Most were adopted for cars that are no longer being made. The number of lugs depends on what you expect the vehicle to have to handle.