As I was driving in my area recently, I saw a hubcap propped up against a telephone pole in someone’s yard. That reminded me to check the hubcaps on my own cars. This winter has been especially mild here in the Midwest, so the roads are in pretty good shape. Still, hitting potholes is just one way you can lose hubcaps. Read this informative article and find out some things you can do to help stop losing the hubcaps on your cars.
1. Check Your Hubcaps Regularly to Make Sure They Are Tight
The hubcaps on your cars should fit snugly against the wheel all the way around their perimeters. Check each one by placing your hands on opposite sides. Grab the hubcaps firmly and pull. You shouldn’t be able to pull them off. Or, it should be very difficult to remove them with your bare hands. Be sure to check your hubcaps after a mechanic worked on your car and removed them.
2. Tighten Loose Hubcaps That Have Metal Retaining Clips
If the hubcaps on your cars have metal retaining clips, you can stretch them out a bit towards the edge of the wheel to make them fit tighter. If the retaining clips are plastic, they can’t be adjusted. Use special care when removing or installing hubcaps with plastic clips as they can break off.
Refer to your cars’ owner’s manuals, or contact the dealer or manufacturer if the hubcaps are attached in another way.
3. Stay Away From Curbs When Parking Your Cars
Another thing you can do to help stop losing the hubcaps on your cars is to avoid curbs. Hitting them can loosen, or even bend the hubcaps out of shape. If you hit a curb hard enough, (or hit a pothole), the wheel itself can actually become deformed. Either way, once the shape of the hubcap or the wheel is distorted, the hubcap won’t fit tightly against the wheels. If a wheel isn’t round, it will cause your car to shimmy as you’re driving down the road.
4. Avoid Applying Lubricants to the Wheels Where the Hubcaps Mount
Products that clean and shine-up the hubcaps, wheels and tires on your cars often contain silicone and other lubricants. If any of these products get on the metal on the wheel, or on the rim of the hubcap where it meets the wheel, it will make this surface slippery. Your hubcap won’t be mounted as tight as it should be.
5. Secure Your Cars’ Hubcaps to the Wheels With Nylon Ties
It may not add attractiveness to your rides, but if you want to make sure your hubcaps stay in place, this works. Purchase a dozen nylon ties that have flat ends that slide through square holes at the opposite ends. Each tie should be 6 to 8 inches long. Hold the square end of a tie while you run the flat end through a hole in the hubcap and then through a hole in the wheel. Connect the ends of the tie and pull it tight to secure it.
Resources
http://www.hubcaps.org/facts-and-questions-about-hubcaps.html
http://www.hubcaps-wheelcovers.com/faq.htm
http://www.autoamenity.com/FAQ/TightenLooseHubcaps.htm