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Many car enthusiasts are desperate to know if hubcaps are necessary. If so, it should serve more than just a cosmetic look.
As an Engineer, lemme help you out with this issue.
By the way, here is the short answer.
Hubcaps are not a necessary component for automobile vehicles. However, hubcaps serve an essential set of benefits, including protecting lugnuts from rust & corrosion, protecting wheels against dust and other debris, protecting lug nuts from jamming with road crud, & providing an aesthetic appeal.
However, to understand if hubcaps are needed for you, analyzing them in a little bit profound manner is so important.
What are the benefits of wheel hubcaps?
Of course, understanding the benefits of having wheel hubcaps, figuring out their priorities, and realizing their importance is crucial before driving to any conclusion.
Although a hubcap is considered by many as a decorative disk on alloy wheels that covers at minimum the center portion (the hub) of the alloy wheel, it serves more than just the cosmetic appeal.
So, here are the benefits of having wheel hubcaps.
1. They protect wheel bolts & nuts from rust and corrosion
Guys, this is a huge advantage.
Protecting the wheel bolts and nuts from corrosion and rust is far more important than dealing with rusted or corroded bolts and lug nuts so you won’t face any difficulties when it is time for the replacement or you ever have to change a flat tire.
I have experience with salted-off lugnuts, and that was a real headache. Because lugnuts were rusted into wheel studs, and it wasn’t easy during the replacements.
So, I just installed a set of hub caps. Then the problem was solved.
2. Hubcaps protect wheels against dust and other debris
It doesn’t matter whether your car has cheap wheels or expensive beauties; everyone (including me) wants them to last as long as possible.
Even though hab caps only cover around the hub area of alloy wheels, they help protect your wheels against so many things, increasing the lifespan of the wheels.
Depending on the state/area you live in, your wheels could be seriously vulnerable to specific hazards, especially dust and other debris like small rocks and dirt that are detrimental to your wheels.
Of course, the hubcaps are made of plastic, so you might think they aren’t protective enough to protect your hubcaps.
But that is not the case. If you compare a car with hubcaps installed to one without, you will realize how vital those hubcaps are.
3. Protect lug nuts from jamming
Another significant advantage of installing hubcaps is protecting the wheel lug nuts from getting jammed with road crud.
In any case, if one of the wheel nuts fell off, it would fall into the hubcap, producing a clanging noise.
So, eventually, you will hear that noise, so you can find out that the wheel lug nuts are loose and the likelihood of falling off the wheel is a little bit higher, giving you a good chance to tighten them up before the wheel feel off.
This advantage alone is a pretty much good reason to install hubcaps.
4. Reduce wind noise
Having hubcaps on alloy wheels gives a fairly flat surface, reducing wind noise to some extent.
5. Aesthetic appeal
Of course, giving an extra Aesthetic appeal is another advantage of installing hubcaps.
Suggested Reading: Can you put wheel covers on Alloy wheels?
Can you drive without hubcaps? Are they necessary?
After examining the five most benefits of having hubcaps on your automobile vehicle, we can figure out if it’s a necessary feature.
Although hubcaps serve something more significant than aesthetic appeal, I wouldn’t say hubcaps are still something necessary to be installed on your automobile car.
So, you can drive perfectly fine without wheel caps. You’re not required to have wheel caps installed to drive on the road.
Moreover, hubcaps are not required to pass the annual safety inspection in most states and countries.
However, as far as the benefits go, having hubcaps installed is vital for the durability of the wheels.
In fact, Whether it is necessary mainly depends on the area you live in, the weather, and the nature of the roads.
Why?
Take a look at the following. 1. Don't you want to protect wheel bolts & lug nuts from rust and corrosion? 2. Don't you need to protect wheels against dust and other debris? 3. Can you protect lug nuts from jamming with road crud? 4. Don't you want to reduce the wind noise? 5. Don't you really care about the aesthetic appeal of the wheels?
Answer the above five questions by yourself and come to a conclusion so you can understand what hubcaps are necessary for you.
Suggested Reading: How far can wheels stick out? [legal and technical side]
Things to be aware of
We’ve discussed whether hubcap is a necessary component for cars, including some important benefits.
However, still, there are certain things you need to be aware of.
1. In case you missed one
Suppose you have installed hubcaps for all four wheels. It can make your car look ugly if you have missed just one hubcap.
2. Do not remove them often
Please DO NOT TAKE THE HUBCAPS OFF once you’ve fixed them unless it’s necessary to change them because taking them off pretty often could increase the likelihood of breaking the clips on them.
Be careful when removing them. Although hubcaps play an important role in maintaining the wheels, they are also pretty delicate components.
3. Noise
The hubcaps should be installed properly in order to avoid wrecking noise when rotating the wheels. That’s why finding the perfect matching set of hubcaps is far more essential. Loose tightening of the hubcaps may cause them to fall off them.
Conclusion
Hubcaps are one of the vehicle components that have always caused controversy for car owners. Because some people say having hubcaps is compulsory, while others argue that hubcaps are unnecessary other than aesthetic appeal.
So, in this article, we’ve discussed if hubcaps are a necessary component for your automobile vehicle by considering some of the benefits of hubcaps. Then we’ve discussed if you can drive without hubcaps.
