In this latest video we show you have to properly measure a wheel diameter, width, and backspace.
Video Tutorial – How to Measure a Wheel
No Uni-Lugs or Unicorns found here
When you purchase a set of wheels from Chris Coddington and Hot Rods by Boyd you can be assured that everything is made to order. One little trick that the wheel industry in whole moved away from decades ago but some people still try to push on their customers is the Uni-lug pattern. This was a way to get 2 different bolt patterns out of one wheel by making an oblong lug hole and using specific lug nuts. While it saves the wheel company lots of money by cutting their inventory in half it’s at the expense of the consumers safety and the vehicles ride. At Hot Rods by Boyd all our wheels are drilled with the conical seat lug drill and drilled to your specific pattern. The conical lug seat allows the wheel to get centered up on the lug hole this is especially helpful when you do not have an exact hub centric fitment. By using conical seat you eliminate some of the vibration problems and shearing of studs that can happen with improper use of uni lug drilled wheels. The industry moved away from the one size fits all approach years ago for this reason. Uni-lug is to the wheel industry what elastic waste bands are to the clothing industry. It’s all fine in the beginning but it’s just a matter of time before you are caught with your pants down. If someone is trying to sell you a so called custom wheel with a one size fits all approach just say no and get yourself a set of custom wheels that are made to order. below are two pictures of one size fits all drill and conical seat.
Properly Measuring Backspace and Rim Width
Two very important measurements that need to be taken into consideration when building custom wheels and getting the proper fit for your vehicle are rim width and backspacing or offset. Measuring the rim width is done by measuring bead to bead. This will give you the true width. Measuring edge to edge will not give you an accurate measurement and will cause problems for you when figuring out offset and how big of a wheel you can fit on your vehicle. Keeping that in mind remember that every wheel will measure an extra inch edge to edge(+ or -)so if your figuring out if an 8″ wide wheel will fit on your vehicle you need to be taking into consideration an overall width of 9″.
The next important measurement is backspace. This is the distance from the backside edge of the wheel down to the mounting surface on the wheel. Knowing how to take these measurements properly will help you and Hot Rods by Boyd get the right fitment on your vehicle. Below are pictures of how to take both measurements. Never hesitate to email or call if you have any questions.