Hubcaps for ‘wide 5’s’

As I understood it, the problem was a bad batch of wheels and not a problem with the hub caps.  If you recently bought a set of hub caps that don't fit, you probably have the bad wheels that were causing the problem.

No, Troy, haven’t bought any just yet. Just wanted to make sure that what ever I did buy from Stoddard or Sierra Madre or elsewhere would fit. Do you know the date range of this ‘bad batch’? In other words, more recent wheels are not affected, correct?

I don't know the date range, but maybe you can get more information from Socal Imports, which is where I got the information and who I buy nipple hubcaps from.   

https://socalautoparts.com/

Thanks for the information and the link!

The hubcap issue was typically with 4 lug caps as they sit on the "humps" on the wheel, where wide five caps attach to clips that can be easily manipulated to be tighter or looser.  I can't think of any wide five wheel I've seen where the caps were an issue.

Thanks!

It's definitely a wheel problem. The clips on most wide-5 wheels (I've tried and returned most that are available) are too far apart so you have to really smash the hubcap hard to get them on. When doing this you have to be sure you hit it on the top center or you'll dent the thin metal of the typical aftermarket hubcap. The real issue is getting the hubcaps off. One side will come free easily enough, but the opposite side will often get caught by its clip, resulting in a nasty tug of war that chips up the wheel.

When I've tried my hubcaps on a friend's old VW bug with stock wheels there are no problems.

Thanks for your input - I definitely appreciate the heads up.  Seems as though there is a fair variation in quality and gauge of cap available from various vendors (and generally priced accordingly). Might be worth paying for the heavier gauge/better quality and just being really careful!

Is there actually a vendor who specifies the gauges of their hub caps?  I doubt it.

I missed the fact that you were referring to wide 5 wheels and was referring to the 4 lug issue from a few years ago in my original post and Carey clarified that.

I wouldn't think twice about ordering a set of caps from SoCal.  It's a long shot that you will have any issues and their quality for the price is just fine.  You can buy 2 sets for the cost of 1 set from some of the other vendors   I'm also skeptical that any vendor is actually selling caps that didn't come from China. 

No, no one is specifying guages that I am aware of - just word of mouth. . . . . and maybe it’s just me erroneously assuming that what SoCal is selling for $27.50 is possibly not as heavy a gauge as what Stoddard is selling for around a hundred and ten bucks.

I feel like in today’s world it’s a ‘get what you pay for’ dynamic - but we all know that is not always true!!

Much of what you're paying for with Stoddard is the crest with Porsche on it.  The crest on the SoCal caps looks like the Porsche crest, but doesn't actually say Porsche on it.  If that's important to you spend the extra dollars, if not buy 3 sets of SoCal caps and save some money. 

Ah, of course - 

And after all, that’s why I got into this Soeedster madness! To save some money!! (that’s what I tell my wife, anyway. . . . . .)