Is driving without wheel hubcaps dangerous?

One of the wheel hubcaps (plastic) on my 93 accord came off. Is it dangerous
to drive on highway?

That makes me wonder what the purpose of hubcaps are. Thanks.

 

What did you do to make one of the hubcaps come off, while you were driving?
If it was properly installed, it would only have come off when the wheel
nuts all came off and the tire and rim.

They're basically for cosmetic effects.

 

=============

Bill,

It's ALWAYS dangerous to drive on the highway

Wheel covers may help with fuel mileage because they add a bit of
aerodynamic cleanness, and they sure look better than black steel
wheels, but there's no danger. They're just cosmetic. We have them
because regular wheels look ugly without them, and nobody wants to drive
an ugly car.

'Curly'

=============

 

Besides which it is not considered polite to go around with your nuts
showing.
Mike

 

They're just for looks. That's all.

 

Corrosion protection for lugs, too.

 

One morning, I noticed that the left front hub cap was gone from my
son's 90 Accord DX. I asked him how it happened, and he said" I don't
know." I thought about all my early years driving adventures, and let
the conversation drop. bob

 

Your nuts will be showing

 

LOL! That's a fact!

 

It's my recolection that when I last had the wheels off a '92 Accord
the wheel cover went on before the wheel nuts???? Could some one have
installed the wheel nuts first? Make sure the wheel nuts are tight and
there is no parts of a broken wheel cover under the nuts.

 

Your nuts will get dirty too.


"alot is not a word"
Uncle Mike

 

I have to say "it depends"...If you live where there is lots of salt spread
on the streets in the winter, you'll eventually be sorry you did not have
the hubcaps on when trying to change a flat tire on the side of the road
yourself with just a regular lug wrench. I believe that in some cases,
there would be more corrosion between the lugs and the wheel studs, making
the lug nearly impossible to remove with a regular tool. This assumes you
have "open" wheel studs, that expose the end of the stud to the air.

If the wheel lugs totally enclose the end of the stud, that's better, but I
still think that corrosion could cause the lug nut to stick to the wheel.

my $.02, and personal experience with running cars without hubcaps.

 

My three cents is, it depends on the car.

I have enough confidence in my Honda Civic that I wouldn't
worry about it. I think that the quality of the studs and nuts
are high enough that there would be no problem from rust.
Grit from the road would be a different consideration.

I have a trash Dodge Omni I drive in the winter. I always
greased the lug nuts each fall because there is no way that the
lug nuts would come off otherwise.

 

Thank the lord your nuts will be attached to a stud, but also , all nuts
should have anti seize grease added to the threads as well, other wise
the nuts will be hard to separate from the stud....Something like
graphite grease would be OK. No hub caps? Id rather be seen driving
naked. But then again I'm from Australia where it gets pretty hot..