miles Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 TireRacks Info. on Centerbore The centerbore of a wheel is the size of the machined hole on the back of the wheel that centers the wheel properly on the hub of the car. This hole is machined to exactly match the hub so the wheels are precisely positioned, minimizing the chance of a vibration. With a hubcentric wheel, the lug hardware will not be supporting the weight of the vehicle, all they really do is press the wheel against the hub of the car. Some wheels use high quality, forged centering rings that lock into place in the back of the wheel. This is an acceptable alternative. If you have non-hubcentric (lugcentric) wheels, they should be torqued correctly while the vehicle is still off of the ground so they center properly. The weight of the vehicle can push the wheel off-center slightly while you're tightening them down if left on the ground. Q1: How wide are centering rings? Q2: How many are used per wheel? Q3: In the wheel diagram below the depth of the centerbore is highlighted in red. How much of the centerbore’s depth should the centering ring(s) cover (10%, 50% …etc). Q4: When centering rings are used is the wheel as good as a hubcentric wheel? Q5. Can the use of centering rings cause problems that wouldn’t occur with a hubcentric wheel? Q6. What brand of high quality forged centering rings do you guys recommend? http://img209.exs.cx/img209/9571/wheeldiagram0014ed.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondcookie Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Hubcentric rings fit inside of the hole with a lip. The lip rests on the width-line indicators on your picture. You can either put the rings into the hole then mount the wheel or you can put the ring on the rotor/wheel hub and then mount the wheel on the rotor/wheel hub. As you match the lug nut holes with the lugs, everything will line up and the hubcentric ring with go into the center as designed. One ring per wheel. If you buy wheels that need rings, tirerack and discounttiredirect will supply them as part of the package. I would guesstimate that the ring will go 50% in. Definitely not all the way. On my enkei's the rings were black hard plastic. on my new set, they're metallic dark raspberry in color with white lettering. They're metal. The only time you're not going to get rings is if you buy the wheels from someone and they forgot or you get your wheels from ShadyBusiness-R-Us. You'll know if you need rings because without them your steering wheel and/or car will shake like a crack fiend. From my understanding the rings stop the vibration not so much "center" the wheel. hth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC GT Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Q1: How wide are centering rings? Varies. You need to figure out the bore of your rim, and the hub size of your car, and buy your centering ring accordingly. If you buy a rim with a 64.1 mm centerbore for your Suby, you'd need to buy a centering ring that would fit the 64.1 mm rim that would reduce the size of the center to 56.1 mm. Q2: How many are used per wheel? 1 per wheel. Q3: In the wheel diagram below the depth of the centerbore is highlighted in red. How much of the centerbore’s depth should the centering ring(s) cover (10%, 50% …etc). Very little. They are notched so that they catch the lip. That's all you need. Q4: When centering rings are used is the wheel as good as a hubcentric wheel? Practically. Would I rather have hubcentric wheels? Yes. Would I fee comfortable and safe driving on non-hubcentric rims using centering rings. Absolutely. Q5. Can the use of centering rings cause problems that wouldn’t occur with a hubcentric wheel? They shouldn't. Unless they are made of balsa, I'd say any problems would probably be due to human error (installed backward, mis-torqued lugs, etc.) as opposed to failure of the centering rings. Q6. What brand of high quality forged centering rings do you guys recommend? I'm not aware of any specific brands of centering rings. Check out ebay. I bought some billet aluminum ones from there a while ago. Any custom rim shop should have them in stock. But they are pretty much generic, as far as I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC GT Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 This should help. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7962591405&category=42614 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 heck I guess you guys did all the work for me... good work guys. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 For the record, I needed some for the MINI as the jackass who I bought used wheels from forgot to send them. I measured twice and ordered once, Discount sent me some nice blue metal ones for $15/shipped - they arrived in two days. Tire Rack won't sell them to you unless you bought the wheels from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondcookie Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 The rings are apparently a forgotten item. Someone I know went through the same thing. The used wheels+tires were bought but no rings were included. Not a lot of local shops carry just the rings. That's the biggest thing I don't like about wheels that need the rings. Some jerky might forget them when they mount your tires. And you're driving around wondering why you're car doesn't feel right. "did you put my rings back on?" .. "ummm...yeeeeaaaa... yes sir, thank you for stopping by have a nice day. " Slightly off topic. Direct has a thumbs down for me. They mounted a tire on in the wrong direction so I had to spend 30$ to pull the tire off and remount it. I don't know if i should complain or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Slightly off topic. Direct has a thumbs down for me. They mounted a tire on in the wrong direction so I had to spend 30$ to pull the tire off and remount it. Doh! I don't know if i should complain or not. Absolutely. Everyone makes mistakes.....it's how a company remedies them that shows their true colors and whether or not you should do business again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach V Dan Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Centering rings aren't very big, and they often stick to the hub when you pull the wheels off. Sometimes they're so covered with rust (from the iron hub or brake rotor) and dirt that it's hard to see them. Even if you remember to notice them, the plastic ones often break if you try to pry them off the hub. So be prepared to get new centering rings when/if you swap rims. Also, it's not like a lack of centering rings will cripple your car. At worst you'll have a little vibration from the wheels not being totally centered, and at best you wouldn't know. Wheels were centered by lugs for years, and that worked okay. Hub-centering is superior, of course, but if you don't have the hubcentric rings right away, it's okay to leave them off for a while until your rings arrive from ebay or wherever. --Dan Mach V FastWRX.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiymeh Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 I NEED some bad, How do I know what size to buy? I've got aftermarket rims, some irregular name brand. I keep telling the dealer that I need my alignment fixed, but he won't fix it until I get my tires balanced, (which I've done) and get some "hub rings" maybe this won't fix my problem, but I've got to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 [/font]Q1: How wide are centering rings? Q2: How many are used per wheel? Q3: In the wheel diagram below the depth of the centerbore is highlighted in red. How much of the centerbore’s depth should the centering ring(s) cover (10%, 50% …etc). Q4: When centering rings are used is the wheel as good as a hubcentric wheel? Q5. Can the use of centering rings cause problems that wouldn’t occur with a hubcentric wheel? Q6. What brand of high quality forged centering rings do you guys recommend? http://img209.exs.cx/img209/9571/wheeldiagram0014ed.jpg A) depends on your rim that you want to put on.. how "THICK" they are will also vary upon different applications as well, but normally, they shouldnt be no more than 5 to 6mm thick. B) 1 ring is used per wheel C) You should cover as much as possible to get the best seating from the hub of the centerbore to the wheel D) Centering rings are hubcentric It's to keep the wheel from being mounted off-balance.. a hubcentric ring does just that. E) Your question doesnt make sense since a hubring and center ring are two of the same thing, just different terminology. There is no sense to put a ring on a wheel that is already hubcentric.. it's like having your shoes and socks on while trying to put another layer of socks.. it already fits. F) There are two basic types made: aluminum and plastic... stick to aluminum and you can order a set from http://www.ebay.com if you know your measurements for the wheels that you are fitting, if not, you can call up either http://www.tirerack.com or http://www.tires.com to get help. Most wheel vendors will know what to get you.. all you have to tell them is that your centerbore is 56.1mm, they will find you the thickness of the ring that you need to fit your particular wheel specs. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 TireRack won't sell them to you unless the wheels were bought from them. Discount Tire will, however (http://www.tires.com). I needed some for a set on our MINI....just measure the inside area of the wheel and called in with specs....they fit perfect. I also found a website using Google that had sizes listed for wheel manufacturers. That was useful as I couldn't decide how close to cut my measurement....I narrowed it down with that info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 TireRacks Info. on Centerbore ..................With a hubcentric wheel, the lug hardware will not be supporting the weight of the vehicle, all they really do is press the wheel against the hub of the car. Some wheels use high quality, forged centering rings that lock into place in the back of the wheel. This is an acceptable alternative.................. If it is true that the centering ring (and not the lug nuts) supports the weight of the vehicle, then why would Tire Rack supply plastic rings with the wheels they sell? Seems a metal ring would be preferred to support 800-900 lb of vehicle weight. Personally I think the function of the ring or hubcentric bore is to center the wheel while the lug nuts are tightened. At that point, the vehicle weight will be supported by both the lug nuts and the center bore/ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach V Dan Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 Plastic rings are perfectly able to support the weight of a car. The good ones are made of some kind of high-grade plastic that's strong, light, and heat resistant. They do tend to break down over time, though, and especially if you tend to take your wheels on and off (like for track days), you'll find they get brittle and crack after a year or two. More so if you get them really hot (track day use again). So, insist on aluminum if you're a track day enthusiast. If the car is just for street, plastic is fine, IMHO. --Dan Mach V FastWRX.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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