Hubcentric Rings

[yoshiharadesign]

the hub centric rings main focus is to soley center the wheel to prevent any vibrations that may occur from the wheel being mounted slight off center. Metal or plastic makes no difference as long as the plastic is a high temp grade and rigid with minimal play. Because there is always some play in the lug holes and the wheels, the ring effectively positions the wheel in the prescribed location.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by ft86Fan

This is what I mean by the conflicting facts but I guess we all agree that using hubcentric rings can't hurt and its a good idea. You can get a set of plastic ones for $8 anyway.

Depends on the sizing. For instance, I want SSR wheels that have a 79.5 hub bore. Subaru hub bores are 56.1. No one makes a hub ring for that application aside from SSR and they charge around $20/ea.

[7thgear]

you can avoid using rings if you slowly hand tighten your wheel in a star pattern

and by hand tighten and slowly, i do mean hand tighten, and slowly

the conical seat of the lug nuts will center the wheel 5 studs, but only if you do it slowly and evenly (ie, don't tighten just one nut all the way)

so if you have the time, i recommend doing it this way as it will do an even better job at centering your wheel than the centering ring.

[yoshiharadesign]

i would not suggest to exclude the ring. If possible always have the ring in place as regardless of how slowly you tighten the lug nuts, slight variances will always produce some vibrations. There is a reason why all oe fitments are hubcentric wheels.

[xwd]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

you can avoid using rings if you slowly hand tighten your wheel in a star pattern

and by hand tighten and slowly, i do mean hand tighten, and slowly

the conical seat of the lug nuts will center the wheel 5 studs, but only if you do it slowly and evenly (ie, don't tighten just one nut all the way)

so if you have the time, i recommend doing it this way as it will do an even better job at centering your wheel than the centering ring.

Yes that's what I was getting at. You need to do it in at least two steps of torque, don't just hammer down each nut in the star pattern.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by yoshiharadesign

i would not suggest to exclude the ring. If possible always have the ring in place as regardless of how slowly you tighten the lug nuts, slight variances will always produce some vibrations. There is a reason why all oe fitments are hubcentric wheels.

There's really no reason not to use them...

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by schtebie

A little off topic, but are those McGard Spline Drive lugs? If so, how do you like them?

Gorilla spline drives. I've used Gorilla lug nuts for a while now and have been very happy with their quality and durability.

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by yoshiharadesign

i would not suggest to exclude the ring. If possible always have the ring in place as regardless of how slowly you tighten the lug nuts, slight variances will always produce some vibrations. There is a reason why all oe fitments are hubcentric wheels.

i have been hand tightening hub-centric wheels for a decade with zero vibrations

the tolerance of 5 studs canceling each other out will be less than that of a single ring.

Also, OE wheels are OE wheels, they are built to match. Less confidence can be given to aftermarket.

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

i have been hand tightening hub-centric wheels for a decade with zero vibrations

the tolerance of 5 studs canceling each other out will be less than that of a single ring.

Also, OE wheels are OE wheels, they are built to match. Less confidence can be given to aftermarket.

Yes. while that is possible, it is always easier to have a ring and tightening in sequence. As to hub rings on aftermarket vs oe, of course the wheels from oe are going to fit exactly. However, pairing a tight fitting set of rings with minimal tolerance will have the same effect. With rings, it merely simplifies things more.

[Phaedrus29]

Would rings be pointless on our car with certain hub bore diameter wheels? For instance, if a wheel has a bore diameter of 56, would you not need/use rings?

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

Would rings be pointless on our car with certain hub bore diameter wheels? For instance, if a wheel has a bore diameter of 56, would you not need/use rings?

If a wheel has a bore diameter of 56 it won't have any gap for you to fit a hub centric ring.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by ft86Fan

If a wheel has a bore diameter of 56 it won't have any gap for you to fit a hub centric ring.

Yup, if the center bore of the wheel matches the hub, then the wheel itself is hubcentric. Same as OEM wheels.

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

Would rings be pointless on our car with certain hub bore diameter wheels? For instance, if a wheel has a bore diameter of 56, would you not need/use rings?

that means that the wheel is drill to fit for the subaru and other application with the center bore of 56. This would not require any hubcentric rings.

[Spartan65]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

you can avoid using rings if you slowly hand tighten your wheel in a star pattern

and by hand tighten and slowly, i do mean hand tighten, and slowly

the conical seat of the lug nuts will center the wheel 5 studs, but only if you do it slowly and evenly (ie, don't tighten just one nut all the way)

so if you have the time, i recommend doing it this way as it will do an even better job at centering your wheel than the centering ring.

Sorry this is a myth, having been in the industry for 15+ years what you are relaying is a type of preload. That pre load would never have the same tensil strength as a solid hub, you can take the five lugs and multiply each individual SAE rating and it will never come close to the SAE rating of the 56.1 hub.