Hubcentric ring question

[SWortham]

This question is for anyone with hubcentric rings. I just installed mine and they fit perfectly inside the wheel but were a little loose around the hub even though I ordered rings for a 67.1mm hub. It felt like there was about 1 mm of slack. And I still have a steering wheel vibration. So I'm thinking they're actually the wrong size. But just how snugly should the ring fit on the hub? And did the 67.1mm ID rings fit better for you than what I described?

[ilanpro]

They should fit snug 67.1mm is correct maybe the wheel side is wrong

[XTRAWLD]

Hmmm, I don't have 67.1...i have something very very close though...like 67.4 or something.....I'd have to look at them again to be sure. I don't really notice any vibration from them, but then again, I installed my wheels and my suspension at the same time so it's hard to tell what is doing what.

[SWortham]

They should fit snug 67.1mm is correct maybe the wheel side is wrong

It fits perfectly snug in the wheel, just not on the hub. I don't think they're 67.1mm, sounds like 1010tires.com sent me the wrong rings.

Thanks.

[TNT4ME]

direct tire sent mine..no prob (very snug, with copper paste so I can get them off for winter). I Do think it was a little different size on the hub. (its been a couple months)
I hate to say it, but I did asearch on the "Archive" site whn I was getting mine.

[SWortham]

I hate to say it, but I did asearch on the "Archive" site whn I was getting mine.

Haha, yeah I did too. I ordered the right size, I think they just sent me the wrong rings. Not only that, but it took like 10 days to get here from Canada. I'll try to find a place local and buy the right rings, install them, and send the other ones back & get a refund.

I have a good feeling that the right hubcentric rings will solve the problem.

[ilanpro]

http://www.elantraxd.com/yabbse/index.php?page=wheel

[SWortham]

Well my hubcentric rings came Friday. They seem to have fixed the problem.

I first bought hubcentric rings from www.1010tires.com and they didn't fit quite right on the hub. Not only that, but they were made of a very cheap plastic and just didn't look too impressive to me. So when I installed those, I didn't notice any improvement whatsoever.

Then I ordered some from Prestige Wheel Accessories (http://www.prestigewheel.com/HubRings.asp) and they fit a little better and seemed to be made of a better plastic. After I installed these, the steering wheel vibration is almost completely gone. There's still a very subtle vibration at around 65 mph which might just mean I need to get the wheels balanced again. Unfortunately, one of the rings in the set of 4 was not perfectly round so I didn't install it. It doesn't look like the companies that build these rings put too much effort in precision.

So I can definitely tell you guys that 1010tires.com is not the place to get hubcentric rings -- they basically sell crap. Prestige Wheel Accessories is somewhat decent even if one of the rings was a dud at least the others were good enough to solve the vibration.

JustForWheels.com looks like it could be a good choice because they sell aluminum rings:
http://www.justforwheels.com/index.jsp?cat=hubcentric&sub=how
Unfortunately they're $50, but it could be worth it.

[Leviathant]

Thanks for keeping us informed on your quest for the elimination of the 70mph vibration. I'll have to pick up a set of those rings one of these days.

[FordFasteRR]

it sounds like more than 1 person has this vibration...

is there a correlation with the year of the car & the vibration ? or is it totally random, ie.. gls and gt's have it...


I mention this because my car never had / doesnt have this vibration at any speed... including 70 mph or 80, or 90, or 100 + ...
????

[SWortham]

As far as I know this problem cannot be narrowed down to a specific year or model. And with my car, I never had any vibration (other than unbalanced wheels) until I lowered it and aligned it for toe out. In my case I really should have bought hubcentric rings when I first got these wheels.

I don't know why so many people have this problem, but it usually seems to be fixable by:

1.) Balancing the wheels
2.) Installing good hubcentric rings (if you have aftermarket wheels)
3.) Getting an alignment

I know a few people have done all this and still have the problem, but maybe they bought the hubcentric rings from 1010tires.com. :confused:

My steering wheel vibration is slowly beginning to creep back again. This is pissing me off. The way these symptoms all follow eachother leads me to believe that these freaking plastic rings just aren't good enough.

[slow 2K2GT]

my car does it at about 100 Km/h, but I dont worry too much. All my adapters are the right size I need an allignment and balance though

[DJ Hellfire]

I got my rings from Discount Tire Direct for $15 off Ebay and they are made of aluminum, so they won't ever break. Cars with wheel studs do not really even need the rings. The lug nuts center the wheels on the hub once they are tightened. But I like to have the rings just incase. Anyhow, your vibration is most likely due to improper balance, defective tires, or old tires. Even though the tire may be new, it may have an excessive amount of road force or even be out of round. Old tires can be the same but may also have broken or shifted belts. If I were you, I'd go somewhere that has a road force balancer and have the tires rebalanced and put the best ones on front.

[SWortham]

I've had my wheels rebalanced with the Hunter DSP???? something or other from Discount Tire. That didn't solve it. These tires probably only have 1,500 miles on them and they didn't have vibration problems when they were first installed. The finish on my wheels has cracked where the studs go, the studs have rusted, somehow I don't think my wheels can be lugcentric anymore. The hubcentric rings I have now definitely helped, so it makes me think I'm on the right track. Discount Tire doesn't carry the size of hubcentric rings I need. But I do like the idea of aluminum rings. I think I'll be ordering them... most likely from Justforwheels.com because they guarantee correct fitment and they have what I now believe to be the correct measurement for the wheel bore. Those are the rambling thoughts that are in my head, lol.

[HatchetMan]

I didn't measure anything for my 02 GT 5dr. Just told Discount on ebay the car and wheels and they sent out the correct rings. No vibs, all the way up to 90mph so far. Only paid $9.99 too.

[SWortham]

Just told Discount on ebay the car and wheels and they sent out the correct rings.

You told who? Where do I go?

Nevermind... I found it. Thanks!

Awesome, I went ahead and ordered them and I'm waiting for a response now. They're freaking machined aluminum and only $15...
http://dtdoutlet.com/hub6.jpg
http://stores.ebay.com/Discount-Tire-Direct-Auctions_Hub-Centric-Rings_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQsclZallQQsotimedisplayZ2QQ tZkm

Justforwheels.com wanted $50 for cast aluminum!

[DJ Hellfire]

Yup, those are the ones! And they ship really fast. I got mine in 3 days from the date I paid! I think I paid on a Friday and had them by Tuesday.

[Elantra2.001]

I think there was uneven metal in my rotors cause the BBK fixed most of my vibration.

[ilanpro]

I think there was uneven metal in my rotors cause the BBK fixed most of my vibration.
Nice brakes Too :threadjac

[HatchetMan]

I see the price went up. Starting bid used to be $9.99 while using buy it now was $15. They even charge for s&h now too, oh well, it's only 2 bucks. I hear they don't even sell these at their brick and mortar stores. Long live eBay! You won't regret getting these. I even decided to go with a different wheel after getting mine. They were so cool to send another set out right away. Highly recommended sellers. I think I'm going to head over to the seller feedback thread and post that right now.

[SWortham]

Oh yeah. I installed the new aluminum hubcentric rings and they were a perfect fit. :D I'd definitely recommend these. They're cheaper than most plastic rings, and you wouldn't believe how pitiful those can be when it comes to precision -- I'll post the measurements I made.

Unfortunately, it didn't solve the vibration problem though. So I had the tires balanced again and that made a good improvement. Although it still vibrates a little more than it should around 60 - 70 mph. At this point I can probably live with it but I'd still like to figure this out.

It seems like the lowering springs have made the car more sensitive to this problem. Possibly due to the change in the tie rods' positions and the increase of bump steer. :confused: There's also the whole factor of resonant frequencies with suspension components... I wonder if better struts would help.

[kylemorg]

Thanks for the info on the hubcentric rings. I got aluminum ones that will work fine after I get a set of $#@&^%* tuner lug nuts to mount my wheels.

With the speed-vibration (which I have too with my stock rims and tires and will probaby still have after installing my Sokudo 17" rims with aluminum hubcentric rings), I wonder if the drive half shafts themselves or the CV joints are causing the problem. I recently got a connection with a local auto restoration shop that has floor auto lifts (YAY!!!). I'll have to put my 02 GT up on the lift and see if I can see anything on the rotational part of the drive system that might be causing the vibration.

[SWortham]

Carbonman had that done... some shop removed the half shafts and inspected them for trueness but I don't think they found anything wrong.

I suppose it could be the CV joints though...
http://www.2carpros.com/topics/cvjoint.htm
http://www.users.bigpond.com/jack_stands/automotive_advice/CV_uni_joint/cv_joint.html

[logan4ta]

i dont have time to read this whole post but i put on my new wheels/tires yesterday and didnt put the plastic hubcentric rings on....is that bad? i couldnt get them to go on w/ the rings on so i just took them off! should i go home and put them back on?

[NovaResource]

http://www.clanbum.com/v6/e107_files/public/22_old_thread.jpg

Using them is a better idea but it's not dangerous if you didn't use them.

[logan4ta]

hahaha....better to resurrect than fill ur server w/ junk!


so if one were not to use them what would potentially go wrong..?

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Nothing.

THta's the short answer. As long as the wheels themselves are installed correctly (i.e. one lug not tightened down before any others are installed) it could put the wheel unbanced on the hub and possibly work loose. That would make it shake like crazy at any speed. Otherwise, nothing. I've been running aftermarket wheels for 10's of thousands of miles with no wear/ill effects. 14's, 16's and 17's.

[jalmir]

I have 17" and never had the hubcentric ring, never had a problem ... except on rdtiburon.com; nearly got banned for saying "Installing wheels without hub rings shouldn't cause problems unless the wheel in not installed properly" ... so I just said ok, you guys are right, my wheels are probalby just a new quantum physic variable that never got found! lolll

[BobMs_wht2k2]

If it helps, I race my Konigs and 225 hankooks and don't use rings. I think if anyone would have problems I would considering that I am on 3 wheels half the time I'm on the track.

[SWortham]

Wow, this is an old thread. For the record, I did solve the dreaded shimmy problem eventually and it had nothing to do with hubcentric rings.

It was caused by a bad dynamic balance. Discount Tire was using two lines of tape weights as they should. The problem was that the line of weights closest to the wheel face wasn't positioned far enough outboard. It was almost back to the centerline of the wheel. What's worse was that everytime I took the car back to them they would rebalance the wheels but they placed the weights along the same imaginary lines, so they were never able to achieve a perfect dynamic balance. They were probably placing them back there to hide the weights and make the wheels look "pretty." Apparently that's a fairly common practice with aftermarket wheels. Well once the weights were placed properly and rebalanced at a Ford dealer (of all places) then the problem went away completely.