Has anyone heard of a Centering Ring??

[LGHT SBR]

So I went back to the dealership where I bought my car so I could get my free inspection sticker. I felt a slight shake coming from my wheels so I was going to have them balance my wheels. They are aftermarket ADR wheels. They told me that they couldn't balance them properly because they don't have the Centering Rings. They claim that each wheel should have one due to that they are aftermarket wheels and they won't balance correctly without them.

Now I asked my brother, which is an experienced tech, he never heard of them. What about you?

Thank you for your thoughts

Scott

P.S. I did get these wheels and tires balanced at Town Fair Tire last year and they didn't have any issues

 

[diabloadsit]

Yup, most good new rims come with them. Well depending on where you buy them. If you get them off Tire Rack then they always give them to you.

 

[diabloadsit]

I have an extra set. Some are plastic some are nicer and made from alum.

I have an extra set of the alum. ones. They should fit I would sell them to you for $20 and you can see if they fit first. They pretty much snap into the center part of the rim then that slides of the hub part of the knuckle on the car. Most stock factory rims dont have them cause the rims are fit to the car not other cars. Aftermarket rims are not fit per a certain car they are made for wider options so the center rings make sure the rim is center on Your Hub.

 

[MikeD]

I had the same issue with my Motegi wheels. With a well balanced wheel and tire, the rings should take care of the vibrations. I think that they are pretty size specific though, so make sure what you buy will fit your car/wheel.

I paid $35 for mine, so if what Chris has works out, its a good deal!

 

[inski]

Hub-centric rings.

I've heard of Vdub guys getting the wobbles due to not having the rings. Never heard of Scoobies doing it but Scooby guys usually go the extra effort to get them, and for 20-40 bucks its worth the peace of mind. Do it. The aluminum ones are sexy.

 

[boxer3main]

I finally found the sure answer to this mystery, it is called the "tesla effect". It ought to be a sticky thread for subes somewhere..

the subes are famous for it, a lot of FWD is too... it likes the threads of axle ends, like a coil.

Some get away with plastic..but metal, especially titanium and aluminum is a proven winner to stop the mystery wobble...sometimes steel caps can make it worse...

the tesla effect is simply electric waves (hertz) attracted to the ends behind the rims... cars without axle nubs go a long way without any covers (ie: an old pickup truck)

amazing subject. in another thread I literally coincided my wobbles with a wireless transmitter...I wasn't even wrong.

another factor, this past couple of months is how active tectonics is.. resonant hertz of content earth is just 8hertz.. any movement at all, a right little car is gonna feel it... it is a mystery..

on a funny note, after 13 years with the same models.. I use the subaru to determine calm seasons from active ones.

 

[LGHT SBR]

Thanks for the info guys. As for the offer from diabloadsit, thank you, I may take you up on the offer. I need to call the guy that I bought them from and see if he still has them layin around someplace. They should of been sold to me with the wheels. Unless they were never used by them either. The wheels have been aound. Gabe, I think was the original owner.

 

[SUBARUDE]

i never used any and they didn't come with them brand new

 

[LGHT SBR]

Did you ever get a slight vibration with them on the highway? If you didn't get them when they were new, then that tells me that I shouldn't need them at all. You only used them on that white WRX that you used to have right?

 

[iahtnoob]

I was getting vibrations with my aftermarket wheels prior to putting on my winter rims. When I put my summer wheels on again, I made sure to put on the plastic centering rings that came with the aftermarket wheels and no more vibrations. Now eat at that lght sbr.

 

[SUBARUDE]

they were fine when i had them and i bought them new and they didn't come with them and yes the where on my white wrx and on the gold forester for a very short time but i would try and find a place that can roadforce balance them it might help if you are getting a slight vibration

 

[LGHT SBR]

Roadforce balance? Advice on locations fer that?

 

[LGHT SBR]

You know Boon, I should of saved all our time and just asked you!

 

[Evan]

I finally found the sure answer to this mystery, it is called the "tesla effect". It ought to be a sticky thread for subes somewhere..
the subes are famous for it, a lot of FWD is too... it likes the threads of axle ends, like a coil.

Some get away with plastic..but metal, especially titanium and aluminum is a proven winner to stop the mystery wobble...sometimes steel caps can make it worse...

the tesla effect is simply electric waves (hertz) attracted to the ends behind the rims... cars without axle nubs go a long way without any covers (ie: an old pickup truck)

amazing subject. in another thread I literally coincided my wobbles with a wireless transmitter...I wasn't even wrong.

another factor, this past couple of months is how active tectonics is.. resonant hertz of content earth is just 8hertz.. any movement at all, a right little car is gonna feel it... it is a mystery..

on a funny note, after 13 years with the same models.. I use the subaru to determine calm seasons from active ones.

i cant make any sense of any of that.

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

i cant make any sense of any of that.

That's why boxer3main is one of my favorite posters. 100% serious.

 

[Evan]

hub-centric rings definitely can make it easier to mount wheels quickly, but they're not needed. subarus have conical lug nuts that self center the wheel as long as you mount it right.

anyway, i would just buy them for $20 or whatever, you can probably get them on ebay.

if you dont, toss the wheel on your hub and finger thread in all the lug nuts. tighten all them in a star pattern slowly, while rocking the wheel back and forth to make the nuts seat further (ie, pull on the right side of the wheel towards you and tighten the left side). once they're all fairly tight, do a final tighten.

inski, you know as well as i do about how flat out DUMB some of the vw guys are. i've heard them say on the vortex that your wheels will fall off or your wheel studs (vw thing) will break off with out hub centric rings.

for the record i've only had them on about half my wheels and never have a problem.

 

[Apollyon12]

^+1

I don't bother to use the rings on my AX rims. Town fair tire sold me the wrong size ones so they don't actually work. You just need to me a little bit more careful about tightening down you lug nuts.

 

[LGHT SBR]

I have an extra set. Some are plastic some are nicer and made from alum. I have an extra set of the alum. ones. They should fit I would sell them to you for $20 and you can see if they fit first. They pretty much snap into the center part of the rim then that slides of the hub part of the knuckle on the car. Most stock factory rims dont have them cause the rims are fit to the car not other cars. Aftermarket rims are not fit per a certain car they are made for wider options so the center rings make sure the rim is center on Your Hub.

Do you plan on going to the big meet on the 18th? If so then would you please bring them with you? I will give you 20 bucks for 'em. Maybe Shorty will hook me up and we can see if they will fit and get them balanced.

Let me know, thanks!

 

[Mighty Subie]

I have never used them and only had vibrations from bad tires. Just like Evan said, tighten them alternating ACROSS the tire not in a row. I ALWAYS get them snug while the tire is still in the air and then just lower it down enough so the tire will catch on the ground enough to keep from turning, not all the way down. I also do not use an impact wrench unless on steel rims. I have always tightened up lug nuts on aluminum rims with a torque wrench to 90-100 ft-lbs (depending on application).

The biggest thing is tightening them in an alternating pattern and just snug first. Don't crank the first one tight before they are all snug. Here's a pic of the tightening pattern: