03/02 - An order of Kosei K1s from TireRack w/Azenis are installed

09/02 - Wheel/Tires are balanced

10/02 - While bleeding my brakes, I noticed that the hubcentric rings on my front right wheel is missing. It must have fallen off when the tires were balanced. I mount my stock rims with winter tires feeling unsafe w/o a hubcentric ring on one side of the car. I call up TireRack to order a couple rings and they arrive within a couple of days. The new rings looked different from my existing rings but I didn't pay attention to it since they come in all forms. The ones I got with the original purchase of the wheels were hard. The new ones they sent me were flimsy plastic.

11/02 - Weather warms up a bit and I'm about to hit the drag strip for the first time only to find out that the new ring doesn't fit. It's too damn big. Another call was placed with TireRack and new rings were sent. This time, the rings looked exactly like the original ones I received with the wheels. I put it on the unmounted Kosei's just to make sure it fits and it does.

Present - I tried mounting my Kosei's back on for VIR this weekend and what do you know, the rings still dont fit. It's just a tiny bit too small. I tried pounding it on with a mallet but it just wouldn't sit flush against the brake rotor assembly. I placed another call to TireRack and they're overnighting me some rings.

Are hubcentric rings available at any big car parts store? I was trying to get an alignment today for my track event this weekend. I have two options.

a.) Get an alignment done with my stock rims and winter tires and just put my track wheels on tomorrow OR...
b.) Hope I can find the right ring at a car parts store.

I want to do option A but I'm not sure if my alignment will still be in spec when I mount my track gear on.

 

If the fit on your hub is very close, dremel is your friend.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I ordered wheels/tires 3 weeks ago from MachIII, got them 1.5 weeks ago, but the rings & lug nuts were missing. A couple of empty "it's in the mail" promises later, and I still don't have them.

 

I wouldn't stress over the rings if I were you. In the grand scheme of things, how much is a thin plastic ring going to help you. They're just there to center your wheel.

 

sorry, wrong answer, thanks for playing..

the hubcentric rings are a necessity.. you can't just leave them off..

tirerack did this to me a couple years ago.. sent me some cheap black plastic rings when they shorted me 2 of the metal ones.. i had to argue with them for awhile to get the metal ones later.. to hold me over, i put the two wheels with rings in the front and those without in the rear.. vibration was minimized, and they were only like that for 4-5 days..

 

Yeah everyone has their own opinion on the rings it seems like on this board, but I know I would never ride around without them on.

I wouldn't want to put all that pressure and weight bearing on my lugs

 

Not trying to start the hubcentric fight back up, but neither the hubcentric rings, or the lugs support the weight of the car. I wouldn't worry about it.

If, however, you're one of the people who believes that they're necessary then by all means, wait for tirerack to send you some more.

 

 

you can run them without the rings. Tire Rack may screw up sometimes, but they do have good service.

 

Right... it's the surface friction between the inner surface of the wheel and the hub's face that support the car. The lug nuts simply press the two together.

The problem with running no hubcentric ring is that the hub may not be in the exact center of the wheel. If that's the case, the wheel will be offset from the center of the hub. Rather than a circle spinning around the hub center, the wheel will rotate in some eccentric shape. This causes vibration and over time could wear parts like wheel bearings and bushings.

 

That's true, they do have good service. I just dont feel comfortable running without rings during an HPDE.

 

I never ran hubcentric rings when i got my rota's w/ azenis. A few track events and never any problems with them on track or on street.

 

Me too... As for the people that say it does not center the hub on your rim.... Never had a problem, the lugs are tappared and if you snug them, then wiggle the rim around, it centers up everytime

 

Yep, they do have great service. I called for a new lugnut, they sent me 16.

 

Note to self, never let Batoutahell work on your car. IMO is crap. Take it to a machine shop and have it done precisely.

 

Sand the rust/corrosion off the hub and try the fitment again. If it still doesn't fit, dremel the inside of the ring until it fits snugly on the hub and BFH-it into place.

Bat - who will not hesitate to recommend using a dremel, BHF or fire to fix any problem on someone else's car.

 

A big to MPH on this board. He's letting me borrow his rings for this weekend!