I haven't been able to find any place locally that have the equipment to balance the wheels from the lug holes. Is balancing from the center hole going to work even though they're not hub-centric? I read that Crack Monkey balanced his from the center hole and had no complaints... can anyone else comment? Or if someone could recommend a tire store (nation wide, since I don't think anyone here lives in NM) that is known to balance from the lug holes? TIA.

 

i've always balanced mine from the center, never any big issues

 

I didn't even balance mine.

 

If you are only using them for autocross, don't bother with balancing. I haven't balanced autocross tires in several years and never notice it. My local shop did put a Diamond wheel on their balancer out of curiosity and said it ran true on the center hole and would balance fine. If you are running them on the track, I'd just have them balanced by the center hole and not worry about it.

 

Looks like I won't be balancing since they're only for auto-x. I'll find out on the 1st if they're in desperate need of balancing, but hopefully they won't need it. Thanks for the replies.

 

Here's what I've found:
I balanced my non-hubcentric wheels from the hub and didn't use the hubcentric rings when I raced on them... no problems. I then flipped the tires, rebalanced them and used the hubcentric rings the next time I raced, and I had big vibrations above 70-75 mph. The balance checked out ok, so I drove them without the rings and they were fine.

In a nutshell, I don't think hubcentric wheels are all that important.

$.02

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by johng &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Here's what I've found:
I balanced my non-hubcentric wheels from the hub and didn't use the hubcentric rings when I raced on them... no problems. I then flipped the tires, rebalanced them and used the hubcentric rings the next time I raced, and I had big vibrations above 70-75 mph. The balance checked out ok, so I drove them without the rings and they were fine.

In a nutshell, I don't think hubcentric wheels are all that important.

$.02</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup, once the lugs are tightened, they located the wheel on the hub, not the centering hole. The machined center bore is only there to make mounting the wheel easier. By trying the rings in a non-hubcentric wheel (where the center bore isn't 100% perfect) you were forcing your wheel into a non-centered position.

As for balancing, as I said before, I've balanced off the center, and although not perfect, it seems to work well enough. I do not know if FWD cars are more sensitive to balance issues than RWD - I use the wheels on an RX-7.

 

Hubcentric wheel exist so that they reduce the stress on the lug studs. The center hub on the car carries some of the forces.

As for balancing, the machine has NO idea what car it goes on so it thinks all wheels are hub centric. As I recall when I have my wheels balanced they use this cone shaped adapter so the taper will fit any center hole. In effect, you are having the wheels balanced as if they were hub centric.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thecaptain &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As I recall when I have my wheels balanced they use this cone shaped adapter so the taper will fit any center hole. In effect, you are having the wheels balanced as if they were hub centric.

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But if the center hole isn't perfectly centered, it seems like the balancing wouldn't be perfect due to it being off-center. Maybe it wouldn't be noticeable, maybe it would, what I'm trying to avoid is paying the $30 or so to balance, and then not have them balanced correctly.

 

ok now this is my expertise............I have been a tire guy for 27 years.its how I make my living.......... I balance EVERY wheel and tire that goes out of my shop by the lug nut holes. There is a system called the Haweka (pronounced Ha-veka) wheel balancing system. The center bore is not perfect, as in round. Although it might be close at times, it is still not perfectly round. Balancing a wheel and tire combination by the lug nut holes wheel insure that the unit will rotate relatively vibration free when on the car. Now, the problem that still permeates this equation is "operator error". The balance is only as good as the guy/gal doing it. In my case and in my shop they are perfect.........I pride myself on it. I know most shops in my area don't have this system and hence balance them half assed. It does make a difference and you will find that most shops that don't have the right equipment will say it doesn't. Such is life, huh....lol. The balancing takes two separate objects and makes them rotate evenly in a circular motion as opposed to elliptical, egg shaped. That is an exaggeration, but you get the picture. Just as balancing an engine enhances a motors performance so does balancing to a tire and wheel combination. It may be a minute part of the overall equation of speed and performance to a car.............but add them all up and you get a very fast and great handling machine...........so if possible find a shop that will and can balance your tires by the lug nut holes...........good day!