Experience with Hub centric rings anybody?

[e9999]

saw that they sell these rings on ebay for something like $15. They come in a wide variety of sizes apparently. Can be made of metal or polycarbon (?).

This might help widen the range of suitable wheels to use if we want hubcentric.

Anybody has experience with these?

Fit?
Can handle the load?

TIA

Eric

 

[Scamper]

Most aftermarket wheels are manufactured with center holes large enough to fit a wide range of vehicles. The purpose of the hub-centric ring (polycarbonate or metal) is to fill any gap that might exist between this hole and the vehicle's hub so that it is centered on the wheel/axle. If you install without the ring, you may experience vibration.

The rings usually come with new wheels and they were free when I bought my wheels (even though I'm sure the cost of them was figured into the cost of the wheels). You really should buy them at the time you buy the wheels since you will then know that they will fit both the wheel and your vehicle. I prefer the poly rings since I don't have to worry about any corrosion which could seize them to the hub.

FWIW, $15 sounds like a lot for a few plastic rings--there's really not much to them.

 

[e9999]

seems like a question would be how well a "plastic" ring would help support the weight of the vehicle if it is supposed to turn the wheel into a hubcentricl gizmo.
But then, perhaps this is a moot point since aftermarket wheels with a larger bore than the Toy ones are likely designed to be lugcentric and therefore have conical lugs which would make the ring useless?
E

 

[Scamper]

The rings don't actually suppor the weight of the vehicle, they're just to make sure you have aligned the wheel perfectly on the hub while you tighten--it's a single ring per wheel that snaps onto the wheel (or slides onto the hub).

 

[ginericLC]

Except a hub centric wheel doesn't hold all of the weight on the hub. The hub is used to center the wheel. The actual weight of the vehicle is distributed throughout the entire flat surface of the backside of the wheel and held in place by the lugnuts. So the nylon or metal hub rings do not really support the weight, they are just used to center the wheel. The same goes for lugcentric. The lug nutss are used to center the wheel and hold the flat surface of the wheel to the drum or disc. The weight is still distributed on the flat surface.

 

[e9999]

The rings don't actually suppor the weight of the vehicle, they're just to make sure you have aligned the wheel perfectly on the hub while you tighten--it's a single ring per wheel that snaps onto the wheel (or slides onto the hub).

well, then the ring is not needed if the lugs are conical since those will center the wheel by themselves?

E

 

[e9999]

Except a hub centric wheel doesn't hold all of the weight on the hub. The hub is used to center the wheel. The actual weight of the vehicle is distributed throughout the entire flat surface of the backside of the wheel and held in place by the lugnuts. So the nylon or metal hub rings do not really support the weight, they are just used to center the wheel. The same goes for lugcentric. The lug nutss are used to center the wheel and hold the flat surface of the wheel to the drum or disc. The weight is still distributed on the flat surface.

interesting notion. Never thought about that.
You're saying that the weight of the truck is mostly "held" just by the friction between wheel and hub - generated by the tension due to the lugs?
Possible, but not obvious, especially for wheels that have the "ribs" instead of a flat mounting surface, IIRC like my OEM alloys, since these have probably much less contact area.
E