Probably a dumb question but how do you know when you need hubcentric rings? Would you know? Thank you for any help

 

When you mount the wheels if the wheel does not sit on the hub then you need a hub centric ring. The center of the wheel should fit precisely on the hub.

 

I had a vibration in my steering wheel about about 60mph. Just like a tire out of balance.

 

Jetpilot gets the prize for most correct and succinct answer.

Your OEM wheels are hubcentric. Loosen the lug nuts and jack up the car. Even though the lugnuts are loose the wheel will remain concentric with your axle.

In the case of the Z, the wheel hub outer diameter is 66.1 mm. If you have a wheel whose center bore is larger than 66.1 mm, then you will need hub centering rings.

 

So if your putting spacers on stock rims, no need for the hubcentric?

 

Depends on the thickness of the spacer. If the spacer thickness exceeds the height of the 66.1 mm diameter wheel hub, then the wheel would have nothing to center on.

 

So would it be correct to assume that running wheels that need a hubcentric ring without a ring, would cause the axles to fail prematurely?

 

So as long as the spacer is less than 66mm no hubcentric ring is needed?

Just want to be 100% certain.

 

Wrong. If the thickness of the spacer exceeds the height of the wheel hub (the portion that is 66.1 mm in diameter, which is the part that engages into the bore of the OEM wheel), then you will need hubcentric spacers.

 

No, not at all.

 

Wrong. You want the center of the spacer to hubcentric even if it does not completely cover the full thickness hub. It's the only way to make sure the spacer is centered on the hub.

But then again here is Lou Gigliotti's American LeMans race car and check the spacer he is running....

 

By the way I just want to state that hubcentric rings are not a MUST. They are simply an aid in helping you center the wheel on the hub. It is very possible to mount an aftermarket wheel centered upon the vehicles hub without hubcentric rings. I will definitely agree that it helps when mounting a wheel, but both Adam (Work Wheels) and I (Volk Wheels) have run wheels on our Zs without hubcentric rings for tens of thousands of miles without any issues whatsoever.

 

Agreed.... all wheels are lug centric today. If tightened in the right order hubcentric rings are redundant. But for the price I'll take a set for free insurance.

 

since we're on the topic of centric hub rings...

I recently bought a aftermarket rim for my car without the hub rings. well i drove the car for about 2 blocks before I heard clanking. Basically what happened was my bolts took alot of the force apparently... many of them were loose when I checked.

I measured my hub bore and it was around 57mm and the rims measured at 70mm.

I know this sounds like a dumb question. But would this have been avoided if I had used the hub rings or is there a defect in the wheel? (reason I ask is b/c most of you said there shouldnt be a problem without the rings)

Thank you in advance everyone.

regards,
Kevin