need advice- our center bore is not 108mm

[tom4bren]

I thought hub centric wheels went the way of the DoDo bird.

The only benefit that I've read for hub centric wheels is that they cut down on vibration. IMHO, that's total BS.

How can centering the wheel on a circle half the diameter cut down on vibration?

Hub centric was the way to go back in Grandpa's day because the technology just wasn't there to accurately and reliably drill out the lug holes on rims.

As a matter of fact, I believe that the hub is no longer even held to a tight enough tolerance during manufacture to get any of the benefit of using a hub centric rim. Sure, aftermarket companies do sell spacers to fill in any gap between the center bore and the hub ... made of soft plastic or aluminum. How is that gonna help with vibration?

[Marlin]

I thought hub centric wheels went the way of the DoDo bird.

The only benefit that I've read for hub centric wheels is that they cut down on vibration. IMHO, that's total BS.

How can centering the wheel on a circle half the diameter cut down on vibration?

Hub centric was the way to go back in Grandpa's day because the technology just wasn't there to accurately and reliably drill out the lug holes on rims.

As a matter of fact, I believe that the hub is no longer even held to a tight enough tolerance during manufacture to get any of the benefit of using a hub centric rim. Sure, aftermarket companies do sell spacers to fill in any gap between the center bore and the hub ... made of soft plastic or aluminum. How is that gonna help with vibration?

Thanks Tom, a much more elequent way of saying what I was thinking...

[tom4bren]

Thanks Tom, a much more elequent way of saying what I was thinking...

Ida know ... been told I think too much!!!

[etlsport]

With most wheels I sell, the general rule is cars come with hub centering rings while truck rims rarely do.. If I try to order rings for truck wheels, they are usually called hub spacers while cars are referred to as hubcentric rings. In any case, all of our wheels come with new lug nuts

as for the small hub compared to a large wheel.. I often wonder this but 95% of the wheels we balance are centered using a cone through the hub, not the lug holes. There are plates that can be used to center on lug nuts.. But they are only used on wheels that are at risk of getting scratched or have holes too small/too large for one of the centering cones (very rare)

[tom4bren]

I believe you Eric ... it just don't pass the WTF test.

For a hub centric rim to be functional, wouldn't the fit be so tight that you would almost need an axle puller to remove a rim?

[RamAirZ]

I think this argument has been going on from the dawn of time, and even wheel manufacturer's all have different takes on it (some even say that lug centric isn't a "real" term, that it's something people came up with and has been adopted in). In reality, right lug nuts for wheels, enough stud poking through and in good shape, your gonna be fine. But if you want that gap in wheel bore taken up, they make rings for that. I've talked to some high up GM tech advisors that say it's main purpose is centering the wheel, not really meant to hold weight. Shoot, most of these "hub centric" cars just have a tiny lip for the rim to sit on to center it. I truely believe that's it's main purpose. As far as the cone for balancing a wheel, I pretty sue they use the cone because it can be used on 95% of the wheels you balance rather than having to switch bolt pattern plates. I don't think it has anything to do with hub centric etc, it has everything to do with ease and adaptability in a work environment. Makes things cheaper when you only need one cone, also saves alot of time.

[tom4bren]

I care

Why?

There's been a lot of talk about the pro's & con's but you never stated what problem you are experiencing that started this whole discussion.

Or

Is "I care" just a Luke Skywalker quote.

[tom4bren]

I think this argument has been going on from the dawn of time, and even wheel manufacturer's all have different takes on it (some even say that lug centric isn't a "real" term, that it's something people came up with and has been adopted in). In reality, right lug nuts for wheels, enough stud poking through and in good shape, your gonna be fine. But if you want that gap in wheel bore taken up, they make rings for that. I've talked to some high up GM tech advisors that say it's main purpose is centering the wheel, not really meant to hold weight. Shoot, most of these "hub centric" cars just have a tiny lip for the rim to sit on to center it. I truely believe that's it's main purpose. As far as the cone for balancing a wheel, I pretty sue they use the cone because it can be used on 95% of the wheels you balance rather than having to switch bolt pattern plates. I don't think it has anything to do with hub centric etc, it has everything to do with ease and adaptability in a work environment. Makes things cheaper when you only need one cone, also saves alot of time.

'Zakly

Give that man a cupie doll

The switch from hub centric to lug centric probably wasn't based on performance issues ... manufacturing issues ... or tire shop workload issues. It was based on changing a tire on the side of the road.

I've had wheels that fit tight on the hub which were a royal PITA to change.

[Y33TREKker]

I was going to add it in my earlier post, but it seemed the question had already been addressed. Like Ramair said, hubcentric rings don't really "support" any weight after a wheel is mounted and a vehicle is rolling. If I understand their usage correctly, they are only used to get a wheel centered on a hub before the lugnuts are tightened. The weight of the wheel/vehicle is then "supported" by the overall contact patch provided between the lugnuts and the lugnut seats of the wheels.

Hubcentric rings are used more for cars because it's more important to get that type of wheel/tire combo centered due to their performance requirements. A low-profile tire mounted on a sports car rim has a higher potential of being used at higher speeds, so the overall centering of the wheel/tire combo will make a bigger difference as far as high-speed vibrations are concerned.

When a person starts talking about truck usage, it's going to be almost impossible to get that type of wheel/tire combo balanced to the same degree because of the types and sizes of wheels and tires used (usually, smaller rims with larger diameter tires). High performance low-profile tires are actually balanced/shaved as part of the manufacturing process, but that's not really necessary for larger sized, and lugged, truck tires because they simply aren't designed to wear or be used in the same way. For that usage, hub-centric balancing would be overkill.

As far as using cone shaped pieces on balancing machines, they're used for a combination of reasons. As RamAir also said, one cone-shaped tool can be used for a variety of different centerbores sizes, and, using simple geometry, the cone shape also aids in centering the wheel/tire combo more precisely before balancing is attempted.

[RamAirZ]

Why?

There's been a lot of talk about the pro's & con's but you never stated what problem you are experiencing that started this whole discussion.

Or

Is "I care" just a Luke Skywalker quote.

Well it really shouldn't matter why, if it's what he wants to do then it's his truck

'Zakly

Give that man a cupie doll

The switch from hub centric to lug centric probably wasn't based on performance issues ... manufacturing issues ... or tire shop workload issues. It was based on changing a tire on the side of the road.

I've had wheels that fit tight on the hub which were a royal PITA to change.

I wanna cupie doll! Ya the switch probably had everything to do with $$$$

[tom4bren]

Well it really shouldn't matter why, if it's what he wants to do then it's his truck

I care.

If he's got a vibration & some mechanic told him it's because he's running lug instead of hub centric rims then we may actually point him in the right direction instead of where he's headed.

[Y33TREKker]

I care.

If he's got a vibration & some mechanic told him it's because he's running lug instead of hub centric rims then we may actually point him in the right direction instead of where he's headed.

If he's wanting new rims, and he wants them to be hub-centric, he's still only going to have certain options.

First - he has to find the wheels he wants

Second - he has to determine what centerbores are available stock for those wheels.

Third - if the available centerbore(s) are not exact, he'd either have to determine whether the manufacturer will be willing to make a one-off set of wheels to his specs (in which case he'd be wise to go ahead and get one or two extras made at the same time - just in case), or, go back to the original plan of measuring hubs and wheels and ordering specific sized hub-centric rings.

In my opinion though, all that will still depend on which tires he plans to use with the new wheels. If it's going to be the Grabbers again (as displayed in his gallery), zero vibration is always going to be difficult to achieve regardless of rim choice.

[Riff Raff]

In my opinion though, all that will still depend on which tires he plans to use with the new wheels. If it's going to be the Grabbers again (as displayed in his gallery), zero vibration is always going to be difficult to achieve regardless of rim choice.

Huh??? What makes you say that??? What is wrong with the Grabber AT2's and is that what you have??? Please explain!!!

[etlsport]

Probably because all terrain tires don't balance well and will pretty much always be noisy when compared to an ht, st or apt tire

im with you on the WTF test tom.. take the lexus ls460 for example.. factory 19 inch (457.2 mm) wheels.. with a 60.1 mm center bore.. and they are balanced through the center opening... so any imperfections get multiplied 7-8 times by time they hit the outside of the wheel

imho (but have no way to verify) the reason that car wheels typically come with hub centric rings is because on a car, new rims often means low profile tires. in that case any vibration will be felt by the driver because there is very little tire sidewall to absorb it. of course this doesnt apply to guys who go with 22s or larger on their trucks

[Y33TREKker]

Huh??? What makes you say that??? What is wrong with the Grabber AT2's and is that what you have??? Please explain!!!

Probably because all terrain tires don't balance well and will pretty much always be noisy when compared to an ht, st or apt tire

...of course this doesnt apply to guys who go with 22s or larger on their trucks

Unless they also mount an off-road or all-terrain sort of tire too.