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Do you need to use hubcentric rings?

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Old 04-30-08, 04:40 PM
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1995LS400
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Default Do you need to use hubcentric rings?

The Konig Rated R wheels that I took off my old Acura Legend actually fit the LS 400 that I am driving right now. The only problem is that the bore of the wheel is larger than the hub on the car. Would it be bad to drive with all the weight distributed just on the lugs? Could they possibly break? I have a set of hubcentric rings but I dont know if they are the right size.
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Old 04-30-08, 04:45 PM
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Yes you need hubcentric rings. Not only do you not want the weight of the car to be resting on the lugs, but you may get vibration because the wheels are not centered.
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Old 04-30-08, 09:37 PM
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Agreed, get the rings.
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Old 04-30-08, 10:17 PM
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Since GSteg and Bit didn't answer your question, get the rings

It helped reduced the vibration by at least 60-70% for me.
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Old 04-30-08, 10:54 PM
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I too have always wondered, how can you tell if you need hub centric rings??

I put some G35 19s on my Cressida but I don't know if I need those rings???
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Old 05-01-08, 01:16 AM
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yes you need rings.

and for the G35>cressida, yea, you SHOULD have rings but its hard to find them in the right size sometimes.

the legend wheels have been tested and clear the front calipers?
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Old 05-01-08, 09:18 AM
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you do not NEED those rings. They DO NOT support the weight of the car. Their only purpose is to help center the wheel BEFORE the lug nuts are tighten. Even without the rings, the wheel will center itself once you start tightening the lugs.

I had these rings for my aftermarket rims and only after a few hot laps, they all melted.
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Old 05-01-08, 09:38 AM
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^^^holy misinformation batman.
get the rings, but even if you don't, i wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Get polyurethane ones.
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Old 05-01-08, 11:59 AM
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Originally Posted by ElitistK
^^^holy misinformation batman.
How so?

The contact area between the rim and the lug nuts have a matching angle. Once all the lug nuts are torqued equally and sit tight in the holes, the wheel should be centered. Now, I've explained why I think the hubcentric rings are not needed. Why don't you explain yours instead of calling me name?.
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Old 05-01-08, 01:29 PM
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I've always used the star pattern and torque my lugs to spec, but there are times when I will have small vibrations that are fixed by using hub rings.

Lug centric do not work as well as hub centric since the conical seat on the wheels do not guarantee a match every single time for every lug there are. In theory, it should work, but when you have 4 or 5 lugs you reduce the chance of having it perfectly centered.

I have found in my own GS that if I put the OEM wheels onto my car, the lugs and seating on the wheels are near perfect, but not completely perfect.

Most companies who say you dont need hub rings are those who sell wheels without them. Those who say you need hub rings are those who sells wheels with them.

In the end, the rings are so cheap to buy that it's probably wouldn't hurt to buy a set. I'm going to email a few wheel companies out there to see if I can pick up some scientific evidence as for why lug centric is not always perfect and hub centric is preferred.

Last edited by GSteg; 05-01-08 at 01:32 PM.
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Old 05-01-08, 05:38 PM
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So now, where do you order these rings from?
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Old 05-01-08, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by GSteg
I'm going to email a few wheel companies out there to see if I can pick up some scientific evidence as for why lug centric is not always perfect and hub centric is preferred.
that would be cool.

If the OP decided to pickup the rings, I would recommend the metal ones as the polyurethane ones I had could not handle the heat and melted.
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Old 05-01-08, 11:02 PM
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I've always had great success with metal hub rings. Never had them freeze or get stuck before. Then again, I take off my rims often enough to keep anything from freezing up. Get tge hub rings. They are cheap. I bought my set off a vendor on ebay. Just told him what OD and ID I needed and for what rims and car it were for and they mailed me the correct set.
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Old 05-02-08, 05:16 AM
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On the topic of hub centric rings, do you need to use them with stock rims as well? Do they have them for 2GS?
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Old 05-02-08, 05:46 AM
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Get the rings buddy. I have zero vibrations in the GS with the 19's on regardless of speed.
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