Protege5 okay with lug centric rims?

[devin07]

Hi,
Just starting to look at winter tires & rims for my recently purchased 2003 P5. There are a few threads debating hub centric vs. lug centric rims, but they don't really raise much concern. Cdn Tire said they've never had trouble...
Has anyone had problems with a lug centric rim, like a 'multi-fit', or should I be trying to find an OE winter rim? I'm specifically looking at a Michelin X-ice 195/60-15 on a multi-fit rim.
Thanks,
Devin

 

[njaremka]

i've got lug centric steel rims for my winter set, and they have worked out OK for the past three-four years.

 

[Kansei]

I ran my wheels for a whole spring/summer/fall lugcentric, and had no real reason to buy the hubcentric rings other than .. that I thought I should.

 

[low_psi]

Lugcentric is fine.

 

[Sveivo]

I just had my winter wheels put back on. I had the hub rings on the wheels, but they were old--from last year. So we could not get them to stay on the damn hubs--they would pop out when we would try to bolt the wheels on.

So I just said screw it and left one or two of them out.

I don't know, this is a never ending debate on whether or not they're absolutely essential.

I tend to belive that if your steering wheel does not vibrate after you put he wheels on, you're probably fine.

If the hub did support the weight of the vehicle, wouldn't there be some wear on the hub?

Like I said there's a lot of bulls*** on the internet about the topic, none of the ******* tire people can tell me for sure, so I give up...

 

[urbanbiker]

I worked in the tire industrie for 4 years... hub rings are a waste of time. They are for careless people who don't take the time to install wheels properly.

I had them with my enkeis and had a nasty vibration, took the hub rings out and the vibration was gone. I never install hub rings anymore. I have run into the same problem with customers cars. A lot of shops don't even know how to size them properly. I have seem some funky stuff.

With the tire off the ground you want to hand tighten the lugs in a star or criss cross patern. Grab a torque wrench and tighten them in the same pattern until they are snug. Now put the car on the ground and torque the nuts in the same pattern to the proper spec. Guranteed you won't have any issues with hub centric or lugcentric with this method. Double check the torque after a few days of driving and then you don't have to worry about them again.

Matt

 

[Sveivo]

Matt, thanks for your insight. The guys I go to are really good about tightening the bolts while the car is off the ground. I agree that it makes a ton of difference.

 

[devin07]

Snow Dump & Tire Shop Closed... Not a Good Day

Thanks for the info! We just got a big dump of snow today & the tire place I was going to buy at is closed until Monday. I was skidding around alot, but got to where I was going. First thing Monday, I'm getting winters installed.

 

[Sveivo]

Yeay for snow. Where are you located? I am now waiting for it to snow because I don't want the tires to go to waste :mad:

 

[kudakev615]

I worked in the tire industrie for 4 years... hub rings are a waste of time. They are for careless people who don't take the time to install wheels properly.

I had them with my enkeis and had a nasty vibration, took the hub rings out and the vibration was gone. I never install hub rings anymore. I have run into the same problem with customers cars. A lot of shops don't even know how to size them properly. I have seem some funky stuff.


Matt

thats wierd b/c i have had a couple of cases where the hub rings have HELPED out with customers vibration problems. a customer with 20s on a lexus gs had countless tire balances at many shops. every way to balance the tire was tried from road force to static balancing and the vibration was always there at around 55 mph. so i threw a set of CORRECT hub rings. test drove and it was smooth as glass. so i wouldnt to go as far as to call them garage. but on the other hand ive had times where they caused virbation issues. just my two pennies

 

[Sveivo]

In my case the rings did not make much of a difference at all, it seems--as far as vibrations are concerned. I was only concerned with safety mainly. What do you think about the safely issue?

They were only to fill the gap between 72mm and 67mm. They were a pain in the ass to install.

 

[devin07]

I live on the border of Ontario & Minnesota. Usually get more snow than now, but seems to be less every year.
So I'm not totally clear when the hub rings are used. Are they typically for these multi-fit rims to size them to particular hubs?
Thanks,
Devin

 

[Sveivo]

The hub rings are used when:

The center bore of the wheel is larger than the hub size. The rings are used to fill out the "gap" so that the wheel fits snug onto the hub.

If the center bore is smaller than the hub size, the wheel simpy won't fit.

 

[Sveivo]

So basically you have the right idea

 

[TheMAN]

lug centric rims on a mazda = BAD IDEA

I already posted about it before, so search as I'm not going to say it again

 

[ihone]

If you're not going to say it again - then why post? Just curious....
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My experience is that hub-centric wheels/rings/spacers are a waste of time as long as the lug-centric train of thought is followed properly. Tighten them off hte ground to get the wheel centered properly, torque them off the ground, then torque them on the ground. Has worked for me for years.....no accidents or events to speak of due to it.