Alloy wheel wobble - Hub centric rings to the rescue.

[tadukuttan]

Always been a fan of stock alloys and rims, but an offer I could not refuse came along (cost ~10k), and I recently installed some used after market alloys on the car.

True to previous experience, the wheels started wobbling at high speeds. Again, kind of knew that the hub centering was off. Ran around with it for a long time, laziness and lack of time contributing to postponing that trip to a friendly tire balancing shop.

Some reading on the issue - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_sizing
Centerbore
The centerbore of a wheel is the size of the hole in the back of the wheel that centers it over the mounting hub of the car. Some factory wheels have a centerbore that matches exactly with the hub to reduce vibration by keeping the wheel centered. Wheels with the correct centerbore to the car they will be mounted on are known as hubcentric. Hubcentric wheels take the stress off the lug nuts, reducing the job of the lug nuts to center the wheel to the car. Wheels that are not hubcentric are known as lugcentric, as the job of centering is done by the lug nuts assuming they are properly torqued down. Centerbore on aftermarket wheels must be equal to or greater than that of the hub, otherwise the wheel cannot be mounted on the car. Many aftermarket wheels come with "hubcentric rings" that lock or slide into the back of the wheel to adapt a wheel with a larger centerbore to a smaller hub.[3] These adapters are usually made of plastic but also in aluminum.

More reading - Why Hub Centric Rings? - HubCentric-Rings.com

Good shops have the rings of different sizes ready made, and I went to one. Fitting involves sanding down the hub to remove the rust first, and very carefully inserting the aluminum ring. Tap with a soft hammer evenly to make it go in fully. The ring is pretty fragile, and is made of some low quality aluminum. According to the shop owner, making it fragile will allow for easy removal later. A steel ring would kind of get "stuck", it seems. Picture below



Hub ring on the front wheel -



And some random shots from different angles -

[Aargee]

Provokes me to ask a Questions on my recent service. Any idea if this Hub Centric Rings will rescue to get me a perfect alignment? I've been told in the other thread that a lost perfection can never be found again w.r.t alignment. Some insights on this is appreciated.

[tadukuttan]

Aargee These rings are only useful when you go for after market alloys which have a different internal diameter compared to the car's hub diameter. Do not think you have that issue.

[mclaren1885]

I am actually quite shocked to see that none of the big alloy sellers in Bangalore actually stock these rings. Downright dangerous to shod your car with aftermarket alloys if the alloys are not a tight fit on the hub.

On the Elantra it lead to some sever steering wobbling issues, from 80kmph-120kmph. This meant that we both would try to keep the speeds north of 140kmph to ensure our hands didn't become sore. It would wobble while accelerating and while braking too. Made driving the car an absolute nightmare.

After installing the rings, the car was such a dream to drive, no wobble at all. Earlier we had suspected every part possible that could be causing the wobbling. Bent alloys, busted suspension, steering rack/columm, steering column ball joints and what not.

Definitely a must if you are planning to put aftermarket alloys on your car.

For Bangaloreans, here is the place where you can get the hub centric rings fitted on your car.

A1 Car Care Centre,
#1/1, Ashoka Pillar Road, Jayanagar.
# 08026577438.

They also do a brilliant job at alignment as well. Old school and the boys there definitely know their stuff. A high recommended place to go to fix your tyre issues.

[shravank30]

A1 Car Care Centre,
#1/1, Ashoka Pillar Road, Jayanagar.
# 08026577438.

They also do a brilliant job at alignment as well. Old school and the boys there definitely know their stuff. A high recommended place to go to fix your tyre issues

Is it recommended to get a 6 month old car also aligned by a professional or the factory alignment is generally good enough, if there are no problems in the car ?

[mclaren1885]

Is it recommended to get a 6 month old car also aligned by a professional or the factory alignment is generally good enough, if there are no problems in the car ?

If you don't see any issues of the car pulling to one side when you let go off the steering in a straight line on a flat road or unless you see uneven tyre wear or unless you feel your steering vibrating at around speeds of 80-100 you don't have to get an alignment done.

But to be on the safer side, I would get it checked once in 6 months, specially if I have been driving through bad roads.

[007]

shravank30, no matter where you get it done, alignment is alignment. the age of the car does not matter. go to a person who is good at his job.

[shravank30]

If you don't see any issues of the car pulling to one side when you let go off the steering in a straight line on a flat road or unless you see uneven tyre wear or unless you feel your steering vibrating at around speeds of 80-100 you don't have to get an alignment done

No such issues in the car.
Had specifically checked these points, when I was taking the trial drive before buying.

Will then wait for a year to pass before getting it aligned at the recommended center as it is quite near to my residence

[optimus_prime]

No such issues in the car.
Had specifically checked these points, when I was taking the trial drive before buying.

Will then wait for a year to pass before getting it aligned at the recommended center as it is quite near to my residence

Alignment should be done every 5000km.

Balancing every 10000km.

Rotation every 10000km or 15000km depending on the tire brand and vehicle I guess.

Otherwise if you feel excessive pulling to one side, or wobbling as in tadu's case, then its time to have the above done.

For the sake of being able to verify the work, probably better to have all the above done outside, rather than paying the service center guys to do it (unless if you knwo someone reliable at the service center)

[shravank30]

Alignment should be done every 5000km.

I will be reaching 5000 kms soon.

As advised I will get the alignment only done at the center recommended by Mclaren.

I hope wheel alignment & balancing done outside the ASS does not void the warranty ?