Has anyone used those plastic hubcentric centering rings on wheel rims in a racing situation? Did the plastic melt from the heat of the brakes? I'm considering using a set of wheel rims on a car that requires the use of these rings to adapt them to this car.
The heat will melt/deform most of the plastic rings. Most people just take them out.
If people remove them, do they not have severe vibration issues then? Or do they put up with it because it's, well, a race car?
rodrammage wrote: If people remove them, do they not have severe vibration issues then? Or do they put up with it because it's, well, a race car?
You replace them with metal ones. Tirerack sells them for most wheels they offer.
I've seen the metal ones, but not in every one of the sizes. Thanks for the tip!
I've always put them on when I got aftermarket wheels, but they seem to break apart the first time I rotate the tires. And nothing seems different with them gone.
Swap lugs if necessary and just run them as lug-centric. Problem solved.
The centering rings shouldn't be needed as the lugs hold the wheels in place.
rodrammage wrote: If people remove them, do they not have severe vibration issues then?
No. The rings only help you center the wheel when tightening it down. Ultimately the lugs bear all the load and center the wheel. Its a common myth that the rings are needed, but they are not.
turboswede wrote: The centering rings shouldn't be needed as the lugs hold the wheels in place.
Not on all cars - BMW in particular. Even though the lug bolts have a taper - without the centering ring in place on aftermarket wheels with a larger diameter center hole you get a terrible vibration after a few hot laps. It could be that some aftermarket wheels have a larger diameter lug hole or that the 80nM torque specs combined with heat cycling conspire to cause a small slip but it does happen a lot to track wheels.
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
Yup. That's been my experience. Anyone know if a 1989 Honda Civic requires a hubcentric wheel? Or maybe I don't even need the spacers to fit wheels that have a larger centerbore diameter?
if no one sells the rings you need, talk to a machine shop and see how much it would cost to get some made.. a few minutes on a lathe would be all it would take.
Don't have em on my ms3, never had a problem.
Some wheels are designed lug-centric, and others are hub-centric. The rings are a cheap way of trying to make one wheel fit multiple applications.
The difference between lug and hub centric is in the way the wheel is made. A lug-centric wheel is made using the lugs as the datum point for the rest of the wheel. Hub-centric wheels are made using the the hub as the datum.
In heavy trucks, hub centric wheels will always have non-tapered lug nuts. Lug-centric wheels will always have tapered lugs. Not sure how that relates, if at all, to automotive.
rodrammage wrote: Has anyone used those plastic hubcentric centering rings on wheel rims in a racing situation? Did the plastic melt from the heat of the brakes? I'm considering using a set of wheel rims on a car that requires the use of these rings to adapt them to this car.
not more than once .... melted and let the lugs NEARLY come off ... finished that run ... SLOWLY ... got back to the grid and when I saw the flopping tires I almost E36 M3 right there 
The wheeks I used on my ZX2SR for track days had them and I never had any problems.
rodrammage wrote: Has anyone used those plastic hubcentric centering rings on wheel rims in a racing situation? Did the plastic melt from the heat of the brakes? I'm considering using a set of wheel rims on a car that requires the use of these rings to adapt them to this car.
What are the two bores? Hondas are 52.x right? Just about every thing else is larger. I use the metal ones just because if they don't match up it takes the guesswork out of installing it concentricly.
I raced with the plastic rings on my ITB Volkswagen for years and they never melted.
I have them on my 89 civic and they have never melted or given me any trouble even after hot lapping.
I bought some metal rings off eBay a while back. I don't recall the seller but there appeared to be all kinds of them available, the ones I got seem to be of great quality and were cheap.
Metal sounds like the way to go. The Honda ones are one of the smallest hub sizes... something like 56.1 mm. The wheels are a much larger bore. The heat sounds like it melts plastic for some, and not so much for others. Maybe I should seek out some metal ones, just to be sure. I could only find plastic ones when I looked.
wbjones wrote: not more than once .... melted and let the lugs NEARLY come off ... finished that run ... SLOWLY ... got back to the grid and when I saw the flopping tires I almost E36 M3 right there
i'm going to bet they were new wheels, and they had paint or powdercoat on the lug seats, and the paint/powdercoat plastically deformed under the force from the lugs, which allowed the lugs to lose torque, which led to the wobbly wheel(s). no way the centering ring had any effect on the lug torque, unless they were too thick to allow the wheel to seat properly on the hub.
The plastic ones worked fine for my Miata on the street, they didn't melt til I took 'em to the track.
I'm running plastic rings made out of PVC on the RX-7 with wobble bolts and haven't ever had a problem. Granted it's never been on track, but it has done quite a few autocrosses and about 10K miles on the street with no problem.
I had them on some wheels from Tire Rack I used on my Rally Talon. Came in after many a long stage of left foot braking with glowing/ smoking/ faded brakes and never had them melt. I did get a couple nicks in them from having dirt caught in them while tightening down. Never a failure though.
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