Aftermarket wheels and centering rings

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Mar 21, 2004
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Near the beach in Delaware
I have some aftermarket wheels with mounted snows. But seems I have lost a few of the centering rings that came in a mounting kit for the wheels. How important are the centering rings?
 
Are the lug holes on the wheels concave or angle/ball seat lug nuts? If yes, they should be centered on via lugs versus hub.

Truth be told, I don't know how much I believe that "hub-centric" is the end all be all. Lots of times, I've notices, there is slight play between the hub center and the wheel bore that of which is rectified when the lug nuts are on.
 
Most all OEM rims I see are hub centric instead of lug centric, if that means anything. If your hub centering rings are the same diameter as the hub, then I would say yes you need them, especially if the lug nuts aren't concave.
 
There's a lot higher chance of stud fatigue due to shear if the wheel isn't kept in place on the hub. Lug centric wheels need a higher tightening torque, are the studs up to that?
 
There's a lot higher chance of stud fatigue due to shear if the wheel isn't kept in place on the hub. Lug centric wheels need a higher tightening torque, are the studs up to that?
Probably true for desert racing type of stuff, but I'd guess a third of cars here in Canada on winters are using multifit winter rims not centered on the hub. It would have to be almost a press fit to get wheels tight enough on a hub to allow loosening the torque on the studs. With a bit of corrosion I have had wheels that tight on a hub but I wire brush the wheels and hubs so they go on easily and more importantly come off easily!
 
Do you need them? No but you may often find a shake issue like a wheel is off balance because the wheels may not have been torqued properly/centered.
 
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