homeless

so i ordered a set of winter rims and tires from tire rack, a beutiful set of silver millie's with pirrelli winter snow sports on em. the tires look great, but the auto centering rim on the rims arent right. when i say that the rings arent right what i mean is that they sent me three different sizes and only one of them fits on the car while the two that match and the third size do not fit at all. havent gone over and picked up the mic. so i cant give numbers yet but when i do i hope that someone at tire rack gets fired.

Gord96BRG

Hub-centric rings are a waste of time - toss them, install your wheels without them, and enjoy your winter tires!

Seriously - the only purpose of hub-centric rings is to make installing the wheels slightly easier, by making it easier to get the lugs properly centered in the bolt holes when tightening the lug bolts. It's not at all difficult to ensure that the lugs get tightened properly without the rings, and once the lugs are tightened, the centering rings are doing absolutely nothing - you are not compromising your wheels in the slightest by driving without them. I don't use them on my winter wheels on the RX-8, I don't use them on my summer or winter wheels on the Miata (and haven't for 7 years), and have no problems.

This issue was debated on Miata.net forums quite extensively, and engineering analysis was presented that proved the above. The Tire Rack representative on that forum also agreed that they are not required, and agreed that their purpose is only to ease installation.

(Nobody deserves to be fired!)

Regards,
Gordon

homeless

i had wondered about removing them, but i will wait to talk to tire rack before i do that. however the issue remains that they sent three different size rings allready installed, one of the rings was even installed backwards. i do not know if this was done by the manufacturer or by tire rack, however it would have been tire racks responsibility to check that the ring sizes were corerect for the vehicle. this is incompetence which is grounds for termination. i left my last job because i refused to have a single weld on a vehicle that was structurally flawed and would kill some one due to defect. these wheels could have killed some one and due to the fact that this car happens to be my mothers who happens to be the greatest woman to walk this earth, save for maybe the virgin mary, i dont exactly take kindly to a possibility of safety being compromised.

Gord96BRG

No offense, but... you are seriously over-reacting. First, please explain HOW these incorrect rings could have killed someone? If the hubcentric ring is too thick - the wheel won't/can't mount on the car correctly, and can't be used. Not a safety hazard. If the ring is too thin - then it's like not having a ring at all, and as described above, is then a non-issue.

I agree that's it's a screwup to send the mixed ring sizes. That's all!

Regards,
Gordon

Ned M

iTrader: (2)

I agree w/Gord that it's not really a safety issue, but make up your own mind. If you want hubcentric rings, Tire Rack should give you what you paid for. The last set I got from them were plastic but they did ok.

Failing that, you can get nice anodized metal ones on eBay from Discount Tire Direct for less than $20 shipped. Do a search on 'hub centric.' All you have to tell them is the brand of wheels and your car.

The ones DTD sent me for the RX-8 fit perfect; sized at 67.1 x 73 for my Enkeis' 73mm centerholes. Took less than 48 hours from Paypal entry to delivery at my house.

I'm no engineer but I hate the feeling of a rim that's a couple thousandths out of whack at 60 mph.

BTW, instead of sticking them in the centerhole, I put my rings on the hub, flat side against the hub, and then mount the rim to the hub. Goes easier for me.

rx8cited

For anyone else like me wondering "What the heck are hub-centric rings :D?

Please post a better URL if you find one.

rx8cited

Ned M

iTrader: (2)

Here's the eBay listings searching for hub+centric

jonalan

That's just it, Tire Rack does not charge for these. They are provided at no cost. So, I don't understand what the fuss is about. They're an unnecessary part of the wheel and they were free.

rx8cited

Balancing and mounting is free too. If they did a lously job with that, you'd say its okay too?

Gord96BRG

I agree that they're nice to have, and Tire Rack should (and very likely will) come through and provide the proper sized set of 4. The point, though, of my comment and I suspect jonalon's also is that his hubcentric ring problem is NOT life threatening or nearly serious enough to be demanding that somebody be fired. It's a mistake that can be easily corrected with zero long-term impact.

Regards,
Gordon

rx8cited

Hi Gord,
I agreed with your previous posts and was not responding to them.

As I read it, there's a big disconnect between what you "suspect" jonalon's is saying and what he said:

Quote:

Originally posted by jonalan
That's just it, Tire Rack does not charge for these. They are provided at no cost. So, I don't understand what the fuss is about. They're an unnecessary part of the wheel and they were free.

I'm not sure how you made the quantum leap with your response?

rx8cited

jonalan

As Gordon mentioned, the hubcentric ring problem is NOT life threatening. Your comment about the mounting and balancing very well could be. You made quite the "quantum leap" there, yourself.

I was responding to Ned M's comment about getting what he paid for. He didn't pay for the hubcentric rings. That's all I was saying.

Now, having drug this thing out way longer than it needed to be, I'm quite sure Tire Rack would be more than happy to correct the faux pas.

rx8cited

No issue with that ..... I think its been repeated over and over enough by now and not disputed.

Yep ...... just did that to illustrate the tone of your post ........ "You did not pay for the rings and they are not needed so stop fussing." Never mind the fact they are free and he wants them.

Yep, heard that already. I'm not sure what the value added was in your statement there.

Quote:

Now, having drug this thing out way longer than it needed to be, I'm quite sure Tire Rack would be more than happy to correct the faux pas.

I'm sure they would. All my experiences with them have been quite pleasant and I don't doubt they'll come through on this matter.

Alright then ......... you feel free to have the last words.

rx8cited

jonalan

Now, now. You put quotation marks around that as if you were quoting me. I never said that.

I could say the same for your last post -- and this one of mine, for that matter. How about we just let it drop?