Hub Centric Rings

[DangerKnödle]

Hey!
I have a 96 2.3L 2WD Ford Ranger with stock doe track 14s that I have recently put on 15in steel wheels with new tires. After having it re-weighted, the truck still has a small shimmy. The 15in wheel itself fits tight on the wheel stud and doesn’t have any play, but there is atleast a 10mm gap between the wheel hub and the center hub itself. I have ordered hub centric rings that are 83.3 to 70.3 (measurement of the OD to ID). Also, I know it may need an alignment but the bearings and bushings are good. Do you think the rings will solve the shake? Thank you!

Pictures attached for reference.

 

[Dirtman]

You can't put hub centric rings on a steel wheel...

Are you using the proper conical lug nuts?

 

[DangerKnödle]

Thank you for the response! The lugs I’m using are the ones that came with the 14s, but the shape and angle of the cone is the same. If I need to try the ones that came with the 15s I can.
Also, this is the first I’m hearing of no hub rings for steel wheels? I’m curious why. I’m used to using them for most of the euro cars I’ve had aftermarket wheels on.

 

[Dirtman]

Because steel rims don't have a counter bore on the back for the ring to sit in. When you try to mount it the ring would stick out and cause the wheel to not sit flush against the axle flange.

Also possible you got a crappy balancing job done...

 

[DangerKnödle]

Gotcha, it does make sense because the wheel does sit pretty flush. I’ll get some nice push through center caps for the wheels and use the lugs that cam with it and give it a shot. Thanks!

 

[Dirtman]

Make sure you tighten the lugs in a criss cross pattern and torque them in series. Once just over hand tight, once to around 35ft lbs and then finally to 85-90ft lbs. With the proper lug nuts this should center the wheel perfectly whether it's hub centric or not.

 

[DangerKnödle]

Will do! Thank you again!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

It's possible to have the wheel balanced but out of round or off plane.

 

[DangerKnödle]

When I had my wheels rebalanced yesterday, they added weight to all of the wheels because they found out all were out of balance from when they initially put them on…. I’ll have to have it checked if it’s out of round or off plane.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

They should have looked while spinning the tire and caught anything out of whack. But....

 

[Dirtman]

If I had a set of tires balanced and they did it wrong the first time I'd probably go somewhere else the second time. Balancing a tire is not all that complicated so they are either bad at their job or their machine sucks.

 

[DangerKnödle]

I agree with both of yall. Tire mounting and balancing is not hard with today’s technology. I’m going to take it else where. Just tried a second time becuase I’ve never had issues before with them… *cough* Discount Tire *cough*. They also did openly admit that their machines were not calibrated properly the week I had them installed.

 

[Dirtman]

Try to find a place that does dynamic road force balancing. It's usually not much more than cheapo balancing from a crap chain store. *Cough discount tire* lol.

They actually balance it on all 3 axis while pressure is applied in a typical driving situation. Not something most people care about on a pickup truck but it does make a difference especially if the tires are kinda funny. A road force balance can actually correct minor out of round tire issues.

 

[DangerKnödle]

I will have to. I’m about done with this chasing balance. I was looking at going to a Goodyear shop down the road from my house since I had Goodyear Wrangler Trail Runners put on the truck.

 

[Dirtman]

I will have to. I’m about done with this chasing balance. I was looking at going to a Goodyear shop down the road from my house since I had Goodyear Wrangler Trail Runners put on the truck.

Just curious, have you nailed this problem down to a tire/wheel problem? Is the vibration from a certain wheel and if so have you rotated the tires to see if the issue moves?

If you get some vibration in the front left side for example, rotate the tires. If the issue moves to the rear it's a tire issue. If it stays at the front left, chances are you have a suspension/steering issue.