I am looking for metal wheel centering rings for my Flik Wasps (73.1 to 56.1) and have not been able to find any.

73.0 seems to be available but I hesitate to go with a size that is loose.

I tried:
Tire Rack
10/10 Tires
Discount Tire
Just For Wheels
Edge Racing (where I bought the wheels)
local tire shops
NAM search

Nobody can (or will ) help me.

Any ideas? I am in St. Louis.

Thanks!

 

Did you try ebay, thats where i got mine from when you buy them just tell them what size you need. they cost $12 or $13 shipping included.

 

Try calling alex@tirerack.com and tell him exactly what size metal rings you need. They have them because I asked for them too.

My wheels came with plastic rings which would melt with track use so I asked for metal ones.

You won't find the metal rings on tirerack's website.

 

I used the metal 73mm from Discount Tire on my 18" FLIK Wasps. It got rid of an annoying vibration I had with the plastic rings.

The 0.1mm is not going to make a difference. :smile:

 

Thanks, minihune. I sent an email to Alex.

I suppose if he comes up empty I will try the 73.0 since they worked for nparker.

Thanks, guys. I will let you know what happens.

 

I am pretty sure it is the 73.0 that I have on my Flik Wasps as well.
I suspect the actual spindle hub size on the MINI is 56.0 and the hub
opening is 56.1. Likewise, the FLIK's is 73.1 so you use a 73.0 ring.
Think about it, if the hub and the wheel were the same size you would
have a hard time getting them to go on.

So, I think the 56.1/73.0 hubcentric rings are exactly what you want.

EDIT: I neglected to mention that I got my rings from Discount Tire Direct.

 

My regrets -

I can only sell hardware for wheels I handle.

Alex

 

www.wheelspacers.com ???

 

BradB :smile:
They are the ones you want .
They worked for me, also my son .
Actually on the ring the size was etched as 73.00 X 56.15
I also have the Flik wheels but the Fuel model.
On one of my sons wheels though there were very very slight bulges in the wheel hub around the Holes where the lug bolts go , but a little dremel action soon took care of it .

 

Thanks, I shot them an email.

 

Cabmeister, I may have to go this route. Which retailer did you purchase these from?

 

I got them from Discount Tire Direct.
1 800-707-8473. ext.437
the code for the rings was 81802
73-56.1 [Red]
as if it matters eh!
Excalibur Metal Ring Set = $15.00 with $8.00 shipping to Florida
so that might change.

 

Thanks, I got them ordered!

 

I have yet to "melt" a plastic ring - and that's after lots of Track and Dragon'ing, getting brake pad temps up beyond 1000F. More than anything, the plastic will crush over a long period of time, say 10k+ miles, leading to slight looseness. Not to say nobody's literally melted a plastic ring - but based on my experience it's more myth than fact.

That said - I believe MSFITOY got his metal rings from Discount Tire.

 

.

 

I have particular problems with my right front wheel centering rings.
They are hard plastic that I got for my Centerline RPM rims. They were fine for autocross and street. For driving events on the track about 20 minutes repeatly the brakes got so hot that the ring indeed melted and deformed to a different shape. It didn't look so good.

I was able to pry it off the wheel hub with great effort and I am not alone. Another MINI driver with the same wheels and same plastic rings did the same and destroyed his ring to remove it. After I removed my ring it was melted and distorted into a wider outer profile. I took a rough file and dremel tool and reshaped it back closer to the original shape and I was able to reuse it. It's heated up and got stuck at least 4 separate times but since I monitor and file down the inner sides when they tighten up I can keep it to a minimum and I have metal rings for the track.

Melting the plastic rings is a very real problem for me.

Randy webb had a great idea- he uses a very large channel lock pliers to grab the outer edge of the ring and just force it off. I think that would work OK if it were just stuck. My rings get tighter on the hub not looser.

 

Centering Ring Update:

I received the centering rings from Discount Tire. They told me they were 73 x 56.1 but they are actually 56.15.

I slid one over the hub of the Mini and it is quite loose. In fact, it wants to fall off! I am afraid to even try these out for fear once I use them "I have bought them".

I am going to call them today and see what the deal is.

Back to square one, I guess.

 

Brad,

Let us know how this turns out. I'm interested in metal rings, too, since we have the same wheels.

 

Not a myth:

 

Just some inside info to be used only by the smartest shoppers.

American Racing gives the rings away for free.. Find a local wheel shop that sells Motegi or American and get them for free!! The hard part is knowing the size of the center bore of your wheels..

Yeap, they are only plastic and they will melt if you leave them in the oven too long but overall you will be ok
All donations can be sent directly to my paypal

 

BradB how did you get on with your phone call ?
As I mentioned in my earlier post , the size you got was the same as mine.I also gave them a call and was assured that this was the correct size,so I just went ahead and put them on . They seem to fit fine ,no problem at all and got rid of the slight vibration I had with the composite rings

 

They told me to give them a try and if I had problems I could return them. Sounded like a good deal to me. So I will give it a go this weekend.

 

So how did it go ?:smile:

I hope .

 

Fronts seem fine. Rears may have some vibration. I am going to do some swapping of the rings/wheels and see how it goes. Just ran out of time!

Thanks for asking!

 

I should rephrase: I have yet to have a problem on a properly working car with Gorilla brand hub-centric rings.