Hi; thinking about getting a set of steelies for my 08' clubman. the ones I am looking at are the Honda 15" civic rims from the 90's (4x100, correct offset for mini). mine is a non-S.

I plan on running these as my summer wheels with H rated summer tires (I am not desiring to use this post to debate the merits of that election, so I please ask that respondants focus on my question below).

Anyway, when speaking to a rep today at a major online wheel retailer, he said that steel wheels are non-hubcentric (I concur) and that as a result I will get excessive vibration at speed. Is this a true claim? can anyone speak from experience?

I will also mention that I do frequently travel at over 100 mph in the car, so high speed vibration/wobble will be of concern to me.

thank you - willie p

 

If the wheels are not hub centric, they will shake like a dog passing a peach pit at 100 mph!

 

I've been there...done that...get hubcentric, or don't get them...I tried non hubcentric steels for winters...for a week...complained..they said oops.....I bought hubcentric alloys....all is fine...end if story.
Many steel wheels do have center inserts....makes them hubcentric...and civics do have the same hub centers as mini's...some years anyway....look again...they might have the centers clipped in already if they are honda's....

 

I think the problem you will run into is getting the 14mm lug bolt to fit through that steel Honda wheel. Honda's use a smaller sized stud.

 

Many after market wheels are not hub centric. The real work of centering should be done by the lug bolts. If the wheel is installed correctly by proper lug bolt tightening sequence it will center with or without a hub centric ring -- with the wheel off the ground / no weight, tighten the lug bolts in a cross pattern snugging them up gently and repeating the process.

For verification: you can read the last paragraph of the Texas Speed Works Install guide for lug bolts.
http://www.txwerks.com/images/Instal...on%20Notes.pdf

From TSW
"There's a lot more to the basic "four lugs and a wheel" interface than meets the eye, and nearly everyone
misunderstands how it all works. This is why a thin layer of grime can cause a wheel to shear off, or why
a wheel that is properly centered (by luck or by a really good cone lug fit) doesn't need centering rings.
Centering rings only center the wheel during installation, and neither a centering ring nor wheel
bolts/studs should carry a load."

 

One more thing. If the clubman is a MCS the 15" wheel will not clear the brake calipers.

 

The shop that put the non-hubcentric rims told me same thing....everything was fine till a pothole or speedbump.....then rymithic vibrations began at 60 mph ish....they tried to re-balance, re install 2x before I made a stink, and I found a person who knew what was wrong....