The new wheels I got for track use from Tirerack came with plastic centering rings. I wouldn't be comfortable with plastic with the heat generated with on the track, so I thought I'd buy some metal ones. I couldn't find them on Tirerack's website, so I sent a note to customer service. Before I got a reply, I got a shipping notice, they were sending me some metal rings, no charge.

 

I have been buying wheels and tires from the Tire Rack since the early 90's. Great service! In fact I bought some tires and had one get ruined once within 100 miles. There was no hazard warranty on the tires and I didn't purchase one either, but TR worked with me to get me a new tire at a discounted rate. More recently I purchased a set of Yokohama tires that had a trial period and didn't care for them. Working through their designated installer, I had no problems returning them for a different tire. I'm in the process of making a wheel/tire decision soon, and TR is once again a very strong contender!

 

Btwyx

could you explain the centering rings? i understand the concept, but was wondering

do the centering rings "snap" in to the rims? if not, seems like a huge PITA

i am looking into winter rims and except for OEM, everything seems to require the centering rings

scott

 

Cars have axles which come in various diameters. MINIs have a 56.1mm axle diameter. Aftermarket wheel makers have to cope with cars with various different parameters, number of mounting holes, position of mounting holes and axle diameter. That doesn't even consider the wheel diameter and width. So to supply wheels to as many cars as possible you have to make a huge variety of different wheels with all the various permutations of those parameters. That is a logistical nightmare, to manufacture efficiently you want to make a small number of widgets (wheels in this case) which fit the widest variety of cars.

In order to simplify things wheel makers make wheels with an oversized centre bore and require that the wheels be used with centering rings. The centering rings are simple to manufacture. So say there are 5 different axle diameters on cars you want to sell to and a hundred different permutations of fitting parameters. You can either make 100 different wheels, or make 20 different wheels and 5 different centering rings. That's a much simpler proposition.

Basically, if you want after market wheels at a reasonable price, you live with centering rings.

I've only had experience with two sets of wheels with centering rings, and they're not much of a problem. The first ones I've had slip into the wheel, but then there's a clip to lock the ring into place. I've lost several of the clips, but the rings are still there. I get a little paranoid sometimes that I forgot to check the ring was in the wheel when I fitted it. Sometimes the ring doesn't come off with the wheel and gets stuck on the axle, the rear right seems particularly prone to that, but the standard wheels tend to stick on that axle and need to be persuaded off. The second set I haven't payed enough attention to the rings to remember how they work. I was conceded they were plastic though.

I wouldn't let the centre bore and centering rings be your primary deciding factor with wheels. It comes precisely nowhere in my consideration of new wheels.