but if you don't, then you should torque in stages, and I've found that rotating the wheel while I do it is good practice too....

I also found this pdf that talks about the whys of hub centric aftermarket rims. They claim that the hub-centric design is to make up for the practice of lazy torquing techniques found in the real world....

Matt

 

Then why would they call 10mm spacers the "spacers of death?" They basically cancel out the hub.

 

You mean they cancel out the "lip" of the hub (the part sticking out in your leftmost drawing)?
If so, then, yeah, that lip is not helping to keep the wheel from shearing off--just the bolts and face-to-face friction which might not be enough (I guess). Exactly what you show in your drawing.

 

I suppose I should have quoted Dr. O in my last post.

 

Ha ha, sorry, I thought you were referring to my post.

 

i just picked up some polycarbonate rings off ebay for 9 bucks shipped

i couldn't justify spending 36 bucks shipped for some plastic rings that would break lol

 

I think this whole discussion is on a level over most people's (mine included) heads. And yeah, considering that they cost all of $9, then it's cheap insurance...

That said, I'm lackadaisical about using mine.

 

Sorry to resurrect a 4 year old thread. I'm about to install the same wheels, but can't find rings with a 73mm diameter.

I have rings from my MSR rims that are 72.6mm, they sit a little loose in the buddy clubs centre bore, can I run it like this safely?

 

or should I coat it in epoxy or something to thicken it and make it fit properly?

 

I'd use a strip of sheet metal , or perhaps heavy duty aluminum foil.
35 gauge steel or 32 gauge aluminum would be about 0.2 mm thick,
or a couple folds of the alum. foil. Cut to 1/8 inch x about 9 inches and
set it in the gap. Epoxy may be hard to get an even coat the right thickness.

 

No guarantee you would glue/epoxy them PERFECTLY...
Leading to a permanent shake...

 

I just had an idea, maybe spray a few coats of bed liner? or run a few layers of teflon tape around it?

 

Get the correct fitting rings for your use. 72.6mm is not the right size for you and a shim will not be a "perfect fit" under stress when the wheel is bearing load and moving.

For rings see link below-

This topic comes up all the time. It's been discussed.

Basically if you get aftermarket wheels of any sort with a opening at the hub which is greater than the MINI's 56.1mm hub bore then do yourself a favor and get rings to fit correctly.

While some wheel makers have a standard hub opening others will vary with the actual wheel. Rings come in hard plastic (lower price) or metal (usually aluminum).

Even if the difference is small you can get a fairly thin ring. When changing wheels make sure you don't loose the ring.

Wheel vendors will often provide a set of rings with the wheel purchase, ask for them to fit the wheel and the MINI hub bore. Tirerack provides rings.


There are various sources for centering rings as mentioned, ebay, yahoo, 1010tire or
http://www.motorsport-tech.com/hub_rings.html

If you track your MINI I would recommend metal rings what will hold up to higher temperatures due to the front brakes getting hot, I have melted plastic rings on the front wheels and they won't want to come off after that.

It's a good idea to clean the hub off when changing wheels to make sure corrosion doesn't make the ring fit too tightly on the hub.

Vibrations can occur due to many factors even on "balanced" wheels at certain speeds. Road force balancing is a good option if your tire shop offers it. Not all do. Find one that does.

When adding spacers look for ones that are hubcentric. You may need longer wheel bolts or wheel studs since the OEM ones are too short to allow for the spacer to be added and the lug nut or bolt to have enough threads to secure the wheel. A thin 3mm spacer might work and not interfere with the hub lip but once you get to 5mm or more you want the spacer to be hubcentric.

Example-

http://www.motorsport-tech.com/4DCGI/switchmodel

 

Is there such a thing as a 5mm hubcentric spacer? or do those only come in 10mm and up?

 

In the other thread, i gave you a link to 5 mm mini matching hugcentric spacers....so they do exist. Just find a place that ships to your local area.
tip....mini's hubcentric rings match many honda ones...so many import places that have honda parts may have them.

 

I saw that, btw thanks.
What I meant by hubcentric spacer was a spacer that had the beveled extension of the hub, like these 15mm spacers:
www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-15mm-wheel-spacers.html
do they make 5mm spacers with that extra bevel?

 

There are many sources for hubcentric spacers of various thickness.

http://www.z1motorsports.com/350_g35...oducts_id=3118

Example for a MINI
http://compare.ebay.com/like/2810559...Types&var=sbar

Note that when you use a spacer that is hubcentric you still need to use centering rings if your wheel fits one.

 

I have read all the post and still am not sure of what everyone is saying. So my question, if I put Mazda 4 X 100 wheels on my 2011 Mini, knowing that the CEnter hole in the Mazda wheel is larger than the hole in Mini wheels do I need to worry about the hubcentric issue.

 

It's simple, if you are using a wheel which is not for the MINI then it might have a hub bore that is larger than 56.1mm. If so then use a centering ring to match the wheel with the MINI hub.

Mazda made 4x100 wheels for a few of their cars from 1990-96. For those wheels the hub bore was 54.1mm so they will not fit the MINI hub.

Mazda also made OEM wheels with 4x114.3 bolt pattern with hub bore 59.6mm but they won't fit the MINI either. Wrong bolt size.

See
http://www.rimhelp.com/Mazda_Bolt_Patterns.htm

 

Thks for clearing it up for me. I was looking into buying some 1995 Mazda Miata wheels, thinking they would fit, but I will skip it now.