Ok, winter is coming and I bought a pair of ASA JS1 wheels from tire rack. (Alex) Service was great and they came when I expected. I put them on the other day and now I have a weird sound that I can't quite figure out. I have an MCS and I got the 15" wheels as recommended by Alex. The sound almost sounds like a grinding (kindof like when it rains and then freezes the parking/emergency brake and then it "pops&quot

It seems to mostly happen on deceleration and I'm thinking it might be the center ring but I can't remember if it can spin freely or not. I did put some anti-sieze compound so could it be the center ring spinning and grinding? If not what else could it be? It doesn't seem to be rubbing against anything and I've driven for a while (probably about 200 miles) with no ill effects other than my own concern. Anyone have any suggestions as to what it might be?

 

can you reinstall OR wheels and see if you get the noise? Is it a click or a grind?

Alex

 

It's more of a grinding noise... I will try to put back on my old wheels tomorrow and see if it is still there.

 

Ok, today I put on my old wheels and the sound was gone. When I took them off I didn't see any indication that the tire was rubbing anything so I don't think it's that. The only thing I think it could be is the centering ring... it just makes an awful sound. What I may try and do is tape the center ring to the wheel itself to prevent it from spinning and see if that helps. Alex, could it just be the centering ring spinning and rubbing against the hub?

 

>>Alex, could it just be the centering ring spinning and rubbing against the hub?

My main concern here is that the stub axel and ring combination should not move seperatly. Can you take a pic of the back of the wheel?

Alex

 

I took 2 pictures showing how the centering ring spins freely. They are rather large pictures but here are the links...
pic 1
pic 2

Let me know if the links don't work. I will probably be putting them back on either tomorrow (if I get a chance) or Friday.

_________________

 

the link didn't work.

but you're saying is that the centering ring's inter circle is larger than the hub stub.
in that case, you just need to replace that centering ring, right? since there is a
taper on the bolt you probably dont need the centering ring, but you should
get it on there for your installation ease and less stress on the lugs.

 

Daytona -

You can Email me pics.

Alex@tirerack.com

Alex

 

Ok the links should work now. I just moved up to Vermont and I hadn't realized my ISP blocked port 80 so the new pics:
pic 1
pic 2

kenchan: That's exactly what I think is going on. I'm going to tape the centering ring to the wheel and see what happens when I put the wheels back on.
-Chris
p.s. I edited my above post so those links should work as well

 

chris- im not sure what you are trying to show on the pict. i see the back side
of your wheel. is the centering ring in there already? Im not sure if im looking
at your pict correctly. Or are you saying that the centercap is loose?

Do you have a caliper? if so, measure the opening and then measure the
hub stub. your easy answer.

 

Yes I do have a caliper but even better than that I took out the center cap and put the wheels back on... no more noise. It's a good thing I got this worked out too... I woke up this morning to snow on the ground.

Can something bad happen without the center cap?

 

centering ring and center caps are two very different things.

you should just put the center cap back on and use some duct
tape or aluminum foil tape from the inside to stop it from spinning.

naw, no problems without centercaps, in fact, it provides more free air
to the hub stud making it easier for it to breath to dry. but then,
more salt could directly go inside so it's up to you. its a cosmetics
thing anyway.

 

Sorry, I did mean center ring... I haven't been getting much sleep the past few days because of school. But now that you mention it I also didn't put on the center caps... maybe that was it... I guess now I should put the centering ring back on and see if it was the caps. I've already decided to leave the caps off as I think it looks better without. Any problems leaving the centering ring off?
-Chris

 

aha! sleep deprived brain talkin.

if you do any type of racing you should use centering rings because
it takes off a lot of the load from the lug bolts. the load of the vehicle
is mostly on the hub stub and the lugs just hold the wheel to the hub.
without the centering ring, the bolt does two jobs.

unless you have any vibration issues with your wheels, you should be
fine without centering rings for the street. in fact, if it was your
centering ring that was free spinning, you weren't hubcentric from the
beginning.

 

>> Any problems leaving the centering ring off?

Very dangerous, please reinstall ASAP

Alex

 

Just to give an update, I reinstalled the centering ring and there is no noise, I left the bolt cover (center cap that just covers the bolts) off and I guess that was the cause of the problem. (I guess I didn't tighten it down enough at first) Thanks for all your help everyone!