dsb

Questions regarding hubcentric rings.

-Is it VERY common to buy aftermarket wheels with hub sizes larger than MB 66.6mm?
-Do manufacturers like HRE use large wheel hubs and simply utilize hubcentric rings for specific vehicles?
-Is there any performance or safety concerns with hubcentric rings?
-When using rings, should you insist on aluminum vs plastic?
-Is there anything else I should know regarding the use of rings?

Thanks in advance!

MikekiM

It's VERY common to have wheels that have larger center bores that factory.
Most aftermarket wheel manufacturers do this to simply castings.
Custom manufacturers like HRE, Kinesis and Fikse usually make the center bore perfect to fit Mercedes without the need for centering rings.

There's no issues using centering rings whether plastic or aluminum.

Ken Uyeda

Usually you'll find aftermarket wheels with larger centerbores and a ring fitting system if the wheel line is applied to different makes and models. For example, they can make one wheel that will fit both Mercedes-Benz and Audi vehicles as both share the same bolt pattern, but have differing center bore sizes. The other reason why some wheel lines have a larger center bore would be to accomodate a specific mounting kit system. This way if a hubcentric spacer is needed then they will have their own line of hardware that will lock into the wheel on one side and the spacer itself will have the 66.6mm centerbore to make the application hubcentric to your Mercedes. This way they can use one wheel on a varaiety of different chassis, both low offset applications and high offset applications. All are safe, and the ones coming out of Germany should also carry TUV certification stating so.

vkliemmb

I recently just got some 18" aftermarket wheels that came with Huncentric Rings. I'm gonna get the tires mounted and balance on the wheels. My question is are you suppose to balance the tire/wheels with the rings on the wheel or do you put the rings on after the balance?

TIA

whoover

The rings will not make any difference in balance because they're so light and are so close to the axle. Since rotational inertia is proportional to mass and to the square of the distance from the axis of rotation, variations in the tire's density are significant while variations in the rings are not. They can be ignored when balancing unless, of course, the balancing is done on the car.

vkliemmb

Thanks again "whoover" for the quick response and for helpin' out a newb.

misterbigge

I misplaced/lost a hub centric ring for a 18" Maas wheel on my 2001 CLK320. Any ideas where I can buy a replacement? Thanks.
Forest in South Dakota