Center Hole Filler/cone/ring

darahhitam

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Center Hole Filler/cone/ring-Minor or micro problem? Gimmick?

Here goes,

Last Saturday I went off to Klang (kedai papan, I normally frequented other shop btw) to get myself some used Jap wheels for me and a friend.

I've known the usual tricks of replacing valves, etc that will imposed/mentioned so I could get away with it. But there is another new thing (for me that is) that the shop insisted me to use it which I obviously refused to do so. They eventually has persuaded my friend to install it, since our cars were attended quite a distance away.
how much you may ask for those? 25 bucks each, making a total of an additional 100. The reason? to fill up the gaps between the rim's center hole and the knuckle. For what? To reduce/eliminate vibrations he said due to "unfit/unsuitable" rims.

I laughed and said I've been swapping various wheels for my previous cars too and has never seen such items. I respectfully declined and say that I don't drive fast, just 80-100. He said the car will vibrate @100 if it's not installed, and then I said, slower than that, then he said, it will vibrate at 60 even.

WTF.

You should know how it ends. I refused until the end and I cruised as usual without a single vibration even at speeds in excess of 120 km/h.
Sorry to say this but I do think it's just a marketing gimmick to "fill up" the packages and to prey on unsuspecting new customers.
The items vary in shapes and sizes and seemed to be produced by one of their cronies as well.
I applaud them though, to come up with such invention.
Shoot me, but for normal road users like us, I think it's useless and overpriced.


Your opinions please.

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
Yo Bro,

The idea of the ring is so that there will be a tight fit between the knuckle and the centre hole of the rim.

It is this area that is suppose to carry the full weight of your car.

If you have a loose fitting centre hole between the rim and the knuckle then the weight of the car is passed on to the 4 lugs/screws. These lugs/screws are not meant to carry any weight, its main function is only to hold the rim tightly to the hub.

The RM100 charged by kedai papan is cut throat price, I have seen other shops selling at RM75 or lesser.

My advise for u is to have the rings fitted to avoid any possible problem later.
 
So, it's a recently commercialized product or a has-been?
Mind telling me what kind of problems I'm expecting later?

Cheers.
 
aftermarket rims have been around for ages.

and boy i did not even know there is this type of rubber bands for sale.

can you tell me what problems i have if i did not install any rubber bands or those so called rings in all my cars that have alloy rims, to say the least? do original car makers have these for sale? what would happen?
 
MitonCT26 said:
aftermarket rims have been around for ages.

and boy i did not even know there is this type of rubber bands for sale.

can you tell me what problems i have if i did not install any rubber bands or those so called rings in all my cars that have alloy rims, to say the least? do original car makers have these for sale? what would happen?

Miton, exactly as I would have thought.

Apparently there are plastic types, aluminum types and steel types.
Plastics will break (obviously), steel will rust (eventually) so the shop offered me the aluminum. They're good in convincing people, that's for sure. And I happened to be not one of 'em. :regular_smile:
 
The ring is important and IMHO RM25 per piece for aluminum is a reasonable price.
 
hi guys, here's my share on the hub ring

initially when i installed my lenso maglite's without the rings, the car would start to vibrate around 100kmph, and steering totally shakes @ 120kmph

i went for balancing, and eliminated the shaking
unfortunately 2-3 weeks later, the slight shaking comes back, at speeds of 120kmph above

so happen the following week i went to klang again with my fren who was changing rims.. he was quoted rm50 for the alu hub rings, and i immediately asked for 1 more set for my car
boss sheepishly agreed, lol

after the rings were fitted, there were no more shaking even @ speeds of 140kmph

overall, i'll have to say that they do work, but if ur aftermarket rim's centre hole relatively fits the knuckle, then mayb u can save ur rm50-100 ;)
 
Hub centric rings are manufactured so that when they are installed on a vehicle, the wheels are located directly off of the centre flange of the brake drum or rotor. This is done to insure that the outer beads of the wheel are concentric with the wheel bearings. The result is a much truer, better balanced tire/wheel assembly. This is very important with modern high tech suspension systems.

hmmm..... damn i must be lucky...all this while changing rims have no problems whatsoever with vibrations etc. etc..

looks like it's more functional towards tyre balancing...does not improve handling also... cheh..
 

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