My Volk CE28n's came with aluminum rings. I always use them.

They do have a tendency to get stuck to the hub. I have done a bit of dremel work on them to make the fit just a bit looser, and use a bit of lube.

Ted

 

My plastic rings melted after a half-day session at the track. After reading this thread, I won't be using the rings again.

 

I'm not so sure they are just a mounting aid. I have to imagine that there is just a bit of slippage between the hub and the rim without them--enough under hard cornering to stress the lugs. The plastic isn't exactly the strongest material in the world, but it only has to withstand small amounts of compression and I'm sure it does that just fine.

I'd really like a set of AL ones because I, too, have melted 'em. Anyone know a source who can turn out a set?

 

I once did some rough calculations, based on some coefficient of friction numbers and clamping force specs I came upon.

I think what I calculated was that 28,000 pounds of force would be required to move a wheel accross the surface of its hub.

If your lug nuts are properly torqued, I think there's pretty much ZERO chance of the wheel moving around on the hub no matter how hard you're cornering.

 

And the tapered lugs would not allow any slippage without breaking the studs.

 

Excellent.

 

for valuable info that saved me time & money

 

You should NEVER run without the hubcentric ring.

I would like to see a melted one.

And if really the reis, go and get the same size in aluminium!

They help cente ryour wheels correctly and therefor help preveting from vibrations and losening lugs.

 

It wasn't an S2000, but I've melted a set of plastic hub centering rings.

1995 Integra GS-R. Enkei 10-spoke alloy wheels (I forget the model, but it doesn't matter since they're not made anymore). At the time, I think I was using Hawk Blue barke pads.

Upon removing the wheels, I found that their removal was quite difficult. Once I got them off, I found that the rings had cracked, warped, and gotten brittle. I remember actually having to bang them out of the wheels with a hammer and a long flat tip screwdriver, at which point they sort of disintegrated. This was very early on in the career of that car and those wheels.

In the coming several years I owned that car, including a couple years racing it in Honda Challenge, I never once ran the hubcentric rings (since they'd been destroyed). I did the same thing with other wheels later on, with the same car - a set of Kosei K-1s. Never had a problem as a result. The same very car is now being raced by its new owner out of the Atlanta area, same wheels, no rings, no problems.

Additionally, I spent a year racing an ITC Honda Civic, and then an ITA 1.6L Miata with SCCA. None of those cars ran hubcentric rings either, and they were all fine. There are countless race cars out there that don't use the rings.

Bottom line - I've got a LOT of track day and race miles in different cars, and none used the rings. Zero problems resulted from this practice.

 

Don't use the rings. Just torque the wheel the way you should by tightening each bolt a little at a time to make sure you are aligned.