Hubcentric Wheel Spacers?

Anyone have any experience buying wheels that require hubcentric spacers?

Apparently Ronal wheels require the use of them. Just wondering if there are any known problems with vibration or having them come loose.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by Spartacus_33

Anyone have any experience buying wheels that require hubcentric spacers?

Apparently Ronal wheels require the use of them. Just wondering if there are any known problems with vibration or having them come loose.

I think you meant to use the term "centering rings" rather than hubcentric spacers.

If a wheel manufacturer wants to save money, they can bore out the hub to a diameter larger than all of their various applications. When they sell that particular wheel to, say, an E39 540i owner, they include a centering ring that necks the hub centerbore diameter down to 74.1mm. They can sell the same wheel to an E60 5-Series owner by including a centering ring that is thicker and necks the centerbore down to 72.5mm.

Using this technique doesn't imply the wheel manufacturer is inferior. For example, many BBS wheels use PFS (I think that stands for "Precision Fit System") centering rings. As long as the centering ring is good quality and accurately machined, you should have no problems. If the centering ring is made of plastic, insead of metal, you may have problems if you take the car to the track, since the excessive heat may damage the plastic rings. But that's only my theory. It may be a non-issue thanks to modern, high-temperature plastics.

Originally Posted by DZeckhausen

I think you meant to use the term "centering rings" rather than hubcentric spacers.

If a wheel manufacturer wants to save money, they can bore out the hub to a diameter larger than all of their various applications. When they sell that particular wheel to, say, an E39 540i owner, they include a centering ring that necks the hub centerbore diameter down to 74.1mm. They can sell the same wheel to an E60 5-Series owner by including a centering ring that is thicker and necks the centerbore down to 72.5mm.

Using this technique doesn't imply the wheel manufacturer is inferior. For example, many BBS wheels use PFS (I think that stands for "Precision Fit System") centering rings. As long as the centering ring is good quality and accurately machined, you should have no problems. If the centering ring is made of plastic, insead of metal, you may have problems if you take the car to the track, since the excessive heat may damage the plastic rings. But that's only my theory. It may be a non-issue thanks to modern, high-temperature plastics.

These are exact fragments from a couple of e-mails from Ronal to me.... "Hubcentric spacers are $25 each."

"The hubcentric spacers attach inside the wheel and are hubcentric to the
car. TUV approved."

Well, don't get lost in the wording:

Hubcentric: centered around the hub

Centering ring: ring centered...around the hub I presume

Same thing I believe.