NASTY
12-04-2004, 03:22 AM
Heres a question sent in to the toronto stars \'tire talk\' section, and the guys response.
\"Q I used to own a 1999 Acura 3.2 TL, on which I had a set of 16-inch Michelin Pilot Alpine Snow tires.
Now I own a 2004 Mazda 3 GT Sport, which comes with 17-inch tires.
I called Michelin and was told the tires will fit the Mazda; the only concern was the tire rubbing against the wheel well.
I tried the tires and they fit well, except for a small gap between the centre of the rim and the hub.
I\'ve been told by some mechanics that as long as the bolt pattern on the rim fits perfectly, the rim will centre itself on the hub.
But others tell me the gap is no good and that I can warp the hub.
My Mazda3 is only four months old, with 12,000 km on it. I don\'t want to ruin the car. What do you think?
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Sanjeet Kainth, Toronto
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A Using your old wheels on the new car is a very bad idea.
The wheel on the car is supposed to be hub centric, which means centred on the hub.
The wheel studs\' job is to hold the wheel on the car, not to centre the wheel. That\'s why wheels are specific to certain cars.
There is too much tolerance space on the wheel studs to think they will centre the wheel under tension.
And even if they do, the constant bumping of potholes will most certainly cause a shift of the wheel and potentially work the nuts loose, plus cause vibration.
Buy a set of the correct wheels and save yourself a lot of grief.
You can buy centring rings, which fill the gap between the wheel and hub, from tire dealers that sell generic aftermarket wheels.
But these rings are unique to the aftermarket wheel companies. The likelihood of finding a set that matches your exact needs are small. You would probably have to get a set custom machined.
The only tire shop I know of that has its own machine shop is Tiremag (905-738-0710) in Concord. In the end, this may not be worth the expense.\"
So anyway, this got me a little paranoid, and now id like to get some centring rings. If anyone here bought the generic steelies and found centring rings, please post where you found them. Otherwise, if some people are interested i could give that shop a call and have a few sets custom machined...shouldnt be too expensive if there are enough interested (and i know alot of you bought from tires23). Post if interested (or if you know where to buy appropriate rings).
\"Q I used to own a 1999 Acura 3.2 TL, on which I had a set of 16-inch Michelin Pilot Alpine Snow tires.
Now I own a 2004 Mazda 3 GT Sport, which comes with 17-inch tires.
I called Michelin and was told the tires will fit the Mazda; the only concern was the tire rubbing against the wheel well.
I tried the tires and they fit well, except for a small gap between the centre of the rim and the hub.
I\'ve been told by some mechanics that as long as the bolt pattern on the rim fits perfectly, the rim will centre itself on the hub.
But others tell me the gap is no good and that I can warp the hub.
My Mazda3 is only four months old, with 12,000 km on it. I don\'t want to ruin the car. What do you think?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sanjeet Kainth, Toronto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Using your old wheels on the new car is a very bad idea.
The wheel on the car is supposed to be hub centric, which means centred on the hub.
The wheel studs\' job is to hold the wheel on the car, not to centre the wheel. That\'s why wheels are specific to certain cars.
There is too much tolerance space on the wheel studs to think they will centre the wheel under tension.
And even if they do, the constant bumping of potholes will most certainly cause a shift of the wheel and potentially work the nuts loose, plus cause vibration.
Buy a set of the correct wheels and save yourself a lot of grief.
You can buy centring rings, which fill the gap between the wheel and hub, from tire dealers that sell generic aftermarket wheels.
But these rings are unique to the aftermarket wheel companies. The likelihood of finding a set that matches your exact needs are small. You would probably have to get a set custom machined.
The only tire shop I know of that has its own machine shop is Tiremag (905-738-0710) in Concord. In the end, this may not be worth the expense.\"
So anyway, this got me a little paranoid, and now id like to get some centring rings. If anyone here bought the generic steelies and found centring rings, please post where you found them. Otherwise, if some people are interested i could give that shop a call and have a few sets custom machined...shouldnt be too expensive if there are enough interested (and i know alot of you bought from tires23). Post if interested (or if you know where to buy appropriate rings).