Correct Wheel/Tire Balancing (LUG CENTRIC)

FlacoTaco07:
There is nothing wrong with a good aftermarket wheel if you understand that you may have to add a hubcentric ring to prevent hubcentric vibrations. The Miata community has been using hubcentric rings for the past 17 years with their aftermarket wheels with no problems (I own two Miatas so I know all about this).

What you need to do is find out the center bore of your wheels that you like and then get some hubcentric rings from a place like I posted up in Post #9 and you will be all set.

I personally stuck with a BBS wheel made specifically for our Toyotas (106 mm center bore), but if I would have found a nice aftermarket wheel that I liked better than the ones I bought, I would have used the hubcentric rings that I had purchased just for this reason. I ended up selling them to another person at work because he did have aftermarket wheels that were vibrating so much that it "destroyed" his front two tires before he found out what it took to correct his vibration problem.

Good luck.

 

Flaco,
don't be scared! I talked to my toyota wheel and tire guy, he said they would take care of it and ensure it was done correctly. As i stated earlier it corrected my problem when they did it right and took their time. I don't have any problems now.

 

Well that is a little more assuring knowing that I have to buy rings for the rims if they are not the right ones fitted for our trucks. It just seems a little confusing coming from a guy who has owned chevy and dodge all his life.

 

The best thing is now you are educated on the issue so you can go into a place and dictate what and how it needs to be done.

 

FlacoTaco07:
I was in the same situation as you are 14 years ago when I bought my first Miata. Until then all I had ever owned/driven was American vehicles. Learning about the Miata opened up whole new worlds of mechanical knowledge/information that I had absolutely no idea ever existed when driving my regular American Iron. This is what makes the internet so great in the aspect that information/questions/ideas can be communicated so quickly compared to the past.

 

Great information Panama Red. I to had problems with vibration in my 07 Tacoma. The only thing is that I had it with the factory wheels first. It wasnt too bad but definately noticeable. I then bought some aftermarket 20 inch wheels with all terrains. The same day I got the new wheels, the vibration got worse. I noticed that when I got my new rims in, they came with those rings but the guy who sold them to me said I did not need them. I took my truck to the Toyota dealership and complained about the vibration but they did not want to check it until I put the factory wheels back. I did, and now the vibration is barely noticeable. It is still there but not to noticeable. And of course the guys at Toyota didn't notice any vibration. Now I dont know what to do. I have a new set of wheels and tires but dont want the vibration problems.

 

This site sells Hub Rings (remember the Taco uses a 106 mm center hub) if you want to use your larger wheels/tires.

 

bumpity bump bump, the closest hub ring that I could find on the aforementioned website for our trucks is a 108mm to 106.8mm adapter ring. Is our taco's hub diameter 106mm or 106.8mm??

EDIT: aha!

2007 TOYOTA_TRUCK TACOMA_2WD_-4WD_WITH_OE_16_OR_17
Your Bolt Pattern: 6x139.7mm
Your Hub Diameter: 106mm

 

nvm, I found this!: http://www.justforwheels.com/index.jsp?ID=106&OD=108&sub=ringsresults&cat=hubcentric

 

Not trying to revive an old thread but for those of us who just purchased our Tacoma just providing a little more information that I don't see stated or reinforced.

If you had any concerns about buying hubcentric rings, or are unsure about the ID of the aftermarket wheels you pruchased... use CONICAL lug nuts.

In one of Panama's posts it is stated but never touched on again. A bunch of the new lug nuts out in the market are going to this concical design to help center the wheels.

Concial lugs would NOT be a long term solution on the other hand. Over time, removing and installing the lugs will deform the cone shape of the lug nut (similar to the aformentioned issue with the cone adapters to center the hub ring of wheels). Now we are talking a fraction of a millimeter. But eventually could lead to a balance issue.

But long post short... A temporary fix/solution for all of the guys purchasing aftermarket wheels is to go with CONICAL lug nuts.

My $0.02

 

Holy thread revival batman....

 

I know, I know. Like I said, I wasn't trying to dig up a dead beast but I figured since I was going through balance issues myself I would provide or expand a little more on what has been posted.

My thoughts are provide and explain every possible solution. And allow people to choose for themselves.

 

I wasnt complaining at all. I took the time to read it and it gave out some very useful and super accurate information. I worked at a tire shop for 3+ years and we always had these issues with Tacomas. Well that was back in 05 when the first ones rolled off the show room floors and into our bays for new tires/wheels. So we used adapters and what not. We did roadforce also. Extremely helpful info for any TACO owner to read into before getting aftermarket wheels.

 

Very true Dan. Combing around, reading and asking questions... finally light bulbs went off (or on), however you look at it.

I prematurely read some other threads where there were people complaining about steering wheel and vibrations out the yin-yang. People were blaming the Hub-Centric vs. Lug Centric balancing.

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This led me to assume incorrectly about Spidertrax Spacers and so on.

I have constant "out of balance" issues so I am researching how to install or get Centramatics to work. All this Hub-Centric and Lug-Centric crap got me cornfused.
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Anyways, what Panama typed is correct and makes logical sense. Just read it with an open and clear mind.

I have read several posts of people weary of purchasing aftermarket wheels. I don't want there to be some false ghost out there that scares people for no reason.

Summary:
- Lug-Centric Balancing (i.e. using the Haweka Adapter) = provides the most even and uniform balance
- Road Force Balancing = puts a load on the wheel and tire and provides a realistic scenario for an accurate balance
- Conical Lug Nuts = provides a guide for the lugs holes on a wheel to help with centering
- Hub-Centric Ring = fills in the gap and provides and additional guide for wheel installation

*For the best balancing you can get, request Road Force and for them to use the Heweka Adapter.

*For aftermarket wheel purchasers, you can get by using Conical Lug Nuts, but for the best results use both Conical Lug Nuts and Hub-Centric Rings.

 

Correct Blackhawke. More commonly our bolt pattern is known as 6 x 5.5"

5.5" converted into mm is 139.7. Just making sure someone reading behind does not get confused.

 

Adding hubcentric rings on a lugcentric wheel is a total waste of money it does nothing.

 

will the hubcentric rings work with spidertrax 1.25" wheels spacers?

I just ordered some so we'll see.

 

I was thinking about this issue and I Was wondering what happens if you use lug centric wheels with a bore larger than 106mm and conical lugs...the wheel should mate flush to the hub and the lugcentric design used with conical lugs should be just as secure and centered as a hubcentric. Is this correct? Anyone ever try this combo?

 

Don't see why not. Why doesn't spidertrax make some flat face spacers to delete the hub ring so you don't need to run hubcentric wheels

 

The stocks wheels are lug\centric. I had vibration problems and a lot shops have no clue including the dealer. Even with the road force balancing I still have vibration problems. Finally I found a shop that had a lugcentric adapter for their balancer and that fixed my vibration problems.