[DIYguy]

I am posting this in case anyone may be experiencing wheel balance or NVH issues, particularly in climates where road salt is used and corrosion is an issue.

I posted the original version of this about eight years ago on another forum but have recently updated it slightly for this forum.

The information in it was reviewed in great depth at that time by a couple of very senior mechanical engineers.
It was also accepted as reference material by at least one car club at a famous SoCal race track after reviews there.

As a talking point, I recently measured the radial hub gaps on my Camaro (OEM wheels), finding them to be in the 0.001"-0.003" range, well within tolerance and of no particular concern.
However if you live in a colder or coastal climate where corrosion may be a problem, or have aftermarket wheels, you may want to perform the measurements shown in the presentation for yourself.

I tried to write this in an entertaining manner while including real-world examples.
Thank you for taking a look.
I do hope you enjoy it and that you may find it useful in some manner.
Or at least that you will find it amusing.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by evildead

Thanks for the info

+1

[Msquared]

Honestly, the whole "hubcentric" thing is way overplayed. It's not important because the hub pilot and bore are not what locates the wheels on any car with tapered lug nuts. All wheels with tapered lug nuts and wheel seats have the wheels located by the studs, wheels, and nuts; and nothing else. In that sense, all wheels are lug-centric. And once the lug nuts are tightened properly, the clamping force and resultant friction between the hub and wheel mounting face firmly holds it in place. If anything else is locating the wheel (e.g. the hub pilot and bore) instead of the studs/nuts/seats and the friction between the mounting surfaces, then you have problems.

Many millions of vehicles have been produced over the years without hubcentric wheel setups from the factory, and they balance just fine. Many race cars have also used non-hubcentric setups, including top-level stock cars (230mph, no problems, back in the days before stupid restrictor plates). The only reason hubcentricity became a thing was to make it easier to mount wheels onto hubs, especially on the assembly line.