Problems installing OZ Superleggera 17x8 wheels with OZ centering rings
06-02-2004, 10:28 PM
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Problems installing OZ Superleggera 17x8 wheels with OZ centering rings
I'm contributing this thread to explain the problem I encountered with my OZ Superleggera 17x7 & 17x8 wheels, and how I solved it. I would welcome some feedback from anyone else who has had a similar problem, but I figure this is mostly for those who are considering purchasing these wheels for an S2000 in the future.
I ordered a set of four wheels and tires from The Tire Rack, and received them quickly with no problems. The wheels require "centering rings," which I guess are also known as "hubcentric rings" to mate them precisely to the S2000 hubs. As you may know, the hub sizes on the S2000 are different from front to rear, so two different kinds of rings are required. The Tire Rack included the rings at no charge, and they were already installed in the wheels when I received them. Unfortunately, the rings were mismatched, with the rear rings on the front wheels, and vice versa. This resulted in the rear rings being way too big, and the front rings being way too small. I noticed the error a little late, but then I did easily swap the rings. NOTE: Be sure to double check your rings, and make sure the wheels are joined flush to the mounting surface of the hub. If there is a visible gap, your rings may be too small.
After swapping the rings front to back, the front wheels (requiring a 75mm/70.3mm ring) fit perfectly. The rear wheels however did not join perfectly to the hubs. The Tire Rack invoice says the rear wheels require a 75mm/64mm ring. I noted that the OZ-manufactured rings appeared to be imprinted with "64.1mm" on the hub side, but even so they were still too small. The two rear rings were identical in size, and I'm absolutely certain after a great deal of testing that neither one of them would fit on these hubs.
I contacted The Tire Rack, and they sent me another set of four rings; two duplicates of the fronts, and two 75mm/65mm rings. I tested the 65mm rings, and they appeared to be a little too big.
I felt it would be better to install rings that fit very snugly rather than a little loose, so I decided to uniformly remove some metal from the inside of the 64mm rings. I purchased a set of brass brush disks from Harbor Freight, and fortunately one of them was the perfect diameter for the inside surface of the rings. I decided to go with the brass brushes because they are softer than steel, and would hopefully remove the material at a slower rate. Using a friend's drill press, we slowly excavated the inside of the rings until they were only a tiny bit too small for the hubs. Then we sanded the ridges created by the brass wires with some 220 grit sandpaper using a wooden dowel as a sanding block, and the rings fit perfectly.
I spoke again with Jim @ The Tire Rack, and he stated that he's sold a lot of these wheels and never heard of this problem before. Therefore, it's possible the rings I received were incorrectly labeled, or incorrectly manufactured by OZ. He's sending me another set of 64mm rings at no charge, so I'll do a comparison after I receive them. Jim did tell me that there is no intermediate ring between 64mm and 65mm, so the ones they sent me are the closest match available. I'm pleased with the level of customer service they've provided after the purchase.
In conclusion, if others have been installing 64mm (or 64.1mm) rings on an S2000 with no problems, I'd love to hear what magic spell you used.
Otherwise
I ordered a set of four wheels and tires from The Tire Rack, and received them quickly with no problems. The wheels require "centering rings," which I guess are also known as "hubcentric rings" to mate them precisely to the S2000 hubs. As you may know, the hub sizes on the S2000 are different from front to rear, so two different kinds of rings are required. The Tire Rack included the rings at no charge, and they were already installed in the wheels when I received them. Unfortunately, the rings were mismatched, with the rear rings on the front wheels, and vice versa. This resulted in the rear rings being way too big, and the front rings being way too small. I noticed the error a little late, but then I did easily swap the rings. NOTE: Be sure to double check your rings, and make sure the wheels are joined flush to the mounting surface of the hub. If there is a visible gap, your rings may be too small.
After swapping the rings front to back, the front wheels (requiring a 75mm/70.3mm ring) fit perfectly. The rear wheels however did not join perfectly to the hubs. The Tire Rack invoice says the rear wheels require a 75mm/64mm ring. I noted that the OZ-manufactured rings appeared to be imprinted with "64.1mm" on the hub side, but even so they were still too small. The two rear rings were identical in size, and I'm absolutely certain after a great deal of testing that neither one of them would fit on these hubs.
I contacted The Tire Rack, and they sent me another set of four rings; two duplicates of the fronts, and two 75mm/65mm rings. I tested the 65mm rings, and they appeared to be a little too big.
I felt it would be better to install rings that fit very snugly rather than a little loose, so I decided to uniformly remove some metal from the inside of the 64mm rings. I purchased a set of brass brush disks from Harbor Freight, and fortunately one of them was the perfect diameter for the inside surface of the rings. I decided to go with the brass brushes because they are softer than steel, and would hopefully remove the material at a slower rate. Using a friend's drill press, we slowly excavated the inside of the rings until they were only a tiny bit too small for the hubs. Then we sanded the ridges created by the brass wires with some 220 grit sandpaper using a wooden dowel as a sanding block, and the rings fit perfectly.
I spoke again with Jim @ The Tire Rack, and he stated that he's sold a lot of these wheels and never heard of this problem before. Therefore, it's possible the rings I received were incorrectly labeled, or incorrectly manufactured by OZ. He's sending me another set of 64mm rings at no charge, so I'll do a comparison after I receive them. Jim did tell me that there is no intermediate ring between 64mm and 65mm, so the ones they sent me are the closest match available. I'm pleased with the level of customer service they've provided after the purchase.
In conclusion, if others have been installing 64mm (or 64.1mm) rings on an S2000 with no problems, I'd love to hear what magic spell you used.
Otherwise
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