HELP - Torque Thrust wheels :-(

**Intrepidman** · 05-01-2009, 11:43 AM

Some of you might have notice my previous posts about getting torque thrust M (chrome) wheels for my 2002 Trans Am (9" front, 9.5" rear)

Well, I finally found a shop where the guys seem to know what they are doing and have the equipment to do it. (It was a long drive, but I can finally get my wheels balanced)

The issue now is that when they went to bolt the wheels onto the car they noticed the rims do not fit the wheel hubs perfectly....which they said virtually NO aftermarket rim does, BUT they say that aftermarket rims should always come with a "wheel hub spacer ring" or a "hub centric ring" to fill the gap. This allows the wheel to truely be hub centered once bolted on.

They say without these hub rings the wheel can move around a bit on the wheel studs and possibly cause a vibration, which could eventually damage the rim, or the studs...and possibly cause one of the other to fail.

So, should my torque thrust Ms have come with such a thing?

**Mr. Luos** · 05-01-2009, 05:51 PM

Something isn't right.

Those wheels should sit right on the hub without any spacer of any kind.
My TTII's came with nothing. Friends TTM's (anthracide) came with no spacers as well. Both sets fit perfectly.

What offset did you get?

**cmb570** · 05-02-2009, 04:45 AM

Hate to say it but I believe the quality of american racing wheels (tt's & ttm'a) suck. It might have been good in the past but it really sucks now. I bought a set of tt just recently and had basically 3 issues.
1. One rear 17x10 had a serious crack preventing rim to hold air.
2. One front 17x9.5 was seriously out of balance. Had to place over 2.5 oz on rim to balance tire/rim
3. One front rim after mounting, had to grind some material off my caliber so wheel could spin.

Summary: Wheels look nice and cheap option for deceant looking aftermarket wheels. However, I will never buy another set of AR wheels again. Next time I will pop for a nice set of wheels from quality manufactor, which AR is not anymore

***doberman 152*** · 05-02-2009, 04:54 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

Something isn't right.

Those wheels should sit right on the hub without any spacer of any kind.
My TTII's came with nothing. Friends TTM's (anthracide) came with no spacers as well. Both sets fit perfectly.

What offset did you get?

Would i be that friend with the TTM's? J/K mine came with no spacers either and they sit perfect.

**98T/Aformula.** · 05-02-2009, 04:25 PM

They should fit fine so Im not to sure whats going on? Just buy hub centric rings and call it good.

**Intrepidman** · 05-02-2009, 06:22 PM

So where would I get these hub centric rings?? Or how would I go about determining what size I need?

Damn, in all my research into getting big TT wheels to fit, never did I hear about this hub centric problem until now.

**Intrepidman** · 05-02-2009, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

Something isn't right.

Those wheels should sit right on the hub without any spacer of any kind.
My TTII's came with nothing. Friends TTM's (anthracide) came with no spacers as well. Both sets fit perfectly.

What offset did you get?

I honestly don't know the spec on the rims as far as offset and such. I just called up TomzWheels and ordered a set of 9" front, 10.5" back...I said I needed the fitment that worked with 2002 WS6 Trans Ams and they said "sure, no problem" and sent me these.
They seem to fit fine, other than I had to remove 1/4" of my bump stops in the rear to keep them from hitting when the suspension is unloaded.

**dklowrider** · 05-02-2009, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by Intrepidman

I honestly don't know the spec on the rims as far as offset and such. I just called up TomzWheels and ordered a set of 9" front, 10.5" back...I said I needed the fitment that worked with 2002 WS6 Trans Ams and they said "sure, no problem" and sent me these.
They seem to fit fine, other than I had to remove 1/4" of my bump stops in the rear to keep them from hitting when the suspension is unloaded.

same wheels from the same place with same bump stop mod. fit perfectly. the lug nuts center the wheels on the hub. the wheels have a tapered seat for the nuts, make sure you have the right lug nuts which should be "cone" shaped on the bottom. come to think of it, tapered lugs and seats dont actually center the wheel like a long shank style setup does. regardless, if you have the right wheels for the car there should be no issues.

**Spikito** · 05-02-2009, 06:55 PM

i dont think the hub should matter, sive our lugs are tapered, our rims our stud centric? am i wrong?

**Cutlass** · 05-03-2009, 04:32 AM

Our factory rims center on the hub and the studs. Most aftermarket wheels hubs are larger to fit more cars. They will center just fine on the studs with no problems. It might put a little more stress on the studs and it would be a little nicer with hub centric rings, but it isn't a big deal.

**99'CajunFirehawk157** · 05-04-2009, 07:29 AM

I have ttii's here too; no issues, no griding , no adapters, no rings, fit perfect, 11" in back too NO issues what so ever, NO mods to make fit either. Something sounds screwy...???

**Intrepidman** · 05-05-2009, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by 99'CajunFirehawk157

I have ttii's here too; no issues, no griding , no adapters, no rings, fit perfect, 11" in back too NO issues what so ever, NO mods to make fit either. Something sounds screwy...???

So your saying your rims fit perfecty onto the hub? Because if you just mean general fitment, then mine fit perfectly as well...they just don't contact the hub.

**levityinc3** · 05-05-2009, 03:27 PM

Mine make contact with the hub. They fit perfectly.

**dklowrider** · 05-06-2009, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Intrepidman

So your saying your rims fit perfecty onto the hub? Because if you just mean general fitment, then mine fit perfectly as well...they just don't contact the hub.

you have a problem. the wheel has to fit on the hub. check your back-spacing: the fronts[9"] should 6.89" or just under 7, the rear[10.5"] should be 7.55" or just about 7 and 1/2. if not, you have the wrong wheels, if these measurements match, there may have been bigger brakes installed or something else is out of whack. does the bolt pattern match up? you did take the old wheels off,right? [oh lord, you have to forgive me for that one] i just reread and didnt see it, but we are talking 17" wheels arent we?

**Intrepidman** · 05-07-2009, 05:09 AM

I don't think its a backspacing issue, the rim fits onto (or over) the hub, they just don't contact the center of it......obviously I don't know the technical terms for what I'm trying to describe.....but on the hub there is the central ring that goes into the rim, right behind the center cap. Well that ring is a few milimeters smaller in diamter than the central hole in the rim that it goes into. Therefor the rim does not sit on it, but rather floates around it.

**levityinc3** · 05-07-2009, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Intrepidman

I don't think its a backspacing issue, the rim fits onto (or over) the hub, they just don't contact the center of it......obviously I don't know the technical terms for what I'm trying to describe.....but on the hub there is the central ring that goes into the rim, right behind the center cap. Well that ring is a few milimeters smaller in diamter than the central hole in the rim that it goes into. Therefor the rim does not sit on it, but rather floates around it.

Mine sits ON the hub.

**dklowrider** · 05-07-2009, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by Intrepidman

I don't think its a backspacing issue, the rim fits onto (or over) the hub, they just don't contact the center of it......obviously I don't know the technical terms for what I'm trying to describe.....but on the hub there is the central ring that goes into the rim, right behind the center cap. Well that ring is a few milimeters smaller in diamter than the central hole in the rim that it goes into. Therefor the rim does not sit on it, but rather floates around it.

oh! im talking about the actual flat surface or the faceof the hub contacting the back side or inner flat surface of the wheel.

so the circumference of the hole in the wheel is larger than the ring in the center of the hub?

**Cutlass** · 05-07-2009, 05:24 PM

The center part is the HUB. The flat part is the HUB FLANGE. The studs come through the HUB FLANGE

**dklowrider** · 05-07-2009, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by Cutlass

The center part is the HUB. The flat part is the HUB FLANGE. The studs come through the HUB FLANGE

we can get so technical with someone who already admits to not knowing the technical terms, cant we.

but i think you are right in bringing that up, that may help them in future discussions. [i was trying to talk around their interpretations]

**Cutlass** · 05-08-2009, 04:09 PM

As I was reading through this thread I could see where confusing terms were interfering with the conversation. Now with the correct terminology out there we can all be on the same page