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WE all agree that it's goodpractice...and that we'll all do it. all I'm saying is there's no need to "sky is falling" either by coming in and saying that what I've seen for myself, read about and understood about them is dangerous.
i didn't read Andrew's post as "the sky is falling"
I read it as face value: your opinion is very valued here on AZ because of how long you've been here and your car and we all know you're a DIY guy and awesome one to boot. He just wanted to make sure that someone didn't read your post out of context and say, "well if rockstar says it's not necessary, i probably don't need them either!!"
He seems more worried about those that don't do their due diligence and just follow blindly what they read.
:gheyhug: it out guys.. we're not all right, we're not all wrong. We are all entitled to our opinions.
I am not upset either...just looking for an acknowledgment that it's founded on opnion and not fact, that's all. I already thanked him for taking the time to explain and although I agree and always use them now, maybe I won't chance it ever again in the future.
I also didnt like what I searched and shared being dismissed because it also didn't echo what he said.
PS, if I blindly just took what some guy on the internet told me as gospel without researching and getting some facts, what would that say about me?
I'd be curious to know or see some instances where there was some catastrophic (or otherwise) failure during your time at BBS. I kid you not...probably one picture of a failed x y z axis due to no hubcentric ring would solidify my choice to agree and henceforth recommend running them WITHOUT FAIL.
So I have an update based on the information I got from the dealership. First off, they just got a brand new balancing machine and was calibrated a few hours before my appointment. Their diagnosis revealed an out of round tire, and one of the wheels had "excessive runoff". What's strange to me is the fact that 2 out of the 4 tires I purchased were out of round. Doesnt that seem rare? Maybe I should have bought a lotto ticket that day. Anyway, the bent rim is contributing more to "hop" whereas the out of round tire would add to the vibration. I'm sure both of those combined is what's causing my vibration issues at high speeds. New tire will be put on Monday, and the wheel will be fixed sometime next week. Ironically enough, the balance was near perfect. A part of me is still curious to see if my vibration woes go away after I replace the tire and fix the wheel. I'll post another update once I get that work done!
Ok so further update from this morning, sorry I'll have yet another one in a few days. I had the tire installed this morning, I definitely noticed a difference from speeds between 50-65mph. Once I get up to 65mph+ the vibration was pretty much the same as it was with the out of round tire. Obviously the bent rim could be the culprit here, so I'm planning to have the rim repaired either today or tomorrow. Once I get that done I'll have another update for everyone!
Definitely man I feel like I'm getting close! I didn't...although I thought about it when I was at the tire shop this morning. Trying to make an appointment for this afternoon to get the rim fixed.
Update: I took my rim to a local well reputable shop to have it rounded out. They took the tire off, spun it, and noticed there was nothing wrong with the wheel. The tire noticeably hopped, I could see it with my untrained eyes They also noticed that the same tire/wheel was way out of balance. SO, my local Acura dealership gets an F for effort seeing as how their "new balancer" showed my front left tire as having "excessive runout on the front left wheel". Seems to me the tire is the issue (yet again). The local shop that pointed this out to me let me stay in back to watch the guys work, they took every tire off, spun it, then balanced the tires again. They also swapped the "bad" front left tire and moved it to the rear. The owner said that a good balance "might" fix the vibration issue, but if not then the tire will need to be replaced.
Hopped on the highway once this shop did the appropriate balance, still a slight vibration in the steering wheel but now I'm getting much more feedback in the seat and in the pedals. I immediately called the owner back to give him the update and he wants to take a ride with me today to definitively rule out any other potential issues other than a bad tire.
So at this point, I've had 2 (potentially 3) out of 4 new tires that were out of round or out of spec. I've also had 2 bad balances.
If in fact the 3rd tire is out of round, I'm calling Continental directly to let them know what's going on in addition to getting the tire replaced. I've always had Conti's on my TLS, never had any issues. Although the guys last night said as you go higher in tire diameter (went from my stock 17's to now 19's) the more they see out of round tires with reputable tire manufacturers.
I'll have another update once I FINALLY have NO vibration on the highway, hopefully within a week.
A word to the wise, be very careful when ordering wheel/tire packages online! I saved money initially by going this route, but I've now dumped $200+ in balances and gone through 2 tires (which I had to pay up front for and now waiting for reimbursement from Conti) within a month.
Glad you're making progress, man!
Funny you mention the thinner tire having trouble...I had troubles with 19's too...
dropped back to 18's and it's been smooth sailing every since!
Should be my last update: Had the owner of the wheel shop take my car for a test drive, just to make sure I'm not crazy. Sure enough, I'm not. Went back to his shop, lifted the car up, and started to spin each tire. He put his hand between the back of the tire and the wheel well to see if the tire was spinning fluently (took a picture to show what I'm talking about):
The front and rear driver side tires were not spinning correctly, the tire would slightly move away from his hand (then back again) when spun. He said the wheels are not hub centered, even though the hub centric rings are installed. His reason for that was whoever was drilling the hub holes at the manufacturer got lazy and did not have the wheel centered. My terminology: manufacture defect I called the company I ordered the wheels from, seems like I'll be getting 2 new wheels replaced under warranty.
Interesting part about all of this is that the tires had to be spun while mounted on my car to notice that the rim hubs are not centered. Guys at that shop told me that balancers wouldn't be able to pick this up.
Anyway, unfortunately for me it took me 3 trips to other shops (including the local Acura dealership) to finally find a shop being run by an owner who genuinely wants to help you out. He didn't even charge me for all the dismounting & mounting of the tires trying to figure out what was going on (I was there well over an hour).
I see a light at the end of the tunnel (while I'm on the highway with no vibration lol).
Last edited by waxy1926; 05-12-2016 at 08:29 PM.
Reason: word change
Correct, hub rings did not solve the issue. We tried wrapping one of the rings with tape to give it about an extra 8th of an inch in width (just to test if the rings were too small), but that did nothing to help with the vibration.
FINALLY got my wheels back from Cali, had the manufacturer of the wheels do a full inspection to see if there was anything defective. They noticed the hub centric rings that Discounted Wheel Warehouse provided me were the wrong size (72.6 I believe). They shipped new hub rings (73) for the two tires, and I now have no vibration at high speeds. I honestly didn't think a slight difference in size for a hub centric ring would make a difference, but I guess it does. The wheels are finally centering, providing me a nice comfortable ride (although still 19's on low profile tiles lol). Anyway, I can finally close this thread out with some good news. Hopefully this can help out fellow Acuraziners who may be struggling with similar issues!
Thanks all for the replies & recommendations over the past month!
So the hub centric rings didn't solve the issue, huh.
eat your words J
TYS
Originally Posted by waxy1926
FINALLY got my wheels back from Cali, had the manufacturer of the wheels do a full inspection to see if there was anything defective. They noticed the hub centric rings that Discounted Wheel Warehouse provided me were the wrong size (72.6 I believe). They shipped new hub rings (73) for the two tires, and I now have no vibration at high speeds. I honestly didn't think a slight difference in size for a hub centric ring would make a difference, but I guess it does.
Thanks all for the replies & recommendations over the past month!
Rule of thumb is to just buy the hub centric rings from the wheel manufacturers themselves! They made the wheel so they know the bore size. Lesson learned but glad you're all fixed up!! Enjoy them in good health!
^ I actually called the wheel manufacturer about that, they told me they don't see hub centric rings! I couldn't believe it. The company I bought the wheels from (since the manufacturer doesn't deal directly to consumers) sent me the wrong size hub rings, which out of all of this is such a simple solution.
Thanks Breezy, it was a huge headache but I'm glad it's over with!
05-05-2016, 01:53 PM
They also noticed that the same tire/wheel was way out of balance. SO, my local Acura dealership gets an F for effort seeing as how their "new balancer" showed my front left tire as having "excessive runout on the front left wheel". Seems to me the tire is the issue (yet again). The local shop that pointed this out to me let me stay in back to watch the guys work, they took every tire off, spun it, then balanced the tires again. They also swapped the "bad" front left tire and moved it to the rear. The owner said that a good balance "might" fix the vibration issue, but if not then the tire will need to be replaced. 
TYS 
Enjoy them in good health!