2004 Accord Euro - suspension & mag wheels

[Dihydrogenoxide]

Hi guys,

Hoping I could get some advice here on 2 problems I've got.

1) It's got after market alloys but apparently the O-rings that center the wheels on the axis are missing which is causing some steering wheel wobble at higher speeds. I've been told that it has to be an exact match from the manufacturer. Trouble is - I can't work out the brand (when it's light tomorrow I'll ad an image). It says "Real modifcation" on the badge in the middle and has some sort of logo that looks like it says VAVA or VAV or some such.

Lastly, as the alloys are somewhat damaged (and I'm not too fond of their looks anyway) I was thinking of replacing them with new ones if I can't find the missing o-rings. Any suggestions as to where to go to grab some good looking new ones at a reasonable price?

2) The suspension has been lowered and the shockers are apparently on their way out. Question is - am I better off with after market suspension or stock honda? From what I have read, lowering the suspension sometimes but not always requires that new shockers are also installed. If after market suspension is a better idea - any recommendations where to buy it from?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[DreadAngel]

Hi =)

1) Hub-Centric Rings? If you're referring to those, you need the diameter off your hub and rim's bore diameter. This way you can purchase the correct Hub-Centric Rings =). Hub you could be able to google it, Rim's Bore Diameter however is more difficult if you don't know the brand.

If damaged, replace them better, check out the traders on here, they've got plenty of options. Hard to recommend as we're unsure of your taste.

2) Stock or Aftermarket is purely up to you. If you're just after minor lowering, you could use lowering springs with new factory shocks. Like I said, depends on what you're after...

[Dihydrogenoxide]

1) - yup those are the ones I meant. I'll upload a picture tomorrow, maybe someone else has seen those particular alloys and can tell. At the moment my only option is to go to all major tyre outlets and ask if they've ever seen them... silly me, really should have checked with the dealer before buying but the problem's only showed up ages after when I had the tyres rotated.

2) It's already been lowered, I just want to keep it the way it is. Your answer seems to imply that the stock ones can cope with lowering? (as you can probably tell I'm a bit of a novice... never owned a car I really care about before :D )

[DreadAngel]

1) Tyre shops have a selection of plastic hub rings, they could trial fit to see if they fit your rims, it will help if you know the bore diameter of your hub ;)

2) Stock ones can cope with lowering if its not too aggressive. Pics of your car would help...

[fillit]

1) Tyre shops have a selection of plastic hub rings, they could trial fit to see if they fit your rims, it will help if you know the bore diameter of your hub ;)

2) Stock ones can cope with lowering if its not too aggressive. Pics of your car would help...

I don't recall stock rims having O rings, they should be mated perfectly to the hub.

If you feel the wheel wobbling maybe you need to balance the wheel, generally without O rings the car should still drive okay, only in very severe circumstances where the wheel doesn't sit well on the hub would it cause wheel wobble.

Treat it more as a security thing.

[aaronng]

I don't recall stock rims having O rings, they should be mated perfectly to the hub.

If you feel the wheel wobbling maybe you need to balance the wheel, generally without O rings the car should still drive okay, only in very severe circumstances where the wheel doesn't sit well on the hub would it cause wheel wobble.

Treat it more as a security thing.

Having hub centric rings is important because the holes in the rim through which the wheel studs go through are slightly larger than the stud diameter so it allows the rim to be mounted slightly off centre, causing the wobble at high speed. Wheel balancing is not going to fix this. A set of hub centric rings are cheap anyway.

[fillit]

Having hub centric rings is important because the holes in the rim through which the wheel studs go through are slightly larger than the stud diameter so it allows the rim to be mounted slightly off centre, causing the wobble at high speed. Wheel balancing is not going to fix this. A set of hub centric rings are cheap anyway.

I don't disagree, however in most cases unless the holes on the wheel is say elongated or out of shape (most rims have minimum play when on the hub and it is in a way centered with the lug nuts), it will still sit in position and not cause the wheel wobble (provided it is balanced). I guess this may also bring into question the type of lug nuts you are using?

[Dihydrogenoxide]

I'm not sure what type of lug nuts I'm using... like I said, I'm a bit new to this "caring about your car" business ;) how would I find out?

[fillit]

I'm not sure what type of lug nuts I'm using... like I said, I'm a bit new to this "caring about your car" business ;) how would I find out?

Your lug nuts should be one of the following 3 shapes:

http://www.rocwheel.com/images/2008922145713717.jpg

Oem ones are balls and aftermarket are tapered.

Oem rims have the holes drilled to suit the ball type lug nuts and aftermarket has it drilled for tapered.

So if you use the wrong type of nut on the rim it wouldn't sit 100%.

It wont fall off and in 99% of situations you can get away with it, just trying to narrow down the possibilities.

[Dihydrogenoxide]

well I've got aftermarket ones so I'm guessing they'll be tapered?
I'll take one off and have a look just to be sure.

[Dihydrogenoxide]

Alright, finally managed to take some pictures.

Firstly, the alloy:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk33/bokajnossredna/2013-08-01083502.jpg

Anybody ever seen alloys from this manufacturer or can identify the manufacturer from that logo? Any help would be most appreciated

And then two pictures of my car so people can tell how much it's been lowered:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk33/bokajnossredna/2013-08-01083633.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk33/bokajnossredna/2013-08-01083604.jpg