Talking about the rings set into after market wheels to centre them on the hub/axle, in addition to the bolts. These are said also to cut vibration.

Problem: they come in plastic or aluminium.

My own thinking is that plastic might cut vibration, but aluminium would not.

Am I missing something about the wonders of aluminium?

 

the vibrations would come from the wheels not being properly centered - not due to some dampening provided by the ring itself. the wheels use the hub to center the rim, not the bolts so IMHO I'd want the harder material.

 

I agree with what mt6127 says BUT.....

I've read ad for these things.

Considering the forces involved in hold a wheel aligned on the hub I don't personally want the job done but either plastic or aluminum. I want a wheel that fits. My first thought was that if aluminum can be used successfully for wheels then the Al spacer should work, but upon reflection I decided that if their wheels don't fit then just how well do their spacers work?

Honestly, I have not bought aftermarket in years but I would look for wheels made for my car - not "One Size Fits All (sorta)". Just me.

 

Hub-centric wheels are superior to lug-centric at putting the wheel exactly where it belongs. The big drawback is that they can rust onto your hub and making tire changes difficult. Put a dab of grease on the hub when you install the wheel, and probably the harder metal would be the best. Plastic sounds like a bad idea. Cushioning vibration is the suspension's job, not the wheel's job.

As stated above, if possible, find a wheel that has no spacer at all. But if you have to, get the metal one, not plastic. A plastic part can be deflected by the lugs if not machined perfectly, which defeats the whole purpose of hub-centric in the first place.

 

Since posting this, I stumbled on the same conversation at other fora, and there are widely varying opinions.

The downsides to each seemed to be:
plastic = deformation in high heat
aluminium = corrosion in wet weather
I opted for corrosion over deformation, and durability over vibration control.

Strangely, after extensive web searching, I could not find aluminium (in Volvo sizing) except from China. So I ordered that.

One thing that alarmed me was stumbling on a YouTube video demonstrating how these hub rings may be posted in wrong sizes! A man showed 2 different rings, claimed to be the same size. One had an unacceptable amount of play, whilst the other was snug. I can only suppose that quality control was out to lunch when that lot was packed out.

 

Working in Supply Chain and Engineering for a very large company, one thing I have learned: Chinese and other less-reputable parts sellers can make a perfect part one day, then a dangerous piece of crap the next day. That's why I tend to just leave my cars stock and I insist on OEM parts from the dealer whenever possible. It seems to be more and more acceptable these days to produce low quality parts at low prices. But the result is dangerous. Be careful and don't trust just anyone.