[robinjoe]

Some of you may recall that in February I replaced my stock 17X6 GT wheels with American Racing Aero 17X7. I have had no end of trouble ever since.

The Aero models were recalled, and I got Snipers last week. Unfortunately this did not solve the problem, so I took it to another shop (Craven Tires) which is probably the best tire shop around here (Arlington VA). They have a road force balance machine, and an excellent reputation.

They took a look at my problem and suggested three problems:

1) Tires were not properly balanced (they rebalanced, but vibration continues)
2) The hub-centric rings were ill-fitting. This allows the wheel to shift out of center.
3) The lug nuts had the wrong taper, contributing to the shifting problem.

Response from Sears:

1) Sears checked the balance (again) and reported that they were out of balance after Craven balanced them. I watched the machine register a .75, and they added the weights and the next spin showed it balanced. I asked them to loosen the machine's hub nut, remount the wheel on the balancer, and re-test it. It imediately showed out of balance again. Obviouisly there is a problem with the way they are mounting the wheel on the machine. Any advice?

2) Sears has acknowledged the ill-fitting hub-centric rings and has ordered replacement rings and new wheels from Am. Racing. Is this a common problem? One of the techs said it was a mistake to replace the stock wheels, but I read about people doing that here all the time. Are there hub-centric wheels that don't required the spacing rings?

3) Sears contacted AR about the lug nuts, but tell me that AR said we have the right ones. Craven said that I had "acorn" lug nuts and that I needed "tapered".

I don't know if anyone here can help, but I thought I should at least alert people to the potential hazards with changing rims.