Do I need a hubcentric for my aftermarket wheels?

I have a ford f150 with 34" offroad tires and aftermarket wheels. I had one of my tires replaced a few months ago and the idiot tire installer didn't put the hubcentric ring back on the wheel. The dealership told me when they rotated my tires yesterday. I haven't noticed any vibration coming from that wheel. Should I still get a new ring for it? Or leave it as is.

The angled lug nuts keep the wheel centered on the hub.

Go back and get the ring, they shouldn't have thrown it away… The jerks. But you don't want to hold the wheel by the STUDS, you want the HUB to hold it in place. You can bend or break studs that way.

They're not vital, the plastic rings just help to center the wheel correctly but are not load-bearing in any way. So they have no function of relieving any load from the wheel fixings.

The tapers on the nuts/studs are what really do the centering: the hubcentric ring just assists with making sure the fixings do correctly center themselves.

But the fitter should have refitted them. As you've understandably left it a few months because you were unaware you have no chance now of demanding the fitting shop correct their fault as it's now your word against theirs and the plastic rings are probably long disposed of.

Replacement rings are cheap, so if you want then obtain a replacement and ask for it to be fitted next time the wheel comes off.

If the missing ring was a vital component then you can be certain the dealer would have refused to complete the job unless you'd paid for a replacement.

Despite what tuner wannabes will insist, hub centric rings are simply there to assist the installer center the wheel before he torques up the lug nuts. The tapered nuts center the wheel on the hub. Don't get me wrong, they're very handy when installing large wheels because it is possible to miss the taper with the nuts and improperly install the wheel. The rings will make sure an amateur gets it right, a pro will not have any problem without them.