In article >,
Grant Edwards > wrote:

> Since they're supposed
> to bear most of the weight of the car, I would think that one
> would want metal ones.

They don't bear any weight at all. All they do is help center the wheel
until you can get the lugnuts on, and plastic works fine for this
trivial task. The lugs carry 100% of the weight. You can leave the
hubcentric rings out with no ill effect. Just observe the normal lug
tightening sequence: run them all up finger tight, then torque them in
two steps, in a diagonal pattern.

--
Lanny Chambers, St. Louis, USA
'94C
the alignment page:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html