Racing discs-worth it?

[Bror Jace]

Sipping? Do you have a drinking problem?

OK, yours were $10 cheaper ... or $2.50 ea.

I got mine Friday ... then put them on this morning. I really like the look a lot more than I thought I would. I'll take and post a pic after I wash and wax my ride tomorrow.

[jthistle]

Racing disks on

[Concrete]

looks good

[Hacksaw]

I purchased some privately from someone who sells them on eBay...$75.00 shipped for a set of 13's (hubcaps, not screw-ons).
I can't wait till they arrive...they are so cool looking! My butt-o-meter will surely register FE gains, even if my calculator doesn't.

For my other Metro (the rustier, blue one), I'm thinking of hand-painting some Matchbox-style rims on the backside of some clear plexiglas and mounting them to some modified hubcaps that came with the car.

Nobody better steel my idea!!! lol, I don't really care...

Hacksaw

[cfg83]

jthistle -

Looks egg-salad. I love that racing disks are an aero-mod because I like them anyway.

CarloSW2

[aerohead]

I found my installment on wheels/tires.Looks like you could expect perhaps a 1.5 % mpg improvement on the HWY tops.In a broader picture however,for anyone considering aft-body streamlining,the discs will help create a quality airflow ahead of mods,without which,the mods will not function.If you have no plans for rear extensions,then aspirated wheelcovers are fine.If you're going for a boat tail,you'll probably want to consider full discs,as well as full skirts.Go easy on your brakes!

[jthistle]

Now that I have the disks on I noticed they stick out quite a bit and will cause me to make a rear wheel skirt bow out more. I was thinking of switching to pizza pans on the back. I think the sticking out is a function of the fact I have 16" wheels and I just get a larger arc versus smaller wheels.

[Bror Jace]

Put mine on Saturday morning ... washed and waxed the beast the next day. Wow, all of a sudden, my hum-drum Civic is getting noticed by others on the road.

jthistle, I like yours too. Yes, I suppose I wish they didn't stick out so much (I noticed the same thing almost immediately) but I figure they are stronger in that shape. Flatter 'pizza pans' would have to be heavier to have the same strength, I think.

If/when I get real wheel skirts, I'll probably remove the rear moons ... and either sell them or have a spare pair.

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by Bror Jace

Put mine on Saturday morning ... washed and waxed the beast the next day. Wow, all of a sudden, my hum-drum Civic is getting noticed by others on the road.

jthistle, I like yours too. Yes, I suppose I wish they didn't stick out so much (I noticed the same thing almost immediately) but I figure they are stronger in that shape. Flatter 'pizza pans' would have to be heavier to have the same strength, I think.

If/when I get real wheel skirts, I'll probably remove the rear moons ... and either sell them or have a spare pair.

Nice. They look good on any car, really. In a month or two, I'm going to get a set for my girlfriend's Intrepid, so we match.

I do get a lot of looks. Everyone old guy who is at least aware of old-school hotrodding knows they're cool. The guy that put on my tires said, "they look like the inverse of spinners-- the car looks like it's not moving," and in general, my car gets a huge amount of attention. Just the other day, someone at work asked to look around it, and was astonished at the comination of full size truck-equivalent leg and head room, combined with my decent FE.

The aluminum Moon discs stick out a lot, too, and they are way less strong than the steel knockoffs. Mine are scuffed more than I'd like to admit. If I do rear skirts, I probably won't run discs on the back, so I can make the hypothetical skirts flush with the body.

Picasa Web Albums - Paul - Scion

[cfg83]

Bror Jace -

Originally Posted by Bror Jace

Put mine on Saturday morning ... washed and waxed the beast the next day. Wow, all of a sudden, my hum-drum Civic is getting noticed by others on the road.

jthistle, I like yours too. Yes, I suppose I wish they didn't stick out so much (I noticed the same thing almost immediately) but I figure they are stronger in that shape. Flatter 'pizza pans' would have to be heavier to have the same strength, I think.

If/when I get real wheel skirts, I'll probably remove the rear moons ... and either sell them or have a spare pair.

A word of warning that should have come with the disks. If you go to a car wash that "grabs the wheel" to pull the car through the wash, the grabber can put a nice circular dent in the disk. Soooooo, take the disk off first.

I learned that the hard way, .

CarloSW2

[Bror Jace]

Thanks cfg83, but I never go to automated car washes.

[jthistle]

Looks good. The silver was a bit much for me so I painted mine with Dupli-Color's Graphite wheel coating. Unfortunately the spray can is not very even. I have read that epoxy paint can be brushed and even out very nicely, so I think I will repaint.

[cfg83]

jthistle -

Originally Posted by jthistle

Looks good. The silver was a bit much for me so I painted mine with Dupli-Color's Graphite wheel coating. Unfortunately the spray can is not very even. I have read that epoxy paint can be brushed and even out very nicely, so I think I will repaint.

Powder coating is also an option, but that's more $$.

CarloSW2

[rjacob]

Hey Bror Jace, have you seen any FE improvement on your Civic? I would be looking at putting em on my 2000 Civic.

[Bror Jace]

rjacob, I've only had them on for 4 days now ... give me some time.

But there was someone else here that did testing of smooth wheel covers and got a 4.6% improvement. Thread isn't that old ... maybe a week or so.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Bror Jace

Wow, all of a sudden, my hum-drum Civic is getting noticed by others on the road.

I can see why. Something about the shape/colour of your car goes really well with those wheel covers. I like it a lot.

[Bror Jace]

Well, I've had my discs on for a couple of weeks. Not noticeable gains in fuel economy ... but I don't have any apples-to-apples comparisons to make. I did just take a 320 mile trip (about 38.8mpg so far) on Saturday but the air temp was about 60F compared to my July 4th trip when the ambient temp was at least 80F (42.7mpg). I drove a bit faster ... and there was some city mileage mixed into that as well. I also won't be able to show any gains as the temps go down throughout this month and next. If my mileage merely stays consistent for the next 2+ months, I will feel I've accomplished some gains.

One serendipitous effect of the covers is the tremendous cosmetic appeal the car now has. I get people staring at me, other cars slow down to take a better look, people ask why I put them on, etc ... My ho-hum Civic has become a conversation piece.

One weird side effect is that at low speeds and with the windows open, I can hear a tick, tick, tick sound as the wheels go around. Oh, and the day after my 320 mile trip, I went around and found they had loosened just a hair. Minor points ... but worth mentioning.

[thebrad]

Originally Posted by Bror Jace

Well, I've had my discs on for a couple of weeks. Not noticeable gains in fuel economy ... but I don't have any apples-to-apples comparisons to make. I did just take a 320 mile trip (about 38.8mpg so far) on Saturday but the air temp was about 60F compared to my July 4th trip when the ambient temp was at least 80F (42.7mpg). I drove a bit faster ... and there was some city mileage mixed into that as well. I also won't be able to show any gains as the temps go down throughout this month and next. If my mileage merely stays consistent for the next 2+ months, I will feel I've accomplished some gains.

One serendipitous effect of the covers is the tremendous cosmetic appeal the car now has. I get people staring at me, other cars slow down to take a better look, people ask why I put them on, etc ... My ho-hum Civic has become a conversation piece.

One weird side effect is that at low speeds and with the windows open, I can hear a tick, tick, tick sound as the wheels go around. Oh, and the day after my 320 mile trip, I went around and found they had loosened just a hair. Minor points ... but worth mentioning.

They want to see their distorted reflection.

[donee]

Hi Bror,

The difference in air density (directly proportional to aero drag) was about 5 percent (80 F versus 65 F). So, your drop in mileage by 9 percent cannot be completely explained by the temperature change.

Aero effects are so small, one needs to do a side-by-side evaluation.

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by Bror Jace

One weird side effect is that at low speeds and with the windows open, I can hear a tick, tick, tick sound as the wheels go around. Oh, and the day after my 320 mile trip, I went around and found they had loosened just a hair. Minor points ... but worth mentioning.

I've had my Moon discs since February, and on this saturday morning, I finally got around to fixing that noise. Get the cheapest tube of caulk you can if you don't already have some lying around the house, and run a bead around both sides of the teeth. The noise won't be 100% gone, but it'll be so quiet that you'd have to be listening for it to notice much.

I have no idea why I took so long to getting around to fixing this. It was the best $7.50 I ever spent (I had to buy a caulk gun along with the caulk).

If I remember, I'll pry one off and take a picture tomorrow.