Another silly question about wheel covers

[hat_man]

I was just sitting here thinking about some pizza pan wheel covers and after reading some posts last night it seems there may be a brake overheating issue there. Mine would have to mount to the wheel hub (dome shaped) cap in the center, probably with two bolts. Could the pans be mounted with spacers to give a small gap (1/8"-1/4") between the edge of the pan and the wheel or would this defeat the whole purpose? It seems like it would give some advantage for "smoothness" while still having a small place for airflow to relieve the heating problems. Or am I just dreaming?

[Daox]

Unless you're driving down a mountain, your brakes should cool themselves fast enough. Plus, an ecodriver should strive for limiting brake use as much as possible in the first place.

I can't comment directly since I don't have full moon covers on any vehicles, but I've never heard of anyone having problems.

[Old Tele man]

...unless you're slaloming or hill-climbing, there should be no problem.

[ShadeTreeMech]

Especially if you have aluminum alloy rims (standard I believe on the splash) overheating is highly unlikely unless you go downhill with heavy loads frequently.

The aluminum alloys will dissapate the heat very readily.

[aburk4]

Originally Posted by Daox

...an ecodriver should strive for limiting brake use as much as possible in the first place...

If you're an "ecodriver" and you overheat your brakes, then shame on you. I would just like to point that out.

I don't think this is something you need to worry about.

Thanks and Good luck!

[PaleMelanesian]

When I had full discs on mine, a friend raised this question. To settle it, after a trip I reached around the back and grabbed onto the brake disc with my bare hands. It was only slightly warm, no more than you'd get from sitting still in the sun.

not a problem

There is still full air flow around the back of the wheel.

[some_other_dave]

N.B.--Most slaloms are too short to build significant heat in the brakes. Hillclimbs can be a different matter, but the brakes aren't worked super hard on the uphill sections.

-soD