Question : Wheel covers that rub front tires - ( dangers of)

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by Cd

The thing is, is that I have a roll of leftover aluminum sheeting from years ago.

I'll go ahead and try using it and report back.
I posted mainly in case any of you knew for certain that it wouldn't work due to friction.
I know of coarse that it WILL heat the tire in the area it makes contact.
I'm not too concerned, since I will only be making a few turns that have at most 10 -15 seconds of contact.
However, this will be on an already warm tire.

I'm just trying to think of all the issues before they arise.

I don't think heat will be an issue. The heat will be spread over the whole sidewall, and aluminum transfers heat well, so the contact point on the aluminum shouldn't get really hot either. Also, tires can handle quite a bit of heat. You will eventually wear through the sidewalls, but I'm pretty sure that will take a lot longer than the lifespan of the tires. A few seconds of rubbing on a smooth surface won't hurt the tires. Just make sure there's enough clearance for high-speed turns without rubbing. Keeping sun off your tires will probably make them last longer!

[Cd]

We shall see how it goes.
Lots of held back laughter as people walk by the car.
Getting comments like " You know that's going to fall off when you turn, right ? "
I have the cover on as a placeholder for sizing.
It's held on with tape and some stickers I pulled off the Coroplast ( trash from work )
Just today I got some perfect sized springs off of o counch that was in front of the dumpster.
With all of the trash this turdbucket has on it, maybe I should call it the "Flying Trashcan", instead of the " Flying Turd ".

I originally planned to try air curtains, since there is that fake duct in the bumper. I thought this would be too complex to make a full cover, but I'm really liking the fact that it allows me to do a full sharkmouth.
Besides the wheelcovers, I've been trying to make my 3D model correct for the car.
All those louvers are a pain to get just right, since each is at a different angle.
Here it is in a " kid's CFD ' program. :

[freebeard]

but I'm really liking the fact that it allows me to do a full sharkmouth.

Sharkmouths make everything better.

I can't decide on a sharkmouth in the opening on my Metro or chrome bullets in the corners (like Ron Courtney's X-51).


http://www.customcarchronicle.com/wp...er-300x377.jpg

[Cd]

I went for a very short test drive in the parking lot, doing lots of extreme turns.
I can see that the aluminum support on the bottom will need to be more rigid.
I had the top hinge support just attached in the center, but still can see that this area gets a lot of twisting force to the sides.
I have a spring on both the front and rear of the cover to pull the cover back towards the body.
How did Basjoos get by with just the one on the front ?
I didn't have the aluminum backing attaced so that it would wear down the Coroplast and show where the tires rub.
It's a smaller area than I thought.
Here it is at full turn after the test drive :

[freebeard]

It looks like a wheelwell flare would fit under the closed position.

The two connected hinges I showed at Permalink #9 would work wih a cover that hinges instead of lifting. IMHO.

[Cd]

Wheelwell flare ?
Are you talking about something to fill that gap that opens up.
It's not on here atm but I plan to have a section that fill this gap as the wheel opens.

Can you remind me what a pernalink is and how to use one ? ( On Android BTW )

[freebeard]

Yes.

There is may be a gray bar at the top of your post that says:

Today, 03:29 PM_____________________ #16 (permalink)

If the Permalink is underlined, then you do whatever you do on a phone. [shrug]

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

All I could say is avoid the tires rubbing the fenders at any cost. Well, I guess it was a good reason why lo-riders often had smaller wheels, or why some ricers enlarge the wheel wells of some random econoboxes in order to fit much bigger wheels.

[freebeard]

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Not exactly that what I had in mind, but anyway, makes me wonder to which extent those widened fenders fitted to lifted 4WD rigs could be aerodynamically better than just leaving the tires protrude.