Duct tape wheel covers and other possible cheap alternatives
 

So I own this '04 Honda Civic EX that's fully stock except for the tires being inflated to 40 PSI from 32. Being an EX, it doesn't have steelies to nicely attack pizza pans or moon disc covers on. But considering the relative flatness of the alloys, and the width of the spokes, would covering the wheels with black duct tape provide the same benefit as flat wheel covers to make it worth doing? Or would it have no benefit? Attached is a photo of the car currently and what it would look like if I were to implement this.

Also, something I came across on another thread: would insurance likely go up by implementing this, under the categorization of "modified wheel"?

Yeah, duct tape will provide a smooth-ish surface to the passing air, so it’ll help... there are also ways to attach smooth covers to alloy wheels that would give a more secure hold than tape... that being said, I’m using strapping tape for most of my aeromods, not necessarily due to its strength but its cost ($0.00 to me)... just search the site for threads about moon discs and alloy wheels

I duct taped rubber covers to mine, but they didn't hold so well. Wind kept blowing them off at highway speeds. Best bet, really, is to fabricate discs and ziptie them on.

That's kinda what I'm considering doing now after further research. Black coroplast discs attached with zip ties and black duct tape to help keep them in position as well as provide a smoother airflow transition from the tire to the plastic. We'll see how it goes, unless I find a better idea before implementing it. This way seems cheap and good though, and can easily be reverted back to stock in a matter of minutes.

Something to consider: a lot of the newer GM cars(my Saturn included) used threaded lugs with plastic caps for holding the factory covers on... my Malibu was missing the covers but I pirated a set of the plastic lug nut caps and screwed my coroplast discs to those... they held fast even at 100mph...

So are you saying use something like these and then screw the covers into them (after compatibility is verified)?

Yeah, just grab the plastic covers that thread onto the lugs (and the lugs themselves)to screw your cover into... my advice-match compatibly online and then go to a junkyard and grab them... might get lucky or might have to buy the plastic covers new to screw your disc to...

Side note: make sure not only the thread size and pitch match, but also the lug seat shape... some are flat, some are conical, and some are hemispheric... I don’t know what would happen if you used non matching seats but can’t imagine it to be good

Another alternative I'm leaning toward for smooth wheel covers:

- 4 16" White coroplast (white to repell heat) discs attached with zip ties around each of the 5 spokes each of my wheels.
- Discs will have 0.5"-0.75" openings in between each spoke for air
ventilation so brakes don't overheat. Opening around air valve will be 1"-1.5" for ease of access.
- Holes to access each lug nut for easy wheel removal, covered with tape for aero yet will be easily removable.
- Caulk to fill in the holes within the coroplast and around edges of wheel to provide smooth transition from the tire to the wheel and possibly more stability (Not sure if caulk is a good idea, and if it is, if basic cheap caulk will work).

Any thoughts? Does this sound feasible? Total cost for all 4 wheels will be about $16.09 since I already have some caulk lying around I can use, so ROI will be only a few thousand miles. Will the small openings for brake ventilation prevent any increase in MPG?

I don't know if the holes will prevent gains, per se, but if you're hypermiling your brake use would be minimal anyway so overheating isn't as big a concern, the brakes still get air from the backside anyway... You need to remember to make the discs a little bigger than your wheel size... I have 15" wheels and cut my discs 16" diameter and in reality you could go even a couple inches bigger...it'll just fill the gap between wheel edge and the bulge in the sidewall

I do brake significantly less than the average driver due to hypermiling, but there are still instances where I have to brake harder than I would like to - idiot drivers, a poorly timed light, etc. How much would be too much though? Coroplast seems to melt easily under heat (hence why I'm thinking white instead of black) so wouldn't having no openings pose a risk unless you literally didn't brake at all? I mean, I could do pizza pans, but those are heavier and aren't as flat.

Thanks for the tip on the size! Will definitely do that. At first I thought my wheels were 15" since that's what the factory ones were, and these are factory ones...but they measure 16".. What do you think of the caulk idea though?

Swap meet season is on the way. I got these four for $5.00 because the holes were eaten out. Lots of room for new holes. I'll fold aluminum strips double and cover the notches, with new holes, when I find some use.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...1-100-0960.jpg

15" is bead-to-bead not lip-to-lip. Check the tire sidewall.

I've had coroplast discs on both my Malibu and now my Ion, and I have coroplast under my engine and while it has never melted, it did sag a little under the engine... For street use, regular smooth coroplast discs in whatever color will be fine... For track use I'd take them off though...

Looking good!

Ah okay, thanks for the info!

Just looked up the melting point of coroplast - 320 degrees Fahrenheit, much hotter than brakes or wheels should ever get. I guess maybe I'm just a little overly skeptical from when I had that one trip with a dragging brake caliper that made the wheel very hot to the touch until it got replaced.

So looks like now I'll be doing smooth white (a buck cheaper than black, so why not, plus soothes my OCD about heat absorption) coroplast discs then, with white tape over the lug nut and air valve holes for ease of access, and caulk the gaps around the edge of the rim.

Thanks for your patience and input with my questions! I'm sure I'll have more as I keep thinking this out and get my shopping lists made up.

Tryin' to hit 50 MPG by the time summer comes around. :cool:

How do you plan on cutting the discs? I used aviation snips on mine because that's what I had available to me at the time... Ideally a compass mounted knife would be the solution...

Another thought, but what if instead of cutting holes for each lug nut you just cut a circle that goes just around the four? Or would your wheel design not permit that?

We have the same goal in mind for summer... I think it's plenty doable given the amount of low hanging fruit you have left to pluck

I was planning on tracing using a paper diagram, scoring with a knife, and then cutting with scissors. A compass mounted knife would be ideal, but my compass isn't big enough, and mounting a knife to it would be a DIY project in and of itself. Not sure what I'd do for the holes inside the discs; maybe either melt them or puncture them carefully.

My wheels are the stock wheels from the EX trims of the 7th gen civics (image from online, not mine personally; I don't have mud flaps. :)):

http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/46019046.jpg

What advantages would cutting out one single hole have? My current plan is to tape over those small holes and see how that holds up.

Yes I'm hoping so. Right now with just hypermiling and tires inflated to ~38 PSi I'm now getting around 40, give or take depending on drive and conditions. I think 50 is doable for both of us.

Main advantage of the big center hole is less holes to cut, and maybe easier access to lug nuts...

True, unless one made the holes big enough. But how would one secure the coroplast over the hole to maintain the flatness? Can't use duct tape or zip ties, and I'm not going to drill anything or do something that would ruin the finish.

Cheap vinyl is surprisingly durable. I wrapped the oem prius wheel covers in fake carbon fiber vinyl and actually had a normal person comment and say he liked my wheel covers and he'd buy them off me. lolol
Couple weeks in and no problems. #knockonwood
Also its extremely light. Crazy how light the plastic wheel covers covered in vinyl are.

Pics?

Not bad!

I may be experimenting with temporary duct tape wheel covers until I get my timing belt replaced next week...we'll see if the weather dries up here first though.

Hey, I am experimenting with foil tape, weed barrier, and plastidip for this exact purpose right now. Over several posts in my build thread you can see my idea and progress. Build thread is in my signature below. I would love feedback/questions. Don't think I should just duplicate and repost here, so here is just one photo.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1523734234

How about something like this: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...orn-14306.html

I did not like the idea of pizza pans, so I went with pizza separators, but I wanted to try the attachment method someone else on here promoted. Unfortunately, it did not work well for me.

Do I want to reuse the separators with superfluous holes?

Looks like too much work lol.


How about using 1/2" thick (can be shaved down at the edges insulation foam board? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Co...-36L/100320356
Pros: cheaper than coroplast and possibly more durable than duct tape covered cardboard?

You could find coupling nuts that fit your lugs and then you would not need to drill them, but I cannot find any that fit my Hondas.

You could also put fiberglass and resin on cardboard.

You could just pay more for gas. But is that the point?

Lol, I had the same issue when I searched for those, couldn't find them.

That expensive idea rather defeats the purpose of ecomods for saving money..

Why would we want to do that? :rolleyes:


But it still doesn't answer my question! ;)

That's been done before!

Someone with their own tools could make their own from a single piece of steel. That would impress me.

Not all modifications need to look like the gorilla tape on the front of my Accord. Some look nice, but why don't you go ahead and strap foamboard to your wheels and report back in week. Tell you what, I will even buy you the foam so you can show us how well that works.

Which one? Caulk? Foam board?

http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/46019046.jpg

Have you laid a straight edge on that wheel to see if it is convex or concave overall?

Four holes for the lugs will lead to stress risers and failure. One hole can't eat away at itself. And if the wheel is convex, then a fairly large hole will center on the wheel.

Instead of caulk, wrap the edge with tape. Cut the circle by pinning the center and rotating the sheet material against a tool.

I just might, if I can find some thin enough. Right now I'll be experimenting with cardboard first. My timing belt is being changed right now and should be done in a couple of hours. Then it's time to go home and make 3 more cardboard discs for testing (I made one last night)

Foam board, sorry. Not sure if it's durable enough or if there are other concerns since I haven't seen many others use it and yet it seems like an even cheaper alternative to coroplast.

The wheels are slightly concave, but mostly flat, which makes them nice for mounting.

Wait, are you saying having 4 lugs is bad? Or something else? Sorry.

Good idea with the tape, kinda what I was planning doing with my cardboard prototypes, I just don't know if the tape will survive the weather.

For the discs I used a tape measure to measure out the diameter with the center laid against a penciled in point, then rotated the tape measure and added dots. I then connected the dots to something that was probably a "60-gon" so when I cut it, it was basically a circle.

Pop that center cap out and see if that provides some mounting possibilities.

Tap threads into the bores, two left-handed and two right. Fine threads.

Here's what I ended up doing (link):

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...p;d=1524356217

You really should consider making a joke to check air pressure... could maybe use a rubber hole plug to seal it up

The cheapest rubber plugs I could find were like $8 for 10...and these wheel covers were basically free. Trying to see if I can mock up a DIY version. Not that $8 is a big chunk of change or anything, but part of the fun is seeing how low cost one can make the mods. :D