Experiment: smooth wheel discs tested A-B-A - 4.6% mpg improvement @ 65 mph

[Christ]

To form lexan - get your shape somewhat on with clay, smooth it to the perfect shape with plaster, bake-harden it.

When you've got it perfect as a positive image of what you want (do not use a negative, you'll end up with undesirable side effects) lay your lexan on it and bake it @ 200* - 300* until it forms properly.

After it cools, you may need to polish it up a bit.

[Concrete]

Originally Posted by basslover911

^^ Again, how dirty do you think they will get?

And how long will they last against scratching? (NOT running into curbs of course)

I think the answer is - it depends - and not just on brake dust:

if you drive on dirt roads, in pot holes full of mud or icy slush
- clear covers would be dirty a lot & will be hard to keep looking good

material properties will also affect this
I doubt you will get your plastic "hard coated" to protect from scratches
so cleaning and handling might give it a haze in time

also plastics can gather static electricity & can attract dust that way
(this would be nothing compared to the first mud puddle you hit)

But...
if you were willing to seal off the back of the wheel
sort of like the guys taping off the outside of the wheel in this thread
and you seal your plastic edges some way....

if you could get it at least splash proof - you might be on to something...
your wheels would be sort of sealed up

while the other guy at the car wash is picking crap out of his pretty wheels
you could just go in a hose off your smooth covers
with never a scratch on your beautiful wheels

you might even sell that idea - Protect-O-Matic wheel covers TM

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Concrete

Protect-O-Matic wheel covers TM

More style for more miles! LOL

*Better gas mileage claims may or may not hold true, and are solely and entirely based on driving conditions and normal usage situations.*

(Damn those disclaimers.)

[Daveedo]

I remember seeing some "brake dust covers" that shielded the back side of the rim from the brake dust. Sorta a concave shape as viewed from the outside of the rim. If you found and used these and used tinted lexan then the "clear" wheel covers would probably work ok in regards to dirtyness.

found em at JCwhitney...but about $40 eek!

edit: cheaper on ebay but not as cheap as the pizza pans.

[basslover911]

Those covers would be totally useless by just getting low dust brake pads... and probably cheaper in the long run as you would be replacing your worn off brake pads with new low dust ones

[GasGuage]

festivaWES,

Let me know how that velcro works out on those pans. I imagine the velcro would stick pretty well, but have some doubts of the bond of the tape side to the wheel (summer heat, large puddles, etc.)...

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by Buddy

I bought some full aluminum racing discs from Hubcap Mikes that I will be putting on an '02 Highlander. However, I will not be screwing them into the wheel rims, but will jury rig some type of small blocks on 3 of the large spokes so that the discs can be screwed into the the blocks and easily removed for tire rotations/changes. I'm concerned about upsetting the wheel balance. Has any one out there addressed this concern?

You could use some Dyna Beads to dynamically balance yer wheels after you put yer discs on. Only thing about them is when you stop they will fall to the bottom and rebalance when you git back up to speed. Same thing goes fer bumps in the road...

Oh...and you can't use any of those liquid inflators or tire sealers in yer tires. That wouldn't be a good thing fer those...

[crexcrex]

Will be back online re racing disks and how to attach them and no balancing required......................i wrote an article awhile back on the subject. Unfortunately there are those who think that the clip ons are okay.

lay you odds that there a few people out there who have lost a few racing disks.
Rather than go through the same bs i want to hear from those who want them to stay on and not have to balance thier tires............and i mean stay on not a temporary fix.

Is there anyone willing to listen????

[BamZipPow]

Have any of you thought about putting the air valve in the center of the disc? I guess you could always use this valve and run an extension to the middle...

[crexcrex]

Will tell all, don't want to hear about far fetched ideas, valve to center of disk?????? drop me a line if anyone is interested and if not?