Market For Aerodynamic Wheel Covers?

[MetroMPG]

Funny this thread should start, because...

1) the bologna is getting low;

2) Ben and I had a brief conversation last week along the lines of "what about selling smooth wheel covers... seems like lots of members want them, and DIY seems to confound people". Then ruled it out for a couple of reasons;

3) Last week, out of the blue a friend who never looks at this forum asked me if I knew where he could buy moonies.

I do think there is a market for this, and it could be expanded.

Do it!

[Piwoslaw]

Ha!! Beat you to it!
I've also been wondering why cheap-o plastic hubcaps can be make in all sorts of spoke imitating shapes, but can't be just plain flat (or maybe slightly convex). I guess that once someone leads the way, spends $$$ to get the public's attention, then everyone will be producing them. The market has to grow up to efficiency mods. And if I can buy plastic caps for $15/set then I won't think twice: I can take them off at any moment if I don't like them.

Bologna? Last I heard Darin was on catfood

[Christ]

There have been a couple of donations since then.

[MetroMPG]

"Ha!! Beat you to it! "

Ah - forgot about that thread. Must be my diet.

[Frank Lee]

It's funny how we can acknowledge that the market for eco-auto-stuff such as this may be too limited to make it pay, yet at the same time chastise mfgs for not catering to said non-existant market

[cfg83]

Frank -

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

It's funny how we can acknowledge that the market for eco-auto-stuff such as this may be too limited to make it pay, yet at the same time chastise mfgs for not catering to said non-existant market

Ibid. IMO we are reading fuzzy navel lint if we think we are more than 1% of the car-driving population.

However, with that said, there is an(other small) auto performance market that knows that racing disks are good for top end speed. This leads to two other ways to "market" the item outside of Ecomodders :

1 - We would need to cater the mod to the *real* speed market in order to bolster sales.

2 - We would need to get the message out that :

Racing Disks
=> Faster car
=> I want a set to show I have a speedy car (even though I don't)

The reason is, if we can increase sales, we can increase production volume, and bring the price down for everyone. (ha ha, notice that I assume we already have a finished product that will work on a majority of wheels)

CarloSW2

[Christ]

I'm still waiting for a viable attachment method that doesn't require modifiying the wheel.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi Chris,

The spring steel "fingers" on the back of the stainless domed wheel covers I have work *okay*, but they do loosen over time. They also rust, and the rust starts to show on the outside.

The steel rims on my wife's xD had several metal plates that prevented them from full seating in, and there was a small gap. She lost one driving through a pothole, or something. I have had one come off, too -- I just happened to notice and i was able to stop and retrieve it. It had a ding which required a little hammering...

I think that three screws that push wedges against the rim would be best. A few springs to hold it in place until you tighten the screws to lock in the wedges.