Pizza pan hubcap project

[thatguitarguy]

Found some $4 pizza pans at WM that look like just the thing for the 16" wheels on my van. The options I'm considering for attachment are either some clips that would run from around the "spoke" part of the wheel to the edge of the pan fashioned out of bicycle spokes, or velcro on the inside of the pan and attached with spacers and zip ties through the same part of the wheel.

These cover the valves, so nice clean lines that way, but they need to be easily removable for tire maintenance. I think the bicycle spoke clips would be sturdier if I can figure out how to do that, but velcro would be a little easier for removal, but I'm worried about whether that system would keep the caps on the wheels at highway speed. I'm thinking that if it's not just right, the rotational forces would easily pull the pan out far enough for the breeze to catch it and send it flying.

I submit this to you modder masses for your ideas.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

Found some $4 pizza pans at WM that look like just the thing for the 16" wheels on my van. The options I'm considering for attachment are either some clips that would run from around the "spoke" part of the wheel to the edge of the pan fashioned out of bicycle spokes, or velcro on the inside of the pan and attached with spacers and zip ties through the same part of the wheel.

These cover the valves, so nice clean lines that way, but they need to be easily removable for tire maintenance. I think the bicycle spoke clips would be sturdier if I can figure out how to do that, but velcro would be a little easier for removal, but I'm worried about whether that system would keep the caps on the wheels at highway speed. I'm thinking that if it's not just right, the rotational forces would easily pull the pan out far enough for the breeze to catch it and send it flying.

I submit this to you modder masses for your ideas.

If you can secure them,I'd say go for it bigtime.What a great deal!

[MetroMPG]

I'd make a hole and put valve extensions on the tires. Then you could secure the covers better (drill & tap with spacers underneath to keep them from buckling).

[Christ]

You could always screw them right to your center caps, so that you could snap them in place, and pull them off easily enough to keep tire maintenance not so much of a burden. It would take a nut and bolt, possibly a spacer.

[cfg83]

thatguitarguy -

Cool. It looks like you found the right size of pizza pan. My wheel has the center cap with four plastic "faux bolts" that hold the center cap on :



For my situation, I could drill holes in the faux-bolts and have screws coming *out* of the faux-bolts. The threads of the screws would then come out through the pizza pan and allow me to screw the pan down from the outside. I think that 4 points to hold it down would be good in my book. I also have the option of drilling a center hole through the center cap and having just one (strong!!!) center screw coming out (just like Christ is describing).

In your situation, I think your bolts are real because I don't see a center cap. But if you like my idea, you could figure out a way to swap out your bolts for double-threaded bolts that will allow you to mount plastic faux-bolts. But (there's always a but), in your situation, the faux-bolts may no longer be flush to the wheel, .

CarloSW2

[thatguitarguy]

Any nut and bolt attachments would require at least 2'' worth of spacers because the wheel and the pan are dished in opposite directions.

I just had another idea. Somewhere I have some small bungee cords that have small paperclip like hooks that might be able to loop around the wheel spokes and hook to the edge of the pan. Now to remember where I put them...

[Christ]

thatguitarguy -

I made a suggestion to someone else about this same topic, actually. You can put screws though your lug nuts from the insides. The chrome caps are very thin, and easy to drill through. Plus, the studs don't screw in that far.

Alternatively, you could just thread screws through the chrome, as well. I'd rather at least have a nut JB-welded into the caps, though.

[donee]

Hi GuitarGuy,

I am not familiar with Leadville, CO. How mountainous is it there ?

[luvit]

caulk around the edge of the pan. -- it would be easy, a cleaner look, secure, and simple to remove the hub if you had a flat. -- anything, like a credit card could break the caulk seal.

but to re-apply the caulk in the future would mean >40F temperatures and a rather clean surface.

[thatguitarguy]

Originally Posted by donee

Hi GuitarGuy,

I am not familiar with Leadville, CO. How mountainous is it there ?

Very mountainous. At 10,200 ft, it's the highest city in the lower 48, with the highest airport. And it's surrounded by 13,000 and 14,000 ft peaks.

But back on topic:

Another idea I have is to take the hub end of a bicycle spoke, bend it over a little more into a hook, and bend a loop at the other end. I'll make a bunch of these, zip tie them to the spokes of the wheel with the hook end to the outside to hook over the lip of the pan, and then thread some bicycle inner tube through the loop ends gathered near the hub of the wheel. This will pull the hooks toward the center and provide some tension, similar to the way tire chains are tightened on the wheel. Then the hook end can be pulled against this tension and up and over the lip of the pan. Hopefully this will make for a secure attachment that can be easily removed without tools.