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Old 06-18-2013, 08:55 PM   #1 (permalink)
The manic mechanic
 
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probably the coolest aero pizza pan steel wheel covers ever

So ive been working on these steel wheel covers for a while now. i wanted to have them mounted concave thinking this would help lower the Cd compared to the convex mounting style ive seen a few others do. so i stared at them like a monkey trying to do a math problem for a bit and then got to work. I pulled one of the wheels off of my little hyundai to use as a reference, marked some things out, drilled some holes (possibly ruining a wood hole-boring drill bit, but nevertheless) and zip tied them to my wheels.

Turns out with just 4 mounting points they flex a little bit and make a funny noise. probably no the most aero of an upgrade. so i thought i'd not only fix them but make them look cool in the process. I punched some more holes hoping to make use of all 12 of the "spokes" in the stock wheel. 3x the ties should result in less flexing. right?

Who says Eco can't look sweet?
so here are some pics of the process and the finished covers, will post pics of the car when mounted

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Old 06-18-2013, 09:03 PM   #2 (permalink)
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I'd think that convex would make for better aero but the difference is probably so slight as to be unmeasureable out in the real world.
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Old 06-18-2013, 10:44 PM   #3 (permalink)
The manic mechanic
 
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You could be right. Wish i had a wind tunnel but the theory was that it would give an aero benefit (hopefully directing some of the wind out and around the back of the fenders) but at least reducing the overall drag of the wheels.

2 out of 4 are done, it's coming nicely!
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Old 06-18-2013, 11:07 PM   #4 (permalink)
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slightly convex covers would be ideal, but as long as they're smooth, they should work.



This is 4 mil construction plastic, stretched tightly over an aftermarket wheel cover. It works.
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Old 06-19-2013, 02:34 AM   #5 (permalink)
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ElPants21 -- I'm squinting at the Attached Thumbnails. I see some vaguely blue stuff in the middle two, but they don't open for me. I don't think you can successfully post pictures until you're up to 5 posts.

Meanwhile I'm skeptical that "probably the coolest ... ever" would have zip tie attachments.

You're competing with this;
Installing Moon Discs - Moon Over Steelie

You could do this without Moon's proprietary jig, by indexing each wheel in a lathe.
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Old 06-19-2013, 02:59 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Old 06-19-2013, 03:02 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Please post a picture of them mounted. If you attach your picture, click on "Go Advanced," and then click on the thumbnail, you can get a URL. Go back to your message, hit the picture icon, paste, and you are posting pictures!

I am not a fan of pizza pans, but I think those look pretty good. If they never rust then I vote that we promote your idea and method.
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Old 06-19-2013, 06:17 AM   #8 (permalink)
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after much effort and toil. . . TaDAA
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here are some pics of the last stages of assembly and mounting.
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This is the best I could do since it's dark now
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Old 06-19-2013, 10:15 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Why are your pictures so small?!

The covers look great!
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Old 06-19-2013, 12:29 PM   #10 (permalink)
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I kind of liked the "billet aluminum" look of the unpainted concave covers, here:



But I'm guilty of wanting to make mine look "normal" too. I glued black plastic shapes over the holes in my stock wheel covers to smooth them out.

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