Simple Honda VX Alloy Wheel Covers (drilled acorn wheel nuts as attachment points)

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by WD40

NachtRitter .. excellent way to mount them on the VX rims .. I was looking at the idea many times but didn't want to drill into the rims. This solves the issues.
Are you going to do any A-B-A tests, or give educated guesses on mpg gains?
Again awesome solution.

Thanks WD40... I still owe you some pics of the 'guino wiring... haven't forgotten!

Yes, I would like to do A-B-A testing, though I'm at a slight disadvantage since I do not have cruise control so I'd have to do coast-down testing. And to do coast-down testing, I need to find a good place, with minimal / no traffic where I can repeatedly coast at least a mile (no stops, no curves, etc). I'm still looking for the ideal location.

I also feel like I'm at version 0.8 of these wheel covers currently... The mounting aspect works well, but I'm not entirely happy with the look of the outside ... the fender washers plus the round head bolts just sticks out too much for my tastes. I have some ideas that I plan to try this weekend...

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by cfg83

NachtRitter -

Great work! I've seen a lot of 14" plates, but that was always too small for my 15" wheels.

CarloSW2

Carlos -

I forgot to mention... I was amazed how well these 14" trays fit, considering my wheels are considered to be 13" ... I originally thought I'd have to cut a pretty large amount off for the trays to fit!

[saand]

For those interested 2 other people have already done this modification and done ABA tests, the data is in 2 different threads but a consolidated list is in the wiki here

Smooth wheel covers - EcoModder

The average is 3.88 % MPG improvement, definately worth doing for a nice quick modification.
I have also seen people paint their covers so it appears like a normal hub cap.

[gone-ot]

...I kinda like the idea of using 'clear' model-airplane polycoat to achieve a quick-n-dirty (although certainly not as durable as metal plates) full cover.

...now, where's my wife's hairdryer????

[NachtRitter]

FYI... added some more pictures to the first post to better describe what I did.

Also, decided to smooth and paint one of the wheel covers to see how it would look and how it would hold up. So, spent the weekend filling, sanding, sanding, sanding, filling, sanding, sanding, sanding... you get the picture... !

Speaking of pictures, here are a few....

Getting there, but still a bit more filling, sanding to do:


Got tired of sanding, so added some paint:


On the car:


You can see that I went to flat-head bolts instead of the round headed ones I used originally. Also used washers specifically for the flat-head bolts.

It's not perfect... I can still see some unevenness on the surface, and the paint has a bit of orange peel, but overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Looks a LOT better than the unpainted tray (IMHO). We'll see how it holds up over time.

Initially I was worried about the weight of the filler, but I don't think it's all that bad, actually:
- 15oz for serving tray alone
- 16oz for serving tray with washers (4 fender washers and 4 flat head washers)
- 19.5oz for serving tray with washers and filler

So the filler added 3.5oz. Huge looking at it from % perspective (~22% added), but not much 'real' weight.

[klipsch21]

Sweet. I Gave me some ideas for mine!

[Weather Spotter]

Testing data please! I would like more data for the Wiki

i like your idea of using nuts in the lugs, very clever!

[alohaspirit]

great idea

besides the data, i wouldnt mind seeing a full shot of the car with plates attached

[NachtRitter]

Pic of wheel cover attached... have only done the fronts so far (the rears still have the balancing weights on the outside, plus I've got the skirt back there).



A-B-A testing and data collection is looking less likely now... I purchased a 2000 Jetta TDI back in October (and seem to be getting some amazing numbers even without any aero mods! ... though I haven't had a chance to calibrate the ScanGauge since I haven't gone through a full tank yet)... so the Jetta will be my focus in the upcoming months.

[ECONORAM]

Originally Posted by WD40

NachtRitter .. excellent way to mount them on the VX rims .. I was looking at the idea many times but didn't want to drill into the rims. This solves the issues.
Are you going to do any A-B-A tests, or give educated guesses on mpg gains?
Again awesome solution.

This gave me another mounting idea. I don't think I'll find any 20" melamine trays, but I did find some lexan and pizza pans I could try out.

Do skirts over the rear wheels pretty much negate putting a cover on the wheels?