wheel cover idea.

[craveman85]

I keep seeing people on here bolting or zip tying pizza plans to there wheels and I think I've come up with a slightly easier to apply and remove idea. Get some sheets of shrink wrap, stretch it over some hub caps, heat it, trim it, apply with a couple whacks of your palm, drive, enjoy, remove easily, reinstall easily, drive, enjoy more, repeat as necessary.

[freebeard]

Pics or it didn't happen.

If you click in the Search Ecomodder box in the upper left, type (for instance) "film cover hubcap", and click Go, you'll find some threads where it was discussed. I don't recall seeing a credible example.

[RedDevil]

You mean something like this?


I used the soft protective coat from a Lexan sheet to cover my hub caps.
It looked nice for 2 weeks, then it started to rip at the edges from rubbing against the rims. Had the worst FE for the whole winter, as there were 3 big storms in those 2 weeks...
More pics in the thread:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post402809

[craveman85]

I did a search but looked up shrink wrap but nothing came up. I helped a friend make a cap out of conduit and shrink wrap and its still bolding up after 4 years. We used the blue stuff they wrap boats in. I thought maybe it would hold up well but I guess not.

[RedDevil]

You got to make sure that either the material is wear proof or you glue it to the front of the caps so it will stay on even if it wears through.

Also, leave a hole so you can still check the tire pressure and grab the cap to pull it off when needed.
Mine were fully covered and a pig to remove; pried the first one off with a flat screwdriver, then saw it was torn beyond hope and just cut through the foil to remove the other 3.

[Xist]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ers-24425.html

You need the clip-on hub caps, not the ones that bolt-through, like mine, but I had a very difficult time shrinking this plastic without accidentally burning holes, and I did the same thing with my ABS air dam.

The idea of using clear plastic is nice, but I just do not think that it will work out well. Some users have had good results with thrift-store t-shirts and fiberglass resin. That should even work with bolt-through hubcaps.

[Cobb]

I own a hybrid and I found myself going to ceramic brakes and slotted cross drilled rotors. One good dump of the mechanical brakes and rebraking has a reduced effect. I have to make several 70-0 stops in my commute and by time I got to the 3rd one in a row my brakes were fading out.

Do these wheel covers really do that much in terms of mpg? Im tempted to try the mustang brake rotor cooling thing that improves mpg by providing a cushion of air over the wheel.

[Istas]

Potential gain by a smooth wheel cover depends greatly on how bad (aero-wise) the original rims are, how the body of the car flows air over the wheels, and other factors. Greatest effects will be seen at highway speeds, the faster the more drastic. (I believe I remember seeing a tested smooth hubcap job posted on here that netted the pickup owner two or three percent improvement)

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by Cobb

I own a hybrid and I found myself going to ceramic brakes and slotted cross drilled rotors. One good dump of the mechanical brakes and rebraking has a reduced effect. I have to make several 70-0 stops in my commute and by time I got to the 3rd one in a row my brakes were fading out.

Do these wheel covers really do that much in terms of mpg? Im tempted to try the mustang brake rotor cooling thing that improves mpg by providing a cushion of air over the wheel.

You could try an active brake cooling setup they use fer some racing cars. You could build it rather inexpensively using similar parts.