Transforming a set of cheap wheels
 

Hi there. So when I bought my FRS back in Oct 13' one of the first things I did was buy a new set of wheels/tires. I did this for several reasons, 1) The OEM wheel/tire combo looked very skinny and didn't provide the stance I desired, 2) The OEM tires are summer tires and with winter around the corner I knew I'd need new tires soon, and 3) I wanted a tire that would perform well in a variety of conditions while delivering great performance and providing me with a nicer stance. That being said, I went with some Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires. To this point they've been great.

However, being that I was just looking to buy a universal setup that worked for all seasons I did skimp on wheels. I actually spent quite a bit less on wheels than I did on tires. I opted to go with some XXR 531's because they do look nice and they're affordable, but the center caps they came with are HORRENDOUS!!! :barf: That being said, I decided to rock my wheels without any center caps, until lately. Today my dad and I took a long stroll through the junk yard and noticed all the wheels without center caps lying around. After awhile I started finding random center caps in the mud and all over the place. Then I came across an old late 90's/early 2000's Volvo that had center caps. I pulled out my caliper, took measurements, verified correct size, and proceeded to pop them out and put em' in my pocket. After a few modifications they fit perfectly and I think they actually look pretty damn good. Buying new center caps for wheels can get out of hand, so I'm pretty stoked I was able to make this find and have them work out the way they did.

What do you guys think?

With NO Center Caps
Attachment 64241
With the VOLVO Center Caps
Attachment 64242
With a strip of Tape on the VOLVO Center Caps
Attachment 64243

Total cost: $0.00:bellyroll:

So they gave them to you for free??

The caps the wheels came with looked worse than a stripe of blue painters tape?

Yes.

Lol. Yeah I don't get this either.

Yes, the original caps are hideous. They are large, they protrude out way too much and they are cheap chrome plastic. They take away from the wheel.

The tape I used is actually light blue electrical tape. I have a slightly darker blue shade, but yes I do know this color resembles painters tape, but it's much more durable. I could use any color of tape I want to be honest. I have white, blue, black, red, orange, yellow, light blue, and royal blue.

I like these Volvo Center Caps much better than the XXR 531 ones because they don't protrude outward and lay clean and flush against the hub. Seeing as cropped and blew these photos up it may look more obvious that I put tape on the caps, but I can assure you that it looks pretty legit when standing a couple feet away from the car. You would think they were stock caps.

Not a bad idea, but I'd go with black tape to blend better or red to match the lugs. Trim the tape a little thinner so that you aren't blocking any of the chrome half circles in the Volvo logo.

Finally, some constructive criticism. Thank you.

To everyone else on this forum that just wishes to post a bunch of unhelpful BS, just don't waste your time please. I literally just picked these center caps up today, I picked up two of them out of a muddy puddle of water and the other 2 were still, thankfully, in their wheels. The fact that they fit and look better than the ghastly ones that came on these XXR's makes finding them a huge WIN.

Now I can do whatever I want with them, whether that be paint them, use different tape, whatever............just wanted to share my experience with everyone.

plasti dip

Sand off centercaps, respray black. Or if you're the creative type, after respraying them make FRS logo stickers and put them on.

That's a good idea. After reading one of the recommendations from this post I researched plasti-dip and I'm thinking that might be a good idea. I might have to make a trip to Harbor Freight tomorrow and get a can of black plasti-dip and see how that looks. If I feel like being creative I might get two cans of plasti-dip and create a stencil and make a red 86 logo in the middle of them for the finishing touch.

I never intended to sell my current Volvo center caps as being the greatest thing ever, but a lot of people out there that actually have the same wheels I do know how ugly the center caps are. I really like how flush these Volvo ones mount.

Oh, I think I misread your post. The studs look short because these are longer, racing, lug nuts. Unlike standard lug nuts that use a socket, these actually have a hex bit that gets inserted into the end of them so there needs to be ample room for the bit to enter. The threaded portion of the lug nut is fairly long and it screws down entirely into the lug bolt so I know their nice and tight.

Hopefully that clears things up.

Why not just paint the center cap?

Ok so you have some centre caps with a CF finish, why don't you try removing the clear coat to see whether or not the volvo logo is paint or not, if it is you could probably get it off the CF fairly easy and then you can just clear coat over it, or even put a scion sticker under the clear coat…

I'm not a style expert or anything but using tape in a cosmetic way on a car should only be temporary

[EDIT] never mind the CF finish, i'm blind but flat black looks nice anyway so plastidip could be your best friend if you want the easy route

Just a reminder to everyone; this community is about helping each other in any way possible, NOT about sh***ng in someone's thread because they ask for an opinion.

You may want to check your local Home Depot or Lowes instead. The Harbor Frieghts in my are only carry plastidip in the paint can (to apply with a brush) not the spray paint kind

Are you on some kind of budget or just being "frugal"? Because you could paint them black and on ebay some dude from Canada sells a "86" center cap sticker.

No, I'm not really on a budget. I mean, I did spend over $200 just to order an 86 armrest from Japan so I don't mind spending money on my car. I was just stoked to find a set of nice looking center caps for these wheels at the junk yard. I realize there are a ton of options I could take with this: spray paint, plasti-dip, stencils, stickers, sanding down, flat black, glossy, and the list goes on. Right now I'm just going to enjoy making subtle alterations and see what happens.

I know it may be hard to understand, but I really did hate the stock XXR center caps with a passion. They were so ugly that I actually preferred having no center caps at all, so to find a decent looking set lying in a mud puddle of a crappy old junk yard was kinda like finding a needle in a haystack.:lol:

Open ended lug nuts, looks nice

I think you should just leave the caps the way they are and debadge your car. Freak everyone out and tell em its the new Volvo.

:lol: That would actually be a great idea and I did already take the FRS and dealer badges off the rear of the car.

The only problem is that it's a 10-series and the Scion badges (Front and Rear) actually glow blue and white at night. I think they look really cool and would have a hard time rationalizing taking them off. I don't want to harm any of the unique 10-series aspects of the car because I feel like they'll help the vehicle hold its value later on down the road.

Seriously though, I'll work on something and keep you guys posted as to what I come up with, and I'll do my best to get some full side shots of the car and post them on here as well.

This forum has went downhill since I joined a year ago. I feel like a bunch of kids joined at once.

Anyways OP. Were they this style of XXR center caps?

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjgzWDY4Mg...iy8g~~60_3.JPG

Yes Sir! Those are the exact center caps I'm talking about. :barf: Some my not find them to be that bad, but I don't like them at all. The fake plastic chrome isn't my favorite, and the fact that they protrude outward so much makes them look even more cheap than they already are. I prefer the flush look, and with a little creativity I feel like I can accomplish what I aim to with the ones I have now.

The tape looks hideous.. spray some plastidip or just paint them?

I read you loud and clear. I don't mind spending money either but I won't blow money on something I don't like or keep anything I don't want. Reason I asked is the RPF-1 center caps are expensive(relatively) and stick out even further. I won't go capless so I made my own and used the round 86 stickers. I'm happy with the way they look and they are flat and not flashy.

My biggest problem with this is that you never showed how bad the original ones were. Now that I see what they look like I agree with your choice to change them. I would also suggest just paint them. PastI dip is temporary, will at any time will you want the Volvo logo back? Probably not.

Just want to say OP if you ask for peoples opinions and they give you negative ones, don't start getting all pissed off.

As for what you have done I don't like the tape it looks cheap. I agree that the original center caps look bad and would go with something different as well.

Definitely not an improvement.

this guy gets it

While I respect your effort, I just have one complaint:

spend all that time, but didn't bother to center the tape? Why?

-alex

so much hassle for so little result. id rather just leave it empty if i didnt want to spend any money on "better" center caps. otherwise, id buy some blank generic center caps in the correct size off of ebay.

Agreed. Most of these "What are your opinions on X" threads are really just "I have already made up my mind and am seeking praise" threads. Doesn't help that the second someone posts something negative in a thread where they were asked for their opinions, a bunch of people come in saying stuff like "Everyone has their own style" and "Haters gonna hate". Yeah, we get it, and if OP had said "I did this and I like it", that'd be one thing, but when they say "What do you think?" they should be prepared for honest answers and not just a circlejerk about whatever dumb ricey idea they have at the moment. These cars are the new Civics and it's sad to see everyone congratulating each other on ruining their cars with stickers and plasti-dip.

In my honest opinion, the volvo center caps look bad and the tape looks worse. I don't like the stockers either. If I was OP, I'd paint the center caps as close in shade to the wheels as possible, then maybe get a sticker that has your preference of logos (either Scion, Toyota, or the "86", or maybe even "TRD") and put them on and it will look a thousand times better. I searched "GT86 sticker" on ebay and found 86 stickers designed for wheel center caps for $15 buy-it-now with free shipping. IDK how good your masking skills are, but I know I'd be hard pressed to paint on a decent looking logo, so IMO $15 for stickers is a no brainer)

There's a difference between disagreeing with someone and just simply being rude. For the most part everyone's been pretty cool though. I agree that the tape looks bad. I've since taken it off and bought some black plasti-dip. I'll start off painting them black and maybe I'll add a logo later on.

I feel it's an improvement over the XXR stock center caps, but I do agree that the tape isn't an improvement.

Yeah, I know. It was something I did really quickly just to get a visual. I've since removed the tape and I'll be working on improving the look of these caps.

Yeah, I might buy some 65mm caps off eBay. They have some nice "R" ones that are under $20 shipped. Check it out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4PC-65mm-Whe...f8414c&vxp=mtr

The pictures I took make the Volvo center caps look even worse than they actually do. I'm not saying they're awesome, but they actually do look alright. With a little plasti-dip my problems should be solved. I'll post pics once I'm done.

@rickyb80

I'd give a base of black, and follow it with some glossifier or something along those lines, to give it some pop. Better than an emblem, imho.

Plasti-dip (black) center caps
 

Sorry it took me so long to reply back. I sprayed the caps with plasti-dip and they turned out pretty good. The flash from my camera brings out the imperfections but there really aren't any noticeable imperfections to the naked eye, especially from a few feet away. It looks better than it did, but I'm still thinking of just going on eBay and buying some brand new generic ones for like $20. I'm also considering swapping out my long red lug nuts for some black ones instead. The red is a bit too much I think.

Black plasti dip looks good on the center cap.

Agree with the red, it is not terrible but I personally think black lugs would be the perfect compliment to the black center cap.

The black looks way better.

I agree with black lug nuts. Or gold.

Lug nuts and center caps should accent and compliment the wheel, not overpower it. Not saying yours is that way, just making a general statement.

Looks much better now though!

It's the San Fransisco treat in here. Too much stance B.S. I Lurk for technical info all the time and I think I find more on Nasioc's wimpy little section than here. It's very juvenile. Or maybe I'm just old.