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Hi, I have a 04 Aveo LS with the standard steel wheels, and currently have done away with the hubcaps because one flew off and the others are in various stages of flaking. 2 questions:
1. Is there a way to make sure these things don't detach themselves from the car?
2. Is there a way to stop replacement caps from flaking until they look like a miserable mess?
Thanks in advance. :D
try and buy rims?
you can use a discrete wire, a screw, or some other thing you'll be swearing at next time you have to take them off.
painting them and waxing them with appropriate waxes etc.. they are usually single stage, and plastic bonded, sanding them lightly, etch primer, resand, and paint with a top cat of uv proof clear will make them look new, so you could even just refinish your current ones if you fine a 4th.
My 08 has the hubcaps that screw onto the outside of the lug nuts. They are solid color gray, I think the color is all the way through so not going to chip.
Sadly, I've got a set of these things:Attachment 3812and I'd need 3 as one is missing and the other 2 have flaked pretty badly, one is even missing all of the paint! :O
I've lost like 8 sets on my '04. Bare steel is the way to go.
Steelies do seem to be the in thing right now. Painting them is always an option too. My only issue with steelies is the lack of protection for the axle nut. . . that thing is enough of a pain without it rusting on.
Yeah but you rally. :P Ironically, your car looks quite a bit like mine right now lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by exodus0784
EDIT: Added quote.
The '04 has 4 lugs per wheel, right? If so, you could order a set of the newer ones, which is what I'm sure daug1502 was talking about. Here's a pic of mine if you haven't seen them before.
Attachment 3813
PS, I'd have done what daug & exodus said, just going bare steel, but my wheels look like crap! The first time I pulled off the wheel covers, I saw that a couple of my wheels looked pretty rough, kinda like they missed sanding parts of the wheel and went ahead to paint it. Next time I pull off the wheel covers, I'll have to post a pic of the screwed up wheels.
those "rough" spots are where the wheels was exposed through the hubcap most likely.
i dont think the lugs should rust on, but if that is a concern, go buy a car of antiseize, its a silver brush on compound that prevents threads from rusting together.
Not the Lugs, the axle end That really damn big nut.
I got the car during the summer, new. I can't remember the manufacturing date, but I think it was spring of '09. About a month of owning the car, I popped the wheel covers off and saw that. I'll try to get a pic either tonight or tomorrow.Quote:
Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit
Since you need new ones regardless, I would lean towards the Chevy ones that actually have lugs as they will stay on better than having just the ring. Plus if you wanted to change the color and if they are scuffed (like the ones I got) they are super easy to paint.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Kriton/Hub4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Kriton/Hub5.jpg
Someone else on the forum wants to paint theirs as well. I thought about it, and that could be a cheap way to make it look great, and when I get the money later, I'll get the wheels that I want. I was thinking about getting that goldish color that chevy uses on their logo these days, and hit the logo on the wheel cover with it, just to make it stand out even more.
hub caps are a giant waste of time..
you hit a curb, they break, you drive your car, they break, you need to redo your breajs, they are a pain to get off..
i hated my hub caps, just buy real rims.. its cheaper in the long run then buying 100 sets of hub caps and all the paint you guys are talking about
1)Remove hub cap
2)Throw in garbage unless you have a rented car and don't plan to keep it
3)Paint your steelies a funkie color
4)Enjoy/Drink beer
The ones posted in the pic above with the lug nuts are very easy to get off and back on. They are only held on by the threads on the outside of the lug nuts. As for hitting the curb, I'd be more worried about my tire and rimsQuote:
Originally Posted by tidus10
This, or get the ones with the nut caps from the 06+Quote:
Originally Posted by MatLax
The ones from the 04-05 just don't cut it.
Only issues I've had running steelies is that the hub rusts a bit and it can be difficult to get the wheels off. Nothing a mallet doesn't help with, though. The more you take them off and on, the easier it is. I usually throw a little grease on there to try and make it easier the next time.
Wait till it's time to change that cv axle.
The salt and snow will make sure that's a fun process on it's own, hubcaps or not. Will probably just replace both hubs at that point anyways. Whole front end will be due for a refresh at 100k.
The hubcaps will make that a lot easier, I have seen this personally on a toyota I just worked on. It still has it's hubcaps. The axle nut, once worked loose, came on and off with great ease. No WD40 or anything needed.
Well, a couple RXes is probably equivalent to running a year without them... and no hubcaps allowed... I'd rather spend $500 refreshing the front end and not on wheels with center caps.
Depends on where you are at, and how you use your car I guess. for rally refreshing the front end would be a good thing, for day to day or show, I'd rather help it last.