Centre Caps: Not Only Essential But Fashionable
When it comes to putting those final touches on a car, producers have many methods of showing their particular brand by putting their logo in a mixture of different sites on the inside and exterior of the car. One popular choice is the center of the rim itself. This piece of metal is named a rim centre cap, and they tend to be the unfortunate victim of every bump and accident that cars can be subjected to.
If you’ve got a car that’s lost a wheel center cap, it appears a little bit odd – the wheels are uneven, the lug nuts may or may not be bare, and it looks a little bit incomplete. Fortunately, there’s a thriving after market of replacement center caps that can be bought and put on your car. These can extend from original factory replacements to custom-built wheel caps built around a theme. It is the little particulars that make a car look complete, and one of the easiest ways to improve the resale value of your car is to put back the wheel caps – it’s something that most people subconsciously react to as a mark for ‘well managed for vehicle’.
Some people will do some digging and find that several different sizes of wheels have common cap mounting points. It may be ridiculous to place American Racing center caps onto Suzuki wheels but they will fit. Most wheel center caps are manufactured from chrome moly alloy, although now there are some constructed from stamped stainless steel or extruded aluminum.
Beyond purchasing factory replacements, there are companies that will sell custom wheel caps – these can be cosmetic in a lot of ways. Some use authorized logos (like the logo of a favorite sports franchise or college campus), others are more artistic, embracing religious or musical ideas. Others can be personalized; it’s feasible to get a center cap done up (commonly in ABS plastic) with about any kind of graphics you desire, say your initials, or a message you believe in. (We’ve seen SUVs with “Holding back glaciers” on theirs…)
If you’re buying a custom-made set of wheel center caps, it’s key to have the diameter of your tyres, and to know how the caps attach before you order. Luckily, there’s a lot of information available on the web on this – you can find your model of car, obtain the size of the tires, and learn if they’re a four, five or six nut attachment system, or if they’re a screw on rim centre cap or an applique system.
Not only are wheel center caps a means to keep your car looking its best, they’re also there to keep the wheels of your car from corroding, which comes in handy when it’s time to remove a tire. There’s little worse than having to struggle with rusty lugnuts in the rain while trying to change a flat.