OzSir2
22-09-2007, 11:59 PM
Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!
Aim:
If they are good enough for Bentleys, they are good enough for our Hondas. This article will show you how to make a centre cap for your wheels that will stay in an upright position while the car is in motion.
Required: Perspex / aluminium sheet, bolt / nuts / washers, 4 ball bearings and axle (see article), epoxy resin glue (e.g. araldite), silicone glue, nuts / spacers, jigsaw, sandpaper, electric grinder, drill, hand grinder tool.
Steps:
Take out your original wheel cap and use this as a guide to trace the size of your new perspex "top" of the anti-spinner. (If you are ingenuitive you could use then use the original cap as the anti-spinner...but you would have to grind it smaller to fit inside the wheel's centre hole).
You must get some skate-board type ball bearings. I retrieved them from old vcr heads...usually there are 2 bearings in each head...and most importanly they come with a perfectly fitting axle on which is spins.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3630.jpg
Luckily the vcr head was virtually the same size as the wheel cap so I used this to shape the new centre cap. Use the jigsaw to cut the "base" - I used dark perspex (but you could use anything light and water resistant) and then drill a hole in the centre. Use the hand grinder to make the hole big enough to fit the ball bearing tightly. It is very important to do this step first, rather than make the final found shape of the cap because chances are you won't drill the hole directly in the centre...leading to wobbling cap.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3737.jpg
With the ball bearing in the middle of the perspex and a bit exposed from the surface, I put that exposed bit back into the vcr head and used the head as a guide when grinding to get a good round shape (and also perfectly centred around the ball bearing). Use sandpaper to smooth the perspex. This part is going to rotate inside the wheel so make sure it is smaller than the wheel's centre hole.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3738.jpg
Next you have to cut the axle to the correct length. You need a bit of the axle sticking out so you can glue the cap. The other end should stick out enough so you an glue the counterweight (see below). My axles were about 15mm. You must make sure you have enough room in your wheel as to not hit the car's axles when back on the car. These spinner axles are super hard and will need an angle grinder to cut...a hack saw just doesn't hack it! Use a file or whatever to roughen the uncut end of the axle. Later you will glue the cap on the end of this.
Make a counterweight by cutting a piece of aluminium, drilling a hole at each end (one for the axle and the other for the weight) and make a weight by screwing a nut and bolt and some washers, or whatever, together.
So now we have all the parts...time to glue everything in place with epoxy resin. It may be best to let the glue dry between each step so you don't knock things around while the glue sets. When gluing to perspex it is wise to roughen the surface using the hand grinder.
Lay the perspex "base" on a flat surface and push the ball bearing into the hole so it is flush with the downfacing surface...this ensures the bearing is parallel to the surface of the base to minimise wobble when in motion. I dressed up the base with a chrome backing.
Push the axle through the ball bearing so it just clears the surface of the bearing and base. Use a needle to glue the axle to the bearing, making sure not to put glue in the bearing itself...if you do, try picking the glue out with the needle when it dries a bit.
Next glue your new cap onto the axle. I used very cool holographic skulls as my new cap. Use your imagination to put whatever you want (This is where you may want to use your original cap). This is the tricky part...hold the axle vertically, put a bit of glue on the pre-roughened end, then slowly spin it while holding the perspex base, ensuring you have centred the new cap correctly (It will wobble all over the shop if you don't have it centred). Then let the glue dry.
Next glue spacers which will separate the base from the top but allow movement of the cap in the middle. I glued small nuts as my spacers.
Glue the counterweight on the other side of the axle, this time holding the perspex base horizontal and letting the glue set where the cap is in an upright position and counterweight at bottom dead centre).
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3731copy.jpg
When all is dried it's a matter of using silicone glue to fix the new cap in the wheel...and finally you have the finished product.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3796.jpg
Other comments:
It definitely stays upright, even at low speeds. I haven't seen for myself it does so at higher speeds but I think it comes down to whether your counterweight is heavy enough.
This is a very tedious mod but will ensure your car becomes a Head Turna!
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3733.jpg
Happy Wheel Blinging!
Aim:
If they are good enough for Bentleys, they are good enough for our Hondas. This article will show you how to make a centre cap for your wheels that will stay in an upright position while the car is in motion.
Required: Perspex / aluminium sheet, bolt / nuts / washers, 4 ball bearings and axle (see article), epoxy resin glue (e.g. araldite), silicone glue, nuts / spacers, jigsaw, sandpaper, electric grinder, drill, hand grinder tool.
Steps:
Take out your original wheel cap and use this as a guide to trace the size of your new perspex "top" of the anti-spinner. (If you are ingenuitive you could use then use the original cap as the anti-spinner...but you would have to grind it smaller to fit inside the wheel's centre hole).
You must get some skate-board type ball bearings. I retrieved them from old vcr heads...usually there are 2 bearings in each head...and most importanly they come with a perfectly fitting axle on which is spins.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3630.jpg
Luckily the vcr head was virtually the same size as the wheel cap so I used this to shape the new centre cap. Use the jigsaw to cut the "base" - I used dark perspex (but you could use anything light and water resistant) and then drill a hole in the centre. Use the hand grinder to make the hole big enough to fit the ball bearing tightly. It is very important to do this step first, rather than make the final found shape of the cap because chances are you won't drill the hole directly in the centre...leading to wobbling cap.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3737.jpg
With the ball bearing in the middle of the perspex and a bit exposed from the surface, I put that exposed bit back into the vcr head and used the head as a guide when grinding to get a good round shape (and also perfectly centred around the ball bearing). Use sandpaper to smooth the perspex. This part is going to rotate inside the wheel so make sure it is smaller than the wheel's centre hole.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3738.jpg
Next you have to cut the axle to the correct length. You need a bit of the axle sticking out so you can glue the cap. The other end should stick out enough so you an glue the counterweight (see below). My axles were about 15mm. You must make sure you have enough room in your wheel as to not hit the car's axles when back on the car. These spinner axles are super hard and will need an angle grinder to cut...a hack saw just doesn't hack it! Use a file or whatever to roughen the uncut end of the axle. Later you will glue the cap on the end of this.
Make a counterweight by cutting a piece of aluminium, drilling a hole at each end (one for the axle and the other for the weight) and make a weight by screwing a nut and bolt and some washers, or whatever, together.
So now we have all the parts...time to glue everything in place with epoxy resin. It may be best to let the glue dry between each step so you don't knock things around while the glue sets. When gluing to perspex it is wise to roughen the surface using the hand grinder.
Lay the perspex "base" on a flat surface and push the ball bearing into the hole so it is flush with the downfacing surface...this ensures the bearing is parallel to the surface of the base to minimise wobble when in motion. I dressed up the base with a chrome backing.
Push the axle through the ball bearing so it just clears the surface of the bearing and base. Use a needle to glue the axle to the bearing, making sure not to put glue in the bearing itself...if you do, try picking the glue out with the needle when it dries a bit.
Next glue your new cap onto the axle. I used very cool holographic skulls as my new cap. Use your imagination to put whatever you want (This is where you may want to use your original cap). This is the tricky part...hold the axle vertically, put a bit of glue on the pre-roughened end, then slowly spin it while holding the perspex base, ensuring you have centred the new cap correctly (It will wobble all over the shop if you don't have it centred). Then let the glue dry.
Next glue spacers which will separate the base from the top but allow movement of the cap in the middle. I glued small nuts as my spacers.
Glue the counterweight on the other side of the axle, this time holding the perspex base horizontal and letting the glue set where the cap is in an upright position and counterweight at bottom dead centre).
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3731copy.jpg
When all is dried it's a matter of using silicone glue to fix the new cap in the wheel...and finally you have the finished product.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3796.jpg
Other comments:
It definitely stays upright, even at low speeds. I haven't seen for myself it does so at higher speeds but I think it comes down to whether your counterweight is heavy enough.
This is a very tedious mod but will ensure your car becomes a Head Turna!
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/OzSir2/DSCF3733.jpg
Happy Wheel Blinging!