Electrathon America Forum

Zaine Stapleton · Senior Member

Wheel Covers

stan r · Veteran Member

ask bd64 about wheel covers. Seems to me they tested amperage use difference with/without. stan r

bd64 · Senior Member

Hey Stan, I no longer have the data for wheel covers, canopee, tail section and other stuff. Scince I retired and they moved the High School, I dumped all of the Power Drive/Electrathon stuff that I had accumulated. Maybe someone at one of the PD workshops still has the info but mine is gone. So all I can say is that wheel covers do reduce aero drag some but the tail section was the the biggest cause of air turbulance which reduced performance even more than a blunt nose section.

Dirtdawg44 · Newbie

Did you make your wheel covers? How ? or did you buy them where ?

Thanks

Zaine Stapleton · Senior Member

I made the wheel covers for my car based on the rims I have. I used thin 1/16th of an inch plastic from Tap Plastic. The Primo Hula Hoop rims have a lip on the edges of the rim, so I was able to "snap" the wheel covers in on all three wheels. I made a template to fit the rims by cutting out a circle, then forming it into a cone shape. I have three templates, either with holes for getting access to the valve stem, or if its a front outside cover you don't cut the hole out. One fits the front outside covers and the left side (looking at the car from the back) of the back wheel. The left rear cover does have a hole for getting at the valve. The second one is only for the right rear wheel, I had to make the hole in the center bigger to get around the sprocket mounting plate so the plate wouldn't rub on the cover. The third one, the circumference on the outside diameter had to be trimmed off by about an 1/16th of an inch to fit flatter to the spokes due to the disc brake calipers.

For the front inside covers, I had to tape the spokes to the inside covers only on the front wheels from rubbing on the disc brake calipers so they wouldn't cut a hole into the cover. The other six covers were easier to install, they just snap into the rim. When on the car, you don't have to use zip ties to hold them in. I suggest taking the outside front covers off if you have a open trailer, they will fly off driving down the road doing 55-70mph.

Both my car (#59), the red car from David Douglas high school (#51), and the Centennial high school car (#42) have wheel covers that have this idea. They make the cars look very different in appearance, and I feel they make the car go faster on short or long tracks.

-- Edited by Zaine Stapleton on Friday 22nd of October 2010 08:36:14 PM

-- Edited by Zaine Stapleton on Friday 22nd of October 2010 08:37:28 PM

-- Edited by Zaine Stapleton on Friday 22nd of October 2010 08:47:08 PM

Kirk Swaney · Veteren Racer

Hi Zaine. Well put. I used plastic sheet in the same way for years. It gets the job done if you don't mind the seam for the cone. To add to the idea's listed above, here are some things we've tried.

Image #1 - The DESTINY streamliner still uses the plastic sheet style (painted black) on the inside of its front wheels (brake rotor side).

Image #2 - Seamless outside front wheel covers are a little better, but also more work to build. Its 1/16" thick ABS plastic sheet, trimmed "over-sized" by about 1". Then heated in an oven over a dome to shape it. It took several scrap parts to get the temperature and process to work right. We ran them up to 90mph and they've stayed on since installing them in 2007.

Image #3 - This oversized part is seen on the bench after shaping it in the oven. Then it's trimmed to fit. I created a couple like this to replace the sheet plastic currently used on the inside front wheel covers.

Image #4 - We built a mold to produce gel-coated fiberglass or carbon fiber wheel covers like this. Not intended for Electrathon, this is thicker and stronger because it is designed to be bolted on the axle, not the wheel. It's strong enough to withstand highway speeds without flexing. Another cool effect is that is does not rotate, so the graphic is always upright. It looks very interesting going down the road, as if the wheels aren't turning.

Image #5 - After the learning experiences with various materials and headaches to produce reliable wheel covers, we're now going to run with these. See more at ttp://tiny.cc/taltb. If that link doesn't work for you, Try www.destinyparts.com and enter "wheel covers" in the search box.

-- Edited by Kirk Swaney on Tuesday 26th of October 2010 06:19:00 PM