First: A study of OEM wheel caps
Note that these parts have not been available from Ferrari for over 30 years. In the early 1980's a very good reproduction was made but it had the major fault that the trim around the letters was GOLD and the other colours were off. If you see a cap with gold trimming it is not correct to original.
Second: A study of the reproductions currently available
Reproduction caps have been available from some time. They are made from both metal and plastic and are FAR from being correct. Even the ones sold by Ferrari are the metal ones shown below which are miles away from looking like what was delivered new.
Last: Our reproduction caps
Our caps are identical in dimension and colour to the original parts. We employed modern materials and production techniques to yield pieces that are far superior to original. Regarding colour, we had 14 different original caps to sample off of and found all of them to be a little different in one way or another and eventually chose colours that were the closest to average of our most similar caps.
Caps are sold either as singles or in sets of four and include installation instructions. Customers who purchase a set will also get a packet of 3M adhesion promoter to aid in the installation.
Click on the 'Store' link at the top of the page to buy
For a set of (4) caps, the supplied adhesion promoter has plenty of material so you can apply it liberally and still not use it all. I chose to not skimp with it to assure I didn't shortchange myself. If you apply it with the wheel off the car and laid flat, you don't have to worry about any adhesion promoter running down the wheel hub.
ReplyDeleteAlso, make sure the center of your wheel hub (where you place the cap) is not domed. Test fit a cap to each wheel hub (without adhesion promoter) to see if it rocks. If it does, flatten the hub center's dome so the cap slides within its intended area and doesn't rock. That should assure proper contact along its entire perimeter.
Ron thank you for the valuable feedback. We incorporated your experience with domed hubcaps in the now included installation instructions.
DeleteAre you sure you mean "engraved" when describing the back side of the original? I don't see how that would raise the front. Engraving is a process of removing material. Do you mean "stamped" or "embossed"? That would push the lettering thru to the front side.
ReplyDeleteSome say 12 while others say a dozen. Whether the term engraved, stamped, or embossed is used the photos are clear that on the backside of the cap the word Dino is cut into the material. Because the caps are made of clear lexan and painted and silvered from the backside, the relief appears as negative on the back but is visible as positive (or raised) on the domed front side. Getting the dimensions of this detail perfect was probably the hardest part of the job but the reproduction caps are near on indistinguishable from original.
ReplyDelete