Custom Mods to my Vibe wheels

[NovaResource]

Ok, I said I was ordering some custom decals from Ryan of GrafxWerks and here is the final product.Before:After:The new centercaps are real Vibe caps used on the 16" and 17" aluminum wheels. The Pontiac decals are special made by Ryan (1/4" x 4") to fit on the spokes. What does everyone think?Pictures of the wheels on the car to follow.

[GrafxWerks]

Looks great Scott! They almost look factory-issue - I love how you incorporated the factory center caps.- Ryan

[m4VibeGT]

Nice!!! Do you mind sharing how much to do the "Pontiac" custom decals and the center caps.

[Triton]

They do look nice Scott. I wonder how long the Pontiac sticker is going to last. Let us know how they hold up over time, especially on something moving so much and could get hit my road debris and stuff.

[Jethro]

Great Scott!! Oh I mean They look GREAT Scott. Makes me almost wish I'd have found a car with steel wheels and bought aftermarket wheels.I prefer yours to the factory rims since it's going to make your car look different than all the others - of course so will that SLP Ram Air hood (congrats on that BTW)!

[Vibe]

Looks Great---Really adds a finished touch. I hope they stand up to the elements---Road Salt & Heat &Car Washes. Anyway --Good Choice. James

[NovaResource]

quote:looks pretty good scott, did you make sure the center caps would work in the aftermarket rims before you bought them correct?Did I check, yes. Do they work, sorta. The centercap itself is the same diameter and fits the hole perfectly however, the little clips on the back are a smaller diameter and don't hold the cap on.I had 2 plans to get them to stay on but thanks to Ryan of GrafxWerks, I can toss those plans out the window. You see, the Voxx centercaps are black plastic with a silver decal on them. After removing the decal, I had a plain, black center cap that fits exactly. Ryan is making me up special arrowheads (a slightly larger version of part #GAGT4-38, non-reflective red with the chrome trim and star) to put in the center of each cap:They should look almost identical to the real Vibe centercaps minus the "Pontiac" words on the perimeter cap. But since I have "Pontiac" on one spoke, I don't need it on the centercap.When the new arrowheads arrive I'll be posting pictures.Now I have 4 new, never used, Vibe centercaps I probably won't be needing.BTW, this is the reason why I not only bought those wheels but did the centercaps too:This was the first Vibe I ever saw and it was in the October, 2001 issue of Car and Driver (see the article here).I still have that issue and every other issue of C&D and Motor Trend with the Vibe in it. You can't see them very well in the above pic but the cover picture clearly shows the Vibe centercaps.

[NovaResource]

quote:They do look nice Scott. I wonder how long the Pontiac sticker is going to last. Let us know how they hold up over time, especially on something moving so much and could get hit my road debris and stuff.Yes, I'm worried about that too. And cars washes as well. I order spares so if they do fall off I can replace them. I have the wheels off the car right now because of all the snow we've been having here. PA uses tone of road salt and I don't want it ruining the finish on the wheels. Fortunately, I have the factory steel wheels and cool 5-spoke Pontiac wheel covers to use in the nasty weather.

[savedbyzero]

they're nice, but the wheels in the photo are a lot larger than yours. i believe they're 18's. your's still look good, but the larger ones...oh, the larger ones. i think 17's are perfect. 18's, i feel, are a little large.

[Mr. Poopypants]

WOW!!!! Those look really good.

[NovaResource]

quote:they're nice, but the wheels in the photo are a lot larger than yours. i believe they're 18's. your's still look good, but the larger ones...oh, the larger ones. i think 17's are perfect. 18's, i feel, are a little large.Yeah, they may even be 19". You can tell the spokes are much longer. 17's are fine by me. Any larger than that and I'd be scared to drive on the city streets with all the potholes.

[Jethro]

quote:BTW, this is the reason why I not only bought those wheels but did the centercaps too:This was the first Vibe I ever saw and it was in the October, 2001 issue of Car and Driver (see the article here).Was that your inspiration for removing your roof rack crossbars too? Interesting to note that they are removed on most of the early press photos I've seen.

[NovaResource]

quote:are you going to have the weights glued to the inside of the rim to have them balanced, I forgot what that was called.It's called static balance (vs dynamic balance). However, mine are dynamic balanced but the weights are just not on the outer edge of the rim. Look closely and you will see weights at the 12-o'clock and 4-o'clock postions of my wheel in the pictures above.