They may be fragile, but for every smarty car crazed they are a must, and why not? They make you do without alloys and mags. Well technically we should say no to wheel caps but looks wise they change the character of a car.. They look like a part of the car, distinct but dysfunctional and ride on the four most visible external moving parts.


actual psyches about them..
Since wheels are the fastest moving part visible of the car (after the invisible engine of course) the caps give a sense that the cars wheels are gliding the tarmac. Both alloy wheels and wheel caps do the same job (lookwise only).

Wheels caps make the car look smarter because they make the wheels look complete in the sense. In someway, wheel caps give wheels a flatter and complete look. Another reason could be that the curves of the wheels due to the caps design, gives the car a more muscular look as they protrude out.

Also they make the wheels look solid and more when they are undergoing vertical movements.

Wheel caps also make the car look faster and some even make the car look as if it is moving even if it is stationary (i.e. psychologically ! )
Technically, the reason to the former is due to strobe effect. Briefly though, it is something related to the certain rpm of the moving car wheels and the motion capture rate of our own vision i.e about 16 frames per second. Movie cameras have a capture rate of 24 frames per second for comparison. .( For more information on strobe effects you have to go through our upcoming article on it)

And the latter is due to the aftermath of the strobe effect that we keep on wondering at the back of our minds.( whatever happened to those great choppy wheels! )

The fitting types
• Wheel nut type
• Clip type
• Center-pin type
Wheel nut type take the help of two diagonal wheel nuts, the clip system ones just have to pushed and fit to the rim, and the latest center pin ones that may use the hubcap or a metal plate fitted with 2 wheel nuts. Best looking ones are the clip ones, and then comes the nut types and the center pin types look worst. Well to put it correctly, center pin ones look cheap due to the very cheap parts they are made of. I believe that’s why center pin ones are an Indian innovation.

their fragility
But alas! Wheel caps are mere plastics that rest on the most torturous part of the car. Potholes, Pavement brushing and kicks break them. Earlier days Fiats Premier padmini Deluxe BU/BE used to come with wheel caps which were so fragile that at every wheel change there was a good chance of one getting damaged, leave alone kicking! Not glass but wheel caps are the most vulnerable part of the car.

Wheel nut types are noisy and have very less life as they easily break and are not made to last properly. Funnily though the clip ones fall of unnoticed but the center pins has its advantages here and go on with the wheels for a longer time.

the shortcuts you enjoy..
No need to wheel balancing!? as anyway the caps will misbalance any perfect balanced wheel rim. Wheel caps are the best for painted old rims, which are deprived of proper OE silver gloss finish. And lastly no alloy wheels necessary. Anyway experts profess that alloys and mag wheels are not for Indian roads.

the damage they do
Due to the rim remaining inaccessible to cleaning, mud, scum, and other dirt damages the rim paint and may cause rust too in future. which you can never make out unless you remove them and inspect. Nut type caps cause the wheels to run on practically 2 nuts, whereas there were designed for four. This may cause long term complications especially on highways where the wheel could come off if one of the two broke off due to undue pressure on the two nuts. Wheels carry you and the whole car’s weight you see. And lastly as experts put it, cheap plastic wheel caps misbalances the wheels causing uneven tyre wear. They also deprive brake pad/disc of cooling.

some suggestions about them
With their extreme chances of breaking, buy 2 sets at a time. Out of the fitted four if one gets broken replace with one of the piece from the other spare set.
Buy wheel caps with a glossy paint finish as the other ones tend to get erased their finish easily by a service station water jet. Many Santro wheel caps will already have experienced this. One good idea if you ever have to paint your car’s wheel rims in future. Paint rims matt black and then fit spoke-design wheel caps so that exposed part of rims looks somewhat invisible, so as to get a alloy wheel look.

the price
For cars depended on OE wheel caps no options available, than to buy directly. But for most marutis the unorganized grey market has a variety to offer and the wisest buyer will be ones who bargains the best. Since they are fancy items sellers ask a bit too much. For a clue, some designs for 800 cost them lower than Rs.150 for a set, when they ask Rs.250-300 for them. And as I said before, buy 2 sets and get a better bargain this way.


The great cars that depend on them
In India some cars are sold by looks purely. Simply remove the car’s OE wheel caps and the car looks ugly. Examples: Accent, Ikon, Santro. But cars like Astra never had them and still looked elegant. So of late Santro has understood this idea and came up with wheel plates or whatever you may call them. Well the Merc E220 also had it and I have heard somewhere they cost somewhere around 20000 for a set!

No wonder in most tyre advertisments the latest trendy wheelcaps and alloys are used.and in car advertisments they are used with fine print " accessories in the picture may not be part of standard equipment ".