Do hubcaps affect fuel economy??

[Compaq888]

I have the same car and only different color. I am talking about these hubcaps.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4596389435&rd=1&sspage name=STRK%3AMEBI%3AIT&rd=1

There reason I'm asking this is because I want to take my hubcaps off and I don't want to make my mpg worse. For the street the mpg will stay the same but for the freeway it might change. I want to take them off because my brakes keep getting them dirty. Every week the hubcaps get brown because of brake dust. I'm tired of cleaning them.

So will the hubcaps affect my freeway fuel economy if they are taken off?

[kickflipjr]

No, maybee + or - .01 mpg.


less rotating mass but less arrowdynamics.

[Compaq888]

So what do you think, leave the rear ones on and take off the fronts?

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by Compaq888

So what do you think, leave the rear ones on and take off the fronts?

I would weigh each hubcap and then figure out how much of the total percentage you are shaving. I'm guessing you'll end up losing a total of maybe 5 pounds by removing all of the hubcaps.

Hub caps are purely for looks, so I doubt removing them is going to affect your MPG at all.

If you want to make a difference I'd suggest getting a set of racing wheels and putting them on. You'll lose rotational mass as well as overall weight. The downside is that the investment for such a thing is a few hundred dollars.

[Compaq888]

My main concern is not the weight, it's the brake dust. They turn brown like every week after I clean them.

I know about wheels. I want to put G20 wheels on my car. They are the same exact size only 6-7 pounds lighter.

[n0rt0npr0]

I really like your hubcaps and would hate to hear about you riding around without them on them ugly black rims...

I'm using Raybestos Ceramic Pads and I am not getting any brake dust! My old pads were nasty dirty, first I went thru some nasty ORGANIC material pads, then semi-metalics(yuk!) 50 miles and my rims became brown
anyway the Ceramics were only about $50

[Compaq888]

The car had the brakes replaced 30k ago to some crappy ones by the last owner. I got some really good brakes sitting in my closet but I'm not going to replace them till the old ones give out.

[GasSavers_DaX]

Originally Posted by n0rt0npr0

I really like your hubcaps and would hate to hear about you riding around without them on them ugly black rims...

I'm using Raybestos Ceramic Pads and I am not getting any brake dust! My old pads were nasty dirty, first I went thru some nasty ORGANIC material pads, then semi-metalics(yuk!) 50 miles and my rims became brown
anyway the Ceramics were only about $50

Are you using the Raybestos Quiet Stop pads? Aren't these supposed to create the least dust?

[n0rt0npr0]

these ceramics last so long I forgot which exact ones...
found the reciept, they are actually BENDIX brand CT-3's Ceramic pads
And like I said, they don't create any dust that I can tell on my rims.
They "state" that they are suposed to create the least dust.

All in all, they ain't Raybestos, they are Bendix. They are quiet, really firm, and don't create any dust on my application.

[GasSavers_DaX]

Awesome - thanks. I'll be getting these for my 88 Civic...I get so much dust on my SI wheels they always look like ****.