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Old 01-19-2017, 02:46 AM   #1
Nine8Six
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Montreal, QC. (currently expat to Shanghai)
Posts: 3,249
Custom Center Caps for Porsche Wheel [from CAD, prototyping to finish]

So let’s make something together!

Some of you already know that I am a bit of a wheel gaga and often looking for ways to make my wheels look kool’er. Keeping them surgically clean in & out is obviously not enough, installing LEDs on the valve stem is not-an-option, and modifying/compromising the structure of the wheel in any ways is somehow less than smart.

Therefore, this leaves me with no other options than the center of rotation, the hollow area; The Great Center Cap!!!

Many will have seen the center cap I’ve designed and published here 3 years ago. They are Carrera GT Center Lock “Style” wheel caps (replicas, pic below). They were initially meant at replacing the boring and style-less plastic center caps my (at the time) expansive wheels came with.

Long story short; they came out pretty good and served (to the eye) just perfectly! Almost so good (loll) that today, those same CGT style CC are being copied by a-lot of our fellow Chinese aftermarket car parts mfg. Country-wide (no affiliations in any ways). They became quite popular and being sold by the dozen each week. That’s right - I regularly keep an eye on these folks’ Alibaba, eBay and Taobao stores to track how they are doing. I always order the stuff I do from those guys just to see how they manufacture them cheaper (Chinese are Masters at this!), final product quality, etc, etc. A hobby I have with all the parts that I’ve done in the past which are still being copied by the thousands today (e.g. adjustable race clip-ons, adj rearsets, adj/foldable levers, few others… mostly race bike parts). We’ve done quite good dosh with this work in the pass

So why am I saying all this, well, mainly because we are bored of the One & Only style available and need another one I guess. Almost urgent; Club friends locally here have been asking for this since quite a while now so I’ll finally deliver what I’ve promised in the past. They’ll still remain for Porsche wheels only, but looking slightly different. And perhaps, who knows, we’ll come up with a new GT Series (design variations).

Inspired from other DIY I’ve done in the pass, I’ll share with you the whole process; touching CAD/CAE/CAM, validations and other PLM involved for getting a product designed, prototyped, manufactured and hopefully, packaged.

Hope you’ll all enjoy as much as I do

F.


[Original CGT Style Center Cap ]
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'97 Boxster base model 2.5L, Guards Red/Tan leather, with a new but old Alpine am/fm radio.

Last edited by Nine8Six; 01-19-2017 at 02:56 AM. Reason: Slightly smaller pic
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