[rajeev k]

Even couple of plastic self locking wraps used at supermarkets would suffice to prevent the so called wheel caps from flying off.
In the good old days of Ambys also this menace existed. The chrome plated ones which lost shape used to fall off frequently.

[chandrda]

Originally Posted by srishiva

In my old neighbour hood, one guy with a Qualis was complaining about how hub caps were getting stolen. Then he shows the Santros parked nearby and says, "everyone's hub caps get stolen here except from those cars"! implying that gentleman is somehow involved with the thieves .

My swift hubcap got stolen twice within 3 months, so I installed a duplicate hubcap which was only Rs.400 for 4. After that the thieves would steal the hubcaps from other cars and not mine in the area.

After around 4 months, two of the duplicate hubcaps fell off and when I gave the car for service, I got two OEM hubcaps.

Funny things is, after a month my two OEM hubcaps were stolen and not the duplicate one.

Point is, thieves are really knowledgeable these days.

Any thing can be dangerous on roads, why only wheelcaps. In 2001 a dog jumped out of the window from a moving car coming from the opposite direction and straight on to my RX135.

Regards

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by vina

What happened to you was a geat deal of bad luck with some good luck. What are the odds of a hubcap getting stuck the way it did on you bike?

Quite high . In my case, the hubcap's curved outer surface was facing the ground, the inner cup-shape of the hubcap facing up. My wheel got stuck in the inner cup and that's why I think this whole sliding saga happened. Perhaps if the hubcap had fallen with the bulge outwards, it might have just broken off when I rode the locomotive over it.

Originally Posted by smartcat

I personally think wheel cap/hub cap on steel wheels look ugly and for that reason alone, they ought to be banned!

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I have seen bike and scooter riders drop stuff like helmets, buckets, even poultry animals on the road

Both these comments made me go . On a lighter note, perhaps poultry falling on the roads onto approaching traffic would lead to 'Tyre Chicken boneless' ?

[asr245]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

This could happen anywhere, even in Developed countries.

Yes it can, but it would be dealt with much more severity in western world while no one will give a 2nd thought here. Even if someone was seriously hurt, there would be no action in all likely hood (unless of course he/she was well connected).

That was the point I was trying to make.

Reminds of another incident. Couple of months ago, while driving, I noticed a Scorpio come to a halt (he was on the right lane). This caused a minor jam and I honked hard and long to give him an earful (not sure that works in India). But as I passed him i noticed that a tire had fallen on it's path and a bus had stopped some 20-25 mts away. 2+2 , the bus was carrying a wheel inside and had probably fallen off.

Now how dangerous is that?

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by srishiva

In my old neighbour hood, one guy with a Qualis was complaining about how hub caps were getting stolen. Then he shows the Santros parked nearby and says, "everyone's hub caps get stolen here except from those cars"! implying that gentleman is somehow involved with the thieves

Because Santro's hubcaps are secured with lug nuts and it won't fly off and it won't come off without undoing the nuts Good design!

[josejoseph]

Has anyone seen falling wheel caps in Ambassador? When I was a kid I once saw the wheel cap of an Ambassador flying like a saucer which reminded me of a discus throw event. Luckily no one was hurt. But it was scary.

- Jose

[Sankar]

Removed the wheel trims from my car today.
1) Somebody might nick it eventually even if secured with ties.
2) I don't like the looks of it and cleaning the wheel is not easy with it on.
3) Will provide better cooling for the brakes.
4) Whatever weight i can save per wheel is nice. All four together weighs around 1 to 1.5 kilos.

Now i need to get the center cap of the LXI model to cover the center of the wheel.

Looks ok in my eyes..

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Removed the wheel trims from my car today.

They cost around 250 Rs a piece. Even if you sell them, you might get many (LXi buyers going for VXi look) buyers. Else, it is better to stack them up in the attic & put them on at the time of selling your car.

[Jack Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Removed the wheel trims from my car today.

Now i need to get the center cap of the LXI model to cover the center of the wheel.

Looks ok in my eyes..

The showroom guys should have given you the center cap of the wheels. My friend was provided the same when they added the wheel covers during delivery, but it was for a Wagon-R. The same was done for my Swift Vxi.