DIY - Make Your Own Customized Centercaps!
 

Okay. so i bought these 17 inch racing hart rims that is specifically made for the mazda speed version of the miata. its 4x100 so i bought them right off the bat. Made some adjustments and they are sitting nicely on my civic.

The problem i had was the mazda center cap. Obviously i cant flex mazda driving a civic so i looked all over for a honda or even RH center cap in the internet with no luck. I was searching the internet for possible solution and found
Honda-Tech.com: Wheel and Tire: FAQ: Centercaps

I made some adjustments to it and made my own center caps.
Here is a step by step instruction for those who do not want to pay a forture on plastic center caps and want to make a custom center cap.

The tools needed for this procedure is brasso, microfiber cloth, knock out plugs ( you can use different varitety of sizes. measure your surface with a ruler and look for it at you local home depot, lowes, or some place that specializes in electrical and plumbing.) and a wrench or some kind to bend and adjust the tabs to fit the rims
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1685.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1678.jpg

the original mazda center cap that i cant use. and 2 inch knock out plug that i bought from a electrical & plumbing hardware store called dover and cheek.

Now shine the surfaces using little bit of brasso and the microfiber cloth
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1687.jpg

Its a good idea to do this on a completely flat smooth surface for even polish. put the face of the knock out plug and rub it on the microfiber
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1688.jpg

After you finish it should look like this.
the top ones are the ones that havent been worked upon
and the bottom ones are the ones i just polished
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1689.jpg

You can even get a mirror shine but in order to achieve mirror chrome shine you must spend a considerable amout of time and some serious elbow grease. if you have a rotary tool then it will be smart to use it. I shined mine to a certain point to match the rest of my rim.

The best thing about this project is the fact that it is easy. and that it is really cheap. I bought each knock out plugs for .74 each.
If you lose them or if someone decides to steal your plugs you can simply replace them. Hope this has been a help to some of you that do not want to spend a fortune on your center caps.

You can also spray paint it. it is up to your imagination from here.

before
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1692.jpg

after
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1696.jpg

Some finished pictures
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1682.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1683.jpg


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1698.jpg



1/27/07 WATER MARKS ON CENTERCAPS!

Okay so its been about 2 weeks since i posted the thread on polished centercaps.
Unfortunately the centercaps started getting water marks on them. I should have realize that noncoated centercaps are suceptible to rust and watermarks XT

Well I decided to take those back out and spray paint it with dupont gunmetal spray. here are the results.

OKay these are the centercaps with watermarks on them. yes i know not so pretty.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1718.jpg

Center caps with Dupont Gunmetal
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1721.jpg

On the Rims
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1724.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1725.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1726.jpg

GLuck

kewl

wait, did i miss something... I thought u were going to get rid of the mazda logo, but instead you just replaced them?

what do you mean??? im not using the mazda center cap that came with the rims. Im actually using the center caps I made from knock out plug that i bought for .75 cents each from a plumbing and electric store.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1682.jpg

If you look here, the center cap isnt mazda logo center cap. Its the center cap I made from the knock off plug

Ohh now i understand your misconfusion and your original question!
haha I didnt mean that I will get rid of the mazda logo from the center cap in this project.
This project was to replace it and to introduce new ways to replace your center cap if you lose it or gets stolen. I guess the picture with the mazda logo threw you off. I would never think about fixing the mazda logo. I can sell those center caps for alot of money. You'll be surprised how much dealers ask for those plastic center caps.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...1/CIMG1688.jpg

U see those little tabs? You can pull those with a plier and adjust them so it will fit the center of your rims. The most important thing is to find the size that will fit and cover the center of your rim. Mine was 2" . So i asked the guy for 2" knock out plug.

looks pretty good

sorry i dont like it at all. Also the mazda speed version rims on a civic is kinda rice no matter how nice you took all the mazda badges or logos off. It's not talking about something like acura to honda or lexus to toyota...IT'S A MAZDA TO HONDA bro, sell it to mazda's fan and get a set of nice rotas even better.

You have the right to hold your own opinion. But i can tell that you yourself dont think its fully riced up since you stated "kinda rice". Maybe I should have just said Racing Harts and not be so honest in saying that it was from the Mazda Speed Miata? =P but anyways, From Simon Cowell from American Idol, I actually take that as a complement. Theres always going to be haters and then there will be others who will take this thread seriously. There will also be those who will find it helpful in applying it on their stolen center caps or whatever the scenario might be. I merely introduced the idea of alternatives in case your centercaps are not too easy to replace. I wasnt trying to show off the wheels, rather my job was to inform.

No need to apologize, when you dont like it you dont like it. Apologizing is like you yourself proclaiming your taste is wack.

As for the people who found interest in this thread and thought it was helpful and those who complemented me on the job thanks and keep them coming. and those who have criticizms, i'm a big boy i can handle it.

Hope this thread develops into something more than just replacing the centercap. Hope people can contribute and take it further to the next level, powder coat, spray paint tint or whatever. It will be interesting.

thats the truth, center caps can get pretty expensive, especially after market ones, they casn go as high as 80 bucks for ONE. sell em on a mazda, or even a ford probe site and people will go crazy over em, especially those probe guys

Yea yur right . one guy @ a mazda forum offered me 25 dollars a piece for those Mazda center caps. The Mazda dealer either dont have it or its really expensive. They rip you off, because they can. I bet the production cost of those caps are not even a dollar a piece. I'm not selling it right now because If i do change my mind on selling the rims to a mazda lover or whatever, its easier to sell it with the center caps. The thing tahts good about these Racing Hart is the fact that theres many who are willing to purchase them and its highly liquidable. If my taste changes or I do want new set of wheels I guess I can sell my rims to a Mazda fananetic like one guy suggested.

I put together this thread so that people can find a temporary cheap solution in filling the gap of their center cap. Its only .74 cents a piece which probably beats the hell of alot of other alternative for a center cap.

People tend to steal the centercaps like its nothing too. They do this cause they know they can get some money sellilng it in ebay or whatever. Plus its pretty easy to steal. All you need is a screwdriver to pop it out.

If you make your own center cap, you can easily replace them which is another plus.

Well I'd honestly devise a better way to hold those things on. You probably should stick em in the wheel then knock those tabs out into the groove thats in the wheel for the centercap to lock into. Over time, with water, salt, dirt, etc... those will loosen up and pop out, not to mention that a bump is likely to knock one of those out. There's a reason that the centercaps on wheels SNAP into place and arent just kinda hanging out. Use the groove in the center bore as a form, and bend them into it. you should only have to do it once, after they're bent they'll act like spring fingers.
The bigger question would be... did you bore the center out? Or did Mazda enlarge the centerbore on the hub at some point I'm not aware of? Miata wheels, at least the older ones, wouldnt fit hondas because they had a 51 or so mm centerbore.

Yeah yur right. Its best when you stick them inside the center caps and pull the tabs into the groove so that they hold the sides. When you do this, you will never have to worry about the center caps falling out. But then again I just pulled the tabs out and pushed it in the centercap and havent had any problems. But yur right you can never be too careful. If you actually get a chance to try this project yourself, please do post pictures so that people may knwo what you are talking about. To someone who hasnt tried, it might be kind of difficult to understand by merely explaining it.

until then the steps I suggest looking at boilermaker1's suggestion is

step 1 remove your rims
step 2 put on the center caps
step 3. pull the tabs so they grab into the grooves from behind the rim with a plier.
step 4. put the rims back.

Regarding the second question. Its a custom Job. It would be a whole different topic if I had to get into it. But if you really must know PM me and i will show you a picture of what I did. or maybe I will post it up on the net. I have a friend that is begging me to do his wheels so when i actually take up on the job i will post it on the thread so everyone @ civicforums can see

Im going to spray paint the center cap with dupont gunmetal spray paint as a test and post it soon on this thread so that you guys can get an idea of how it would look if i paint it or coat it.

This is kinda cool.

thats a understatement

umm its not a hard question and it doesnt involve another thread to answer. Its either "yes I bored it out", "no, I didnt bore it, I did something ghetto like use a wheel spacer or washers to eliminate the fact that the wheel wouldn't fit on the hub", or "Mazda made the centerbore bigger at some point".
I already know how to get miata wheels on there the right way, its pretty publicly known that to get Mini or Miata wheels on a honda you need to stick it in a lathe... and given that you used a 2" (AKA 51mm) plug, it leads me to believe that Mazda hasn't opened it up.

Do i sense a bit of hostility ? Take a deep breath, it'll be alright.

No i didnt bore it. and no i did not use a wheel spacer and no Mazda did not make the centerbore bigger.

Im glad that you already know how to get miata wheels on the right way. Maybe its a good idea to share your knowledge in a different thread. I'm pretty sure people will find it very helpful.

No, you don't sense hostility.
I sense you evading the answer to a simple question.
We've already established that you didn't bore the wheel hub, which is the only answer I really needed to know, since its the only proper way to safely make the wheel fit, and now we're in the realm of something rigged, which quite honestly now I dont really care what you did.

good for you bro.
Just to let you know I took it to a respectable auto shop
now onto the subject this thread was intended to serve

Okay like promised.

Tell me what you think. please let me know your honest opinion, good or bad. Maybe some suggestions, such as different color spray paint. I'm actually thinking of painting it over in flat silver. Let me know

WOW great write up! Thats a GREAT do it yourself...and its good to know.. I wouldnt be able to do it because I have Boyd Coddington rims and the caps say Boyd and I hope not loosing them because each center cap is gonna run me $120 each!!! anywho.
Thats a great job. The paint color in the end and rim color dont match but It doesnt look bad. You really would not notice it. Id leave it as it is!
And those are some great great rims you choose for your honda!
Good Job

:rockon: For a nice write-up and an innovative way to solve the centercap issue. Some turdball keeps stealing my Konig Holes center caps and replacing them with an older, uglier (in my opinion) Konig center cap. Talk about bizarre and irritating. I like your center grill and lids too. Both mods I've been thinking about doing. Kudos man!

My original center cap.

http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/3533/goodcenterip2.jpg

Stolen/wrongfully swapped center cap.

http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/117...ntercapma8.jpg

I've got three of these now. Sorry for the crappy pics, chrome makes it difficult. Either I'll catch them on the fourth one or they'll stop after the fourth one. I have a plan to nail them on this last one as I know where its been happening. Bastards.

Thanks for the input man. yur right the color of the center caps are slightly off. But let me tell you the world of difference with it and without. yeah and pictures dont do justice. honestly, they do look better in person.

But with the different color is concerned, I will simply pick up a different color spray paint and tint it in a more blendable color. or maybe i should just give up the painting business all together and just coat the centercaps with some kind of water resistant gloss for coating. IDK ill figure something out. In the meantime, anyone have any suggestions on a color that will complement rest of my wheels?

Man $120 for a center cap! :screwy:
You better not lose those man! And hope there isnt people who are out there praying on those expensive center caps. If i was you Ill be checking where I parked every 5 minutes LOL!

What the hell??? are you saying someone is jacking your nice ass konig centercaps and replacing it with some ghetto center caps? that is the weirdest crap I've ever heard. I guess he does have a conscience though... the fact that he is atleast replacing it with something. Or maybe he cannot bare to see your rims without any centercaps to cover the hole either LOL.
I bet he will stop after the fourth one though. I think his intentions are to steal your newer center caps and replace it with his older ones, and he wont stop until he has perfected it. The criminal always comes back to the crime scene. Catch that bastard for all of us who are tired of getting the center stolen!

Yep. If and when I catch him, I'm going to pop his head like a zit. Although you're right, at least he's replacing them, and at least they're even the same brand. Strangest theft I've ever seen.

^weird

i hope you didnt use the honda eom lugs...since i think the lugs for Mazda are acorn style..not ball-seat