Ohio
My son was admiring my floating caps on my 2011 Z4, but didn't want to pay the >$120 USD that they are currently going for - specifically for the 50th anni caps. His is a White 328xi. So we looked into making them.
We found high quality caps on Amazon for $14. They look real and were identical to his existing caps in manufacture... They looked oem installed - except.. durn.. they aren't floating.
We located a STL/3MF that seemed to be the best design at makerworld. 1112828-floating-center-caps-68mm-for-bmw-wheels . There are quite a few out there and some of the designs aren't free. This isn't my design, so proper attribution/accolades to maker MariusZ for his design. I'm sure there are others to choose from - which is also very cool that so many ppl are sharing their designs for the DIY world.
This is what it looks like completed -- since we didnt take any pictures of the make or installation -- you get to see dirty January wheel.
But I found a draft ASA prototype in the trash so I took a few pictures of it to show the simplicity
Some cheap bearings -- many of those at my too many kids household.
The maker sized the weight holes for something he already had on hand. We didnt want to purchase anything, since the whole goal was to keep this cheap.
We used some junk nuts and hot melt glued them in place. Just need enough weight to tell the 608-2RS bearing to wake up.
All in all, we spent less than $25 USD to replace his caps with new floating ones - the old ones were pretty ragged and needed replaced anyway.
If you're not a 3D printer enabled DIY person, you can have a 3rd party print these out --either friends, or services. I recommend 100% infill, and to use a hybrid like ASA-CF or even PETG-CF. Both ASA and PETG will work from a longevity aspect, but they are both brittle. Dropping a sample of ASA without CF led to fracturing the holding tabs. That's what made us switch to the carbon fiber embedded option.
Happy Printing!
We found high quality caps on Amazon for $14. They look real and were identical to his existing caps in manufacture... They looked oem installed - except.. durn.. they aren't floating.
We located a STL/3MF that seemed to be the best design at makerworld. 1112828-floating-center-caps-68mm-for-bmw-wheels . There are quite a few out there and some of the designs aren't free. This isn't my design, so proper attribution/accolades to maker MariusZ for his design. I'm sure there are others to choose from - which is also very cool that so many ppl are sharing their designs for the DIY world.
This is what it looks like completed -- since we didnt take any pictures of the make or installation -- you get to see dirty January wheel.
But I found a draft ASA prototype in the trash so I took a few pictures of it to show the simplicity
Some cheap bearings -- many of those at my too many kids household.
The maker sized the weight holes for something he already had on hand. We didnt want to purchase anything, since the whole goal was to keep this cheap.
We used some junk nuts and hot melt glued them in place. Just need enough weight to tell the 608-2RS bearing to wake up.
All in all, we spent less than $25 USD to replace his caps with new floating ones - the old ones were pretty ragged and needed replaced anyway.
If you're not a 3D printer enabled DIY person, you can have a 3rd party print these out --either friends, or services. I recommend 100% infill, and to use a hybrid like ASA-CF or even PETG-CF. Both ASA and PETG will work from a longevity aspect, but they are both brittle. Dropping a sample of ASA without CF led to fracturing the holding tabs. That's what made us switch to the carbon fiber embedded option.
Happy Printing!
Scottish Borders
Porthcawl
Attleborough, Norfolk
South Lanarkshire
Devon
