Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
As a guy who has spent far too much time scrubbing wide whitewall tires and polishing full wheel covers on my older cars, I enjoy my modern blackwall, disc brake cars! 
Hubcaps (aesthetics) and braking systems (safety) are two different things. Drum brakes were used for decades but suffered from many issues including brake fade (longer time/distance to bring a car to a stop), more moving parts and less reliability. In 1952 Jaguar developed disc brakes and the next year put them on C-Type racing cars. They won the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans with them and the rest of the automotive world moved to adapting them.
Hubcaps, as opposed to full wheel covers, can be used with disc brakes. But note that along with the technically superior disc brake system, wheel technology was also advancing. The old stamped steel rims are more costly, heavier, and less safe than the modern slotted wheel design used to today. Keep in mind that tire technology was also advancing with modern radial tires; radial tires place a lot more stress on the rims then the old bias ply tires. Additionally cooling is important for any brake system so full wheel covers are rarely used anymore and open wheel design is more typical.
So advancements in tires and brakes makes our cars stop much quicker and makes them much safer. The aesthetics of the wheels follows the technology, safety and cost issue.
Don
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i don't know why our Legacy came with 17 inch tires, heavier, more expensive and less gas economy..will worry about them in a couple of years.
In years past i would get brake pads on the front and that would be it. Now with the new technology disc brakes all around its rotors and pads all around when you need a brake job.
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Oh I remember hub caps.
While I've been driving down the road I have been overtaken by a few and was once almost hit by one of these flying frisbees!
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It is almost like they keep reinventing the wheel.
Any hubcap topical stamps?
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The 2016 US "pickups" series (SC 5101-4)features some beautiful classic trucks, all with "dog dish" or "baby moon" style wheel covers prominently featured. Everything else I have seen seems to favor sports/racing cars with wire wheels, brass-era cars with spoked wheels, or assorted vehicles with naked lug nuts.
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I am fond of the way 60's and 70's movies used the metaphor of the hubcaps coming off that the car chase was getting SERIOUS! (I also liked the squealing tires on the dirt roads).
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I definitely remember hubcaps... I lost one off of my 1962 Chevy BelAir on I-71 N between Columbus and Toledo in 1972. If you find it, please return it to me! 
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"I lost one off of my 1962 Chevy BelAir on I-71 N between Columbus and Toledo in 1972."
Was there a car chase involved???
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Just be glad it wasn't a '68 Charger.... you'd have to buy 7 or 8 to replace the ones lost in that chase scene from Bullitt!
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"(I also liked the squealing tires on the dirt roads)"
Tires will actually squeal on dirt roads, but only if the dirt is very hard-packed and the tire pressure is lessened.
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I was thinking of the James Bond Dr. No chase scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO88NI16g84
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I just remember losing them.
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It seems like fewer and fewer places are willing to resurface rotors. Must be a liability thing. Damned lawyers. 
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Ernie, they are making replacement rotors out of cheaper steel (China ?) So they don't bother to resurface them. I have not heard of anyone getting just plain pads like we used to.
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A couple of reasons rotors are usually replaced at the same time new pads are installed;
--the low cost of new rotors outweighs the time needed by the mechanic to turn/resurface the vehicle's rotors - new rotors FAR outweigh resurfacing, when it can be done.
--today's rotors are made thinner so as to allow only a minimal of surface loss before they are deemed 'discard' i.e. tolerances are a lot less than they used to be.
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An added note related to your brake discussion;
I would recommend NOT purchasing 'lifetime' brake pads for your vehicle unless you want to replace many sets of rotors. Lifetime pads are VERY aggressive and will wear rotors down quickly!
Just an FYI
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From our garage:
Hubcap:
No hubcap:
Titanium brake rotors, not shown...
...spit
To wit:
Them's 4.56 gears.
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re: Remember hubcaps ?
As a guy who has spent far too much time scrubbing wide whitewall tires and polishing full wheel covers on my older cars, I enjoy my modern blackwall, disc brake cars!
Hubcaps (aesthetics) and braking systems (safety) are two different things. Drum brakes were used for decades but suffered from many issues including brake fade (longer time/distance to bring a car to a stop), more moving parts and less reliability. In 1952 Jaguar developed disc brakes and the next year put them on C-Type racing cars. They won the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans with them and the rest of the automotive world moved to adapting them.
Hubcaps, as opposed to full wheel covers, can be used with disc brakes. But note that along with the technically superior disc brake system, wheel technology was also advancing. The old stamped steel rims are more costly, heavier, and less safe than the modern slotted wheel design used to today. Keep in mind that tire technology was also advancing with modern radial tires; radial tires place a lot more stress on the rims then the old bias ply tires. Additionally cooling is important for any brake system so full wheel covers are rarely used anymore and open wheel design is more typical.
So advancements in tires and brakes makes our cars stop much quicker and makes them much safer. The aesthetics of the wheels follows the technology, safety and cost issue.
Don
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Auctions
re: Remember hubcaps ?
i don't know why our Legacy came with 17 inch tires, heavier, more expensive and less gas economy..will worry about them in a couple of years. In years past i would get brake pads on the front and that would be it. Now with the new technology disc brakes all around its rotors and pads all around when you need a brake job.
Login to Like
this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
It is almost like they keep reinventing the wheel.
Any hubcap topical stamps?
Login to Like
this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
The 2016 US "pickups" series (SC 5101-4)features some beautiful classic trucks, all with "dog dish" or "baby moon" style wheel covers prominently featured. Everything else I have seen seems to favor sports/racing cars with wire wheels, brass-era cars with spoked wheels, or assorted vehicles with naked lug nuts.
Login to Like
this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
I am fond of the way 60's and 70's movies used the metaphor of the hubcaps coming off that the car chase was getting SERIOUS! (I also liked the squealing tires on the dirt roads).
Login to Like
this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
I definitely remember hubcaps... I lost one off of my 1962 Chevy BelAir on I-71 N between Columbus and Toledo in 1972. If you find it, please return it to me!
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re: Remember hubcaps ?
"I lost one off of my 1962 Chevy BelAir on I-71 N between Columbus and Toledo in 1972."
Was there a car chase involved???
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this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
Just be glad it wasn't a '68 Charger.... you'd have to buy 7 or 8 to replace the ones lost in that chase scene from Bullitt!
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this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
"(I also liked the squealing tires on the dirt roads)"
Tires will actually squeal on dirt roads, but only if the dirt is very hard-packed and the tire pressure is lessened.
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re: Remember hubcaps ?
I was thinking of the James Bond Dr. No chase scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO88NI16g84
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re: Remember hubcaps ?
I just remember losing them.
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this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
It seems like fewer and fewer places are willing to resurface rotors. Must be a liability thing. Damned lawyers.
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: Remember hubcaps ?
Ernie, they are making replacement rotors out of cheaper steel (China ?) So they don't bother to resurface them. I have not heard of anyone getting just plain pads like we used to.
Login to Like
this post
re: Remember hubcaps ?
A couple of reasons rotors are usually replaced at the same time new pads are installed;
--the low cost of new rotors outweighs the time needed by the mechanic to turn/resurface the vehicle's rotors - new rotors FAR outweigh resurfacing, when it can be done.
--today's rotors are made thinner so as to allow only a minimal of surface loss before they are deemed 'discard' i.e. tolerances are a lot less than they used to be.
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re: Remember hubcaps ?
An added note related to your brake discussion;
I would recommend NOT purchasing 'lifetime' brake pads for your vehicle unless you want to replace many sets of rotors. Lifetime pads are VERY aggressive and will wear rotors down quickly!
Just an FYI
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10:11:51pm
re: Remember hubcaps ?
From our garage:
Hubcap:
No hubcap:
Titanium brake rotors, not shown...
...spit
To wit:
Them's 4.56 gears.
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