Purely Aesthetics

[asorensen]

This isn't a major mod or anything but I thought I would post a picture anyway.

On the front wheels I have added aftermarket hub lockers (superwhinch for the montero) but the back wheels have always had that unfinished look which kind of bothered me.

The combination of not having hubcaps, not wanting to buy hubcaps and the ability to create inspired me build these cnc aluminum hub caps.

[EnviroImports.com]

looks good, going to be on "Pimp my ride" lol
seriously though , looks great, I would paint the brake drums black to really make the mags pop out at you and also slow down the rust we have here on the coast.....
8)

[lost1]

rust here on the coast, ha ha you funny!, try living in Quebec, the roads are made out of salt...

[EnviroImports.com]

hmmm, ya I lived a couple years in Ontario, and used to long haul in to Quebec, beautifull place but sure hated trying to read the french road signs , more that once I ended up in areas tough to get a 52foot trailer backed out of lol
But I wonder how long a rust free delica would stay rust free once it goes to Quebec? out there ive seen 3 year old vehicles with bad rust on the fenders around the wheel wells,
I know it snows salt out there :lol: , but japan is also an island surounded by ocean and lots of storms. so I wonder if they treat the paint or undercoating more than we do to keep them so rust free. Ya I know most are not driven much hence the low milage...but space is an issue and alot are out doors. so I would like to know if they do something special

[Fishtank]

Don't mean to hijack the thread Andy, but since the topic of rust is up. I am curious to see if anyone out there has had any experience with the electronic rust protection systems for sale at Crappy Tire. I just about bought one when they were on sale a few weeks ago. Here is a link:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/produ ... 8648260642

[Green1]

hard to tell... I've found lots of claims from manufacturers of those gadgets saying their perfect (but what do you expect from the manufacturer...) and a bunch of explanations of why they can't work, but the explanations don't appear to be for the same system that is being sold here...
electronic rust protection does work... the question is whether it works on cars, and nobody seems to be able to give a good answer to that...

[Schwa]

This isn't a major mod or anything but I thought I would post a picture anyway.

On the front wheels I have added aftermarket hub lockers (superwhinch for the montero) but the back wheels have always had that unfinished look which kind of bothered me.

The combination of not having hubcaps, not wanting to buy hubcaps and the ability to create inspired me build these cnc aluminum hub caps.

What would you charge for a set? I have the same problem with my non-stock mags, looks a little bare back there and what you made looks really nice!

[Delicanagan]

I was considering buying the electronic rust protection when it was on sale as well...but found a few sites saying it wasn't all it's cracked up to be...apparently it works on a donor system...for lack of a better term.

If there is a lesser quality metal in contact with the steel of the body, the corrosion factor grows exponentially for that lesser metal...in other words, if you have aluminum anywhere in contact with steel, the aluminum will corrode much faster than usual...I wish I knew where I found this info, but I can say it steered me off an impulse buy...I'll be looking into it more before I want to add it to my shopping cart...

I'd hate like hell to find a year down the road that some clips or a frame for something or whatever ended up crumbling into dust on account of adding that gizmo...

anyone else hear/know of any more info on these anti-rust systems?

[Erebus]

anyone else hear/know of any more info on these anti-rust systems?

When I worked in the oil/gas industry a couple of years ago, I came across all kinds of documents about the anti-rust systems on pipelines. They were indeed sacraficial anodes (or was it cathodes?). Basically, that little block does all the rusting for the pipeline; when it has crumbled they put in a new one. Must do a pretty good job or they wouldn't be bothering.

[Green1]

When I worked in the oil/gas industry a couple of years ago, I came across all kinds of documents about the anti-rust systems on pipelines. They were indeed sacraficial anodes (or was it cathodes?). Basically, that little block does all the rusting for the pipeline; when it has crumbled they put in a new one. Must do a pretty good job or they wouldn't be bothering.

it is well known that the systems work in that context, however you are dealing with something that is buried in the ground, or at the very least, well grounded, a vehicle is insulated from the ground by the tires, and as such the same system would not work, whether or not the systems for sale in the catalogues work... well, that's a big unkown.

[robinimpey]

Ok, Asorensen, you can't go posting something that good looking and not be prepared to make some for the rest of us with after market rims. Let us know what you would charge us for a set of those beauties. Don't wait too long, my birthday is coming up and I would definitely put a set of these on the list.

Thanks!

[jaggedfish]

They were indeed sacraficial anodes (or was it cathodes?).

It is indeed sacrificial anodes - actually called "cathodic protection" where the protected metal acts as the cathode. The process as I know it relies on grounding so I'm not sure how effective a system insulated by tires is as noted by Green1. Also good to note that if you accidentally reverse the polarities of the protective system you actually accelerate the process exponentially thus doing far more harm then good.

There are also corrosive issues with mixing metals like steel and aluminum which electrically accelerate corrosion too.

Unfortunately there might not be a better method than keeping your vehicle clean and eliminating areas where moisture lingers on unprotected metal surfaces.

I would be curious to know if there has been legitimate success with this system.

[Green1]

I would be curious to know if there has been legitimate success with this system.

and that's where the problem comes in, lots of claims from the manufacturers (rather a biased source I think)
and a few claims from eager people who note their vehicle hasn't rusted out from under them in the 2 months they've had the system... but I have yet to find any long term study, or unbiased source confirming that they work.

Cathodic protection is great, but on a car.... I'd love to see some proof.

Best bet for now is some good undersealing, keeping the vehicle clean, and making sure any rust that does exist gets dealt with immediately.