Custom Center Caps for Porsche Wheel [from CAD, prototyping to finish] - Page 9 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

So let’s make something together! Some of you already know that I am a bit of a wheel gaga and often looking for ways to make my wheels look kool’er. Keeping them surgically clean in & out is obviously not enough, installing LEDs on the valve stem is not-an-option, and modifying/compromising the structure of the wheel in any ways is somehow less than smart. Therefore, this leaves me with no other options than the center of rotation, the hollow area; The Great Center Cap!!! Many will have seen the center cap I’ve designed and published here 3 years ago. They are Carrera GT Center Lock “Style” wheel caps (replicas, pic below). They were initially meant at replacing the boring and style-less plastic center caps my (at the time) expansive wheels came with. Long story short; they came out pretty good and served (to the eye) just perfectly! Almost so good (loll) that today, those same CGT style CC are being copied by a-lot of our fellow Chinese aftermarket car parts mfg. Country-wide (no affiliations in any ways). They became quite popular and being sold by the dozen each week. That’s right - I regularly keep an eye on these folks’ Alibaba, eBay and Taobao stores to track how they are doing. I always order the stuff I do from those guys just to see how they manufacture them cheaper (Chinese are Masters at this!), final product quality, etc, etc. A hobby I have with all the parts that I’ve done in the past which are still being copied by the thousands today (e.g. adjustable race clip-ons, adj rearsets, adj/foldable levers, few others… mostly race bike parts). We’ve done quite good dosh with this work in the pass So why am I saying all this, well, mainly because we are bored of the One & Only style available and need another one I guess. Almost urgent; Club friends locally here have been asking for this since quite a while now so I’ll finally deliver what I’ve promised in the past. They’ll still remain for Porsche wheels only, but looking slightly different. And perhaps, who knows, we’ll come up with a new GT Series (design variations). Inspired from other DIY I’ve done in the pass, I’ll share with you the whole process; touching CAD/CAE/CAM, validations and other PLM involved for getting a product designed, prototyped, manufactured and hopefully, packaged. Hope you’ll all enjoy as much as I do F. [Original CGT Style Center Cap ]

For now, I need to come up with a cap that reassemble the GT3 center lock (most wanted/requested for), does not protrude as much out of the wheel (for those with non-concave wheels), and it has to be far much easier to install than the previous one - which needed the wheel to be taken off, etc. All very challenging but I think we can pull this off. I'll update as I progress with sketches and proto visuals. If I am boring you to death, please do not change channel as this may only become more interesting in the future. Certainly not interesting during the initial phase and I apologize in advance ps: I promise we'll eventually do performance parts in the future; links, suspension, adj arms, intake improvements for the "Two-point-Fivers" loll stuff like that.

Yes Fred we need intake improvements for the 2.5 for sure. Glad to see you are getting back into the swing of things

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Ah, yes, the turbo-kit v2.50 We surely need that eventually having been let down completely during the last 20 years. However and for now, the GT3 Center Caps that every one is asking me for are far more important. Need to get this done... and besides, cool-lookin center caps offers far more horsepower (using the bling-dyno of course). Funny you mention though, because you'll be pleased to hear I've actually did the prototype model already. Was playing with the idea a few weeks ago only. Regardless, we have the CFD ready for the crop of engineers here to see and contribute to the proof of concept. We'll be able to cancel stalls, adjust geometry based of optimized velocities in various air densities, temperatures and pressures. Technically speaking; we'll be making the stock plenum in our Super 2.5 liter flat kick car comparable to the PVC pipe found in hardware stores today Stay tuned (exclusive to 2.5 only, sorry ) ps: Hey back to you Tommy! good to see you around again bud

I've learned to love this sort of stuff, I work with the universities Formula SAE team on the business side of things. It's fantastic to see people creating useful components from an idea to an integral part of our car!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on your new president! Looked pretty cool from the News clipping angle Without wasting time, and more importantly than all forms of world-politics (combined), is the Great Center Cap ! I did try a lot of different revolving curves & shapes and came up with this. Not 100% final but there, we’ll start with this. So far I've only shown it to my neighbor(loll) and a friend who, actually, deserve the credit for the GT3 style center cap idea, and surprisingly, he confirmed that we are going in the right direction. So it all appears to be good geometry and a good starting point to base the remaining of the assembly onto (e.g. planed adapter, center with crest, etc). ^ The most frequent request I had during the years was “less protruding out of the wheel”. To comply with this, I’ve come down from the 42mm (CGT style) down to 13mm (GT3 Style). For those guys with non-concave hub wheels, this will be a better option (visually). ^ Here you are looking at the base sketch for the revolving feature of the main cap along with the distance between the outer edge of the wheel hub and end side of the cap. ^ Once revolved, the geometry look pretty prismatic in nature. What we are looking at here is the stock that will require turn machining operations (material AL6061). ^ Then goes the main cap feature to give it the look & feel. Although not an exact replica of the official GT3 center lock in terms of lock/tool features, it is pretty close and (to me) quite attractive. Simple! We are trying hard to get in features in a as-simple-as-possible way to avoid the ‘too busy’ effect, but also to make it easy later in rendering to achieve a good curve continuity and lighting reflections. After all, it is a cosmetic part more than a functional one so we might as well put energy in the bling area instead! ^ Those features; simple revolution of extrusions with a radius of 1mm (highlighted in orange) at the floor end. Again, all useful geometry for rendering purposes, and also very machine-able with a dedicated bullnose carbide cutter. The hollow center is obviously to accommodate a separate part having the crest or club logo stamped dead center. This part is separated from the main cap mainly because it will be in a totally different color than the rest of the assembly (most likely silver). I’ll do this part later. Again, all subject for changes but so far this is what I am aiming for.

Under ( basic ) lighting conditions in neutral tones. Meaningless to you guys I know but you'll soon see where I'm going with all this. I'll update as soon as I'm done with the Center. Hopefully by tomorrow this should all start looking like a center cap loll

Subscribed, Fred; thanks!!

I like where this is going!

Thanks guys! Right. Here goes the most complex car part known to man kind loll So... Center is done. This will snap right in the center of the cap and accommodate a P shield that I am already familiar with. I'll assemble all this together tomorrow if all goes as planed (e.g wife going shopping) and get this to render. Next is the wheel hub adapter . I already had the concept in mind since a few days already but until I have a proof of concept to see for myself, I won't publish. Might actually need a few days for this part alone :/

Just love your projects Fred

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Same here

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Ah some old friend Hey Captain. Hmm must feel different from seeing all the 'advanced' aerospace parts you get to see all week/flights long. Very flattering comment from you Sir, if you are being serious

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Very serious Let's see, I have your headlights and your wind deflector! Keep feeling better Fred!

Fred I'm in for a pre order of a set in silver. Um throw me in for a super upgrade plenum as well

Well, success RE the wife going shopping I have fresh and imported Cheddar Cheese to put on my toasts tonight and the dogs have their weekly cow-bones to finally get busy with. Hmm sharing with you what a typical Saturday night looks like here in Shanghai (loll we're getting old). Not so much success on the rendering of the parts however. Not sure what's happening but the rendering PC I use here is blowing its life out of the cooling fan each and every time I switch it ON. Fear the CPU will melt if I use it - Hopefully I'll be able to fix that later myself :/ In a meantime, I have those which I think is sufficient for now. Surely gives a good idea of where this is going. Another good news is the kit only weight 77grams. Ultra-Light if you ask me. I think we've done an amazing job so far. More to come on the wheel hub adapter in a few days. Cheese Toasts first

This thread is fantastic! Not often you get to see the inner workings of a master artist at work. Guess a Cheese Toast will have to do...

I definitely like the lower profile, they are looking great Fred! My Saturday nights are not so exciting either

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Bring the Task Manager up and check if the Windows Antimalware Executable is hogging the CPU. If it is, google on how to prevent it from doing that. I had exactly the same issue and had to take care of it.

Damn you Fred! I'll take four. :-) Cheers! -Troy

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Do not get hypnotized by these modern and expansive software/tools man. The "true" masters are those who fabricate with their hands, and using tools that everybody has. If you want to know my version of true (genuine) ingenuity! But thanks for the compliment, well received! Sorted. It would have been a tad more helpful for me if the main-board would have beep'ed letting me know what it was. My neighbor's son disconnected the E drive and all came back to normal. The HDD was an old style WD and basically died. Not sure why this HDD was left in there anyway, been using SSD since a few years already. Thanks for trying to help bud, too kind haha Troy! ah for you its local pickup only. Always good to hear from you brother

The part below will be the wheel hub adapter. It threads & secure itself inside of the cap and meant to clamp the whole cap assembly onto the hub geometry of the wheel. As you can see I am using the traditional clamping style that, well, Porsche and many other automakers are using already. I’m guessing there is a reason for this widely used concept so no point going all creative RE hooks, clips, or new ways to get this to clamp. Let’s stay focus lolll I won’t lie, I’ve already tough up this part quite a while ago. Often I’ve heard complains about how difficult it was to install the previous CGT style caps and many said “it got to be a better way”. So there, I’ll finally comply with this and provide in the best of my capacity. The material we’ll be using for this part alone is Acetal (Polyoxymethylene, or Delrin if you prefer). Acetal is possibly ranking Top 1 in its group of engineering plastics and for many reasons (you can read about it). Not exactly cheap, in fact The Most Expansive in its class, but at least we’ll be 100% sure that the part will last for minimum half a century and perform in literally any environments. E.g. whether you roll my cap in Alaska at below 40deg Celsius or Texas at above 40, The Great Center Cap is going to stay on your wheel and perform its task without any complains. I personally love Acetal because it is magical to machine. If you are familiar with its thermal expansion behavior, you can achieve tolerances of 1~5micron on this thing without much efforts (not joking). Something I’ll need to do for the matting of the threads with those of the cap, you’ll see why later. I’ll soon explain the method I’ll be using to “thread lock” Acetal with the aluminum cap using its thermal expansion properties. That’s right; thermal expansion is occasionally an “advantage” for engineers, not all negative! Nuff blah, it’s all about visuals (and Cheese Toasts in between)! And off to the part validation (CAE). Lot of work there :/ The ring in front of the adapter represent the exact same geometry of the Porsche wheel hub. Same shape, size and tolerance (0.05mm) and used for non-linear clamping analysis.

Acetal is “snappy”. Here I’ll share with you validation procedures that the part will undergo. In general terms, we need to ensure a few things for this to work. 1) Ensuring that the part does not exceed (in any ways) the Ultimate Tensile Strength(110Mpa) anywhere in the clamping process i.e the ultimate TS is when the part shatters in little pieces, or the moment when you get mad at me loll. We also need to ensure that it stays below its Yield Strength (64 Mpa) when in operation. We don’t want the part to be living under excessive stress during all of its life. Within the range is perfectly fine, but not above! Lastly, it need to provide a good clamping pressure so when the wheel rotate and X and Z velocities changes, the cap remain where it should. Keeping a pressure above 100Mpa is the target here so watch your fingers when you snap them into place, it’s going to hurt-a-little if you get your skin trapped between the wheel and the cap Although, for a light 77grams cap, I think that 50 would be more than sufficient – but let’s not take any chances! Side note: for anyone familiar with CAE, I am solving this with SOL 601,106 Advanced Nonlinear Statics (using a 0.2 as coefficient of friction, 2D CQUAD4 mesh and a RBE2 connector for the enforced displacement). Nastran 11 Solvers, what else better ^ Not 100% completed but going into the right direction! Nasty work I tell ya but still fun to do. Sometimes I think my fellow Chinese friends have the right way of doing things = "looks good, then its okay lolll"

Decided to become a VJ for one day loll Did this vid to show the ‘behind the scene’ of CAE and how design (or feature) changes are validated. In this video we’ll be lowering the height of the clip and wall by -0.5mm. We’ll then clone the solution and see how stresses compare to the design changes. When I say ‘nasty job (but fun)’ I really meant that. It can take quite a bit of time to come up with a proven concept – weeks sometime. Next: I'll be showing how to balance a part assembly using Multiphysics Simulation tools and sensors. Think some of you will love that episode. I'll try to vid those over youtube for you guys to see.

I'll test the prototypes in red!

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The Red are too fast, you'll need titanium lug bolts.

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Yikes. Beautiful!! Fred, your work is amazing.

Jeez Fredric ......did you make them integrate a CAD station in your hostpital bed��. I will take Five bro...

Looks great as always, bud!

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Dude I think its what they put in the cheese these days :/ Already at balancing this assembly Jay. Doing the 1800RPM(223km/hr) currently. Hopefully be done with counter-weighting the center/badge by tomorrow so I can (finally) send this to CAM. I'm actually really eager to see them myself. Secret: good tools man... makes for an easy job. Prototypes are always spot on

Holy crap I want these!!!

A touch of red on my seal gray car with silver wheels will look nice I think!

Holy Cow!!! Just caught this thread. Two questions, when will they be ready and how much? Oh heck, forget how much just when will they be ready? Great work, absolutely wonderful...

Nice work - Fred - love seeing your techniques!

Fred congrats on getting better keep healing and moving forward ! I may have missed it but how are you adding color to the parts ? Does the raw material already contain the color ? Or are they going to be painted ? And what colors will be available ? I think " the beast " needs a set of these but I'll have to figure out the color . Thanks for what you add to the forum and community .

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Kevin, too kind brother Me too, I think lolll Very humble piece of kit from the wheel/cap visuals that came out yesterday. Same here. Boxster have the blue CGT caps on since 3 years, time for red I think Thanks bud! Not done, far from it actually. Subscribe if you haven't done so because there is so much more coming. I'll soon be starting the CAM work, fixtures, sourcing the correct materials for prototyping, we'll machine this using the High Speed machining center (Siemens controllers), We'll also laser-mark this cap with something sexy, etc etc. Planing to hit the shop floor in a week! Plenty of fun to come, stay tuned Too bad folks doesn't do the DYI section of the forum as much as the General one. No price yet, let's machine all this together, get quotes on materials and that will eventually define the end price. So far we are looking at a pretty cheap-to-manufacture part... I'll try my best to keep it that. Not hidding anything, everything is real here so what I pay for my caps is pretty much what you'll also pay for yours Thanks Rick, yup getting better by the week. If I don't get hit by a lightning (i.e my type of luck recently) I should be back to 99% same in less than 12 months. Wish me luck man lolll The main cap will be 6061 aluminum and anodized in the color of your choice (gun metal, red, blue, black, etc). The center where the P shield is should ideally remain silver (clear anodized). Fully custom mate, so if the beast needs something unique I'll be 100% able to provide that for you bud

Just a few visuals on the assembly balancing and a video showing my highly guarded & secret Newton's Cradle below. Run the vid half way to see the motion of the center cap. Just quick visuals for you guys, sorry, not the full thing (man, this is all time consuming this pic/vid/encoding thing loll). Simple you may think but incurably powerful. Pure physics; 60+ years old solvers (NASA(nastran), Recurdyn, Adams, etc). Its all about the quality of the solvers really. ^ Here you can see the assembly I use for balancing rotary parts. It’s a base having a shaft rotating in the X axis. Not specific to the center cap I am doing now, I’ve actually used this for quite a few other parts successfully (custom spacers, CNC tool holders, custom rotary chucks soft jaws, center caps, etc etc). ^ The shaft uses a driver (motor) set at 2,400RPM for this test. You can however set this to pretty much anything between 0 ~ 999,999,999rev/sec. Here we are testing vibration on a Porsche wheel with a diameter of 660MM (26"), or a circumference of 2073mm (660*PI). In velocity, and if spun at 2,400RPM, this gives us 82,938mm/sec (or 298km/h). So the target here is to rate the Great Center Cap for speed of 300Km/h without any sort of vibration. ^ First thing first, calibrating the shaft coupled with the Porsche wheel hub (translucent part; right end side). We should be getting a flat line e.g. no changes in force magnitude anywhere = zero vibration. ^ With all the parts of the assembly inserted into the wheel hub, we are getting a vibration in the Z axis (i.e. up/down). So by deactivating each part of the assembly, it is easy to figure out which part is causing the wiggle. In the case of this assembly, the Center holding the P badge is the culprit. ^ To make things a bit easier visually, we slow down the motion solver to 1 (one) rotation only so we can clearly see the vibration curve. Still rotating @2,400RPM (40rev/sec) however the time steps drops from 1 sec down to 0.025sec (e.g 1sec / 40rev per sec). So 1 full revolution only here. Easier to see than the above graph! ^ Now having found the culprit, you need to go back to the drawing board and counter-weight the part. In this case material had to be removed (orange). Once the center of mass gets back to zero, you re-import the part and re-solve the motion. And BINGO! ^ As you can see, we are now getting 100% flat line per revolution (still at 2,400RPM). The badge is set to 50% transparent so you can see where the little pocket is located. At the manufacturing stage, a very small pocket will need to be machined inside the area where the P badge goes and all will go back in perfect balance! And that is how we design rotating parts and balance them using Multiphysics Motion Simulation ladies and gent. Fairly elementary and simple lollll VIDEO You'll see my Newton's Cradle in there (not a toy!). Again; incredibly powerful. CAE allows us to export Flexible Bodies (e.g. response dynamics) and import those inside Motion Sim. That is how we get table field of data for various materials used for creating parts (forces, damping, etc). This data is then used down the line for crash/impact analysis, fatigue analysis, stuff like that. Could be wrong but I think every engineers have a Newton's Cradle modeled (can't be found anywhere, you got to make your own and mine's not for sale loll)

F'in amazing Fred is back!

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I love that look.

Now that's very counter-intuitive to me that on a perfectly symmetric looking object, that the lightening relief would be positioned off the line of symmetry. Any explanation as to why, Fred? Also, I find it interesting that you've modeled a balancing apparatus. Wouldn't it be just as easy to assume the piece is sitting there in space and rotating by some strictly defined (assumed unmoveable) axis? I suppose with your method, you could model flexibility and oscillations of the testing jig, but I'm not sure why that would be useful, unless you were doing real-world testing on the same exact jig and wanted to somehow model very similar predicted results. At some point, the model needs to assume things are fixed. Would this simulation assume the base feet of the testing jig are fixed? I remember getting some unversity mechanical engineering grad student to help do some FEA simulation work on designing a lightened version of wheel centers for an autocross race car I was running. This was at least 10 years ago, so the tools were a bit more rudimentary to what you seem to have access to. I don't remember using using any solvers, but rather, just manually iterated the design a few times until we were happy. The machined weight of those wheel center came out just as predicted! Very cool and memorable experience for me. So thanks for sharing your fascinating techniques.

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Thanks Jake RE modern solvers; the owner and its backend software engineers claims that this is what puts on the Mars Rover (Curiosity) where it is today and also what makes most of today’s jet planes takeoff and land safely. I’d love to challenge these statements but dare lolll The jig’s base is indeed ‘fixed’ with 9806.65mm/sec2 gravity acting on it – not floating bud. The shaft/bushings also needs mu-static, dynamic and stiction velocity/deformation (aka friction) properly defined and enabled otherwise nothing works…. the shaft will bounce passed the 500rpm. Real-life no, I agree, but certainly real-world multiphysics (well, this world anyway). RE Center caps, they are ‘visually’ symmetric yes but as you saw in the vid, the center (p badge) is not 100% aligned with the center of mass (taking gravity into account here). That is due to the non-symetric feature/pocket for the badge. Anyhow, it is very unlikely that a perfectly symmetric center cap (center of rot) are going to throw your wheel out of wack however best practices force me to ensure that the design is meeting ‘base line’ quality. I am sure that potential buyer will appreciate this. OT; a year ago I’ve designed a special tool holder that had to mount into a 40,000RPM spindle. The tool was designed and meant at machining a part within 2micron tolerance using a carbide endmill of 0.2mm diameter – read very (very) small. It was for a medical device/part, something that brother in law here specialize into. Multiphysics balancing in this case greatly help i.e. less material had to be removed once the tool was dynamically balanced (real-life) afterward. We’ve seen ‘dust’ amount of material removal to get it balanced in the 4DOF. That said it does serve a purpose, in some more extreme cases, but perhaps not so much for center caps that only spin <3k rpm lollll All good fun bud!

Soon off to the manufacturing finally. I've already ordered the material so I should be getting this hopefully latest tomorrow afternoon. Once I have the size of the stock material I'll trow all of this in the CAM processing. That should be a bit more interesting, and much less geaky I promisse. Personally, that is my favorite part... shaping hard metal, making chips fly everywhere, noises, bad burning smells, etc lollll

Big like on this.....................

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Man that is sweet. Don't think they would look right on these wheels

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Glad to hear buddy

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wow that is an amazing racing wheel, ultralight I've heard. Tempted to change the ones I got for those

the original style looks perfect on the oz wheels....i think the new one's will look even better

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Always room for improvements, for any wheels. Cheap Plastic is dead man lolll

Right... so this is what we're going to do. I've just received the material that I've ordered y'day an hour ago (yey!). So we got a few pucks of Acetal, plenty of AL6061 (I think loll) and also found the few badges I had left in stock. I'll run this quick and dirty in the R&D machines first, get a sample part anodized and assembled in-hands, and if all goes well (i.e. looks good, feel good, and fit/clamp well) I'll do the cam online with you guys for the shop floor's production machines (you'll see my little shopl). No point launching full-scale into making custom fixtures, softjaws, and all the other 'expansive' stuff required to get a small production run going. Besides the CAM work for those prod machines needs proven simulation before even starting-up and cutting anything. You'll get to see this as well but before - let's see this super duper center cap first. Some grabs below of the 'quick & dirty' CAM work I've done yesterday evening. All I need left to do is adjusting the stock size in each part models and off we go - let's do a quick one (or two, we'll see how it goes). Estimate 1.5 ~ 2 days work. Toolpaths and toolpaths only toolpaths. Finally we can cut something.

How do you hold the part on your milling machine then you turn it over to mill the back?

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Toolpath Pic 1: Turning/boring the inside (ID) of the cap + threading a M52*1mm Toolpath Pic 2: Turning/profiling the outside (OD). Made a quick fixture with a OD thread that fit the M52*1 Toolpath Pic 3: Milling/drilling using a 8mm flat endmill then fininshing the floor using a bullnose 8MMR1 cutter Toolpath Pic 4: Milling/4axis, Multiaxis toolpath going around the clips. Just needed to machine one fixture; the one you see (quick&dirty) holding onto the cap thread and clamped between the vice jaws in Pic 3. Missing are pics of the Acetal turning operations for the adapter. Using the exact same procedures as Pic 1,2,3. Just need to see this cap first We'll do this correctly onto the prod machines later (coming week let's hope).

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For you buddy Apologies for the half-useless explanation above lolll

Some pretty good progress to share with you guys! Besides the amazingly sunny and warm weather of today, I am very (very) happy about the result of this part. This goes to show how important proof of concept and part validation work are. Without CAE it wouldn’t have been half-possible to make this part successfully at first attempt. I would have had to blindly machine 5~10 different parts with different thickness, hoping it doesn’t fail, and worst… hoping for it to be clamping properly. Think about the time it would have taken without CAE lolll e.g. Model mods X10, CAM mods X10 and machining a prototype part X10 (ouch). CAE add-ons are not cheap but do save a considerable amount of time/pain and most importantly; “add peace of mind”. We are now 100% certain this part will not fail when repeatedly inserted into the wheel hub, it will hold well and tight, and perform in temperatures ranging between -50 up to +50 Celsius. Ladies and gent, I present you The Great, official and most advanced Center Cap wheel adapter In-The-World ^ (LOLL jeezzz… side effects of smoking CNC machine coolant fumes) ^ Some may find it interesting to see what was once a raw stock of Acetal, converted into a fully functional car part! ^ Here goes the final product (involves 2 turning operations + 1 multiaxis milling operation). Also showing in this pic is the precision thread required to mate with the main cap (I'll explain later how this 'permanently' thread locks) ^ Same part, upside down, showing the 5 clips. ^ View from inside a Porsche wheel (sorry for the messy pic!). The clamping is phenomenally accurate and amazingly strong. It does snap nasty in there and its goes in with a loud and clear “SNAP” noise. Absolutely love Acetal. Nothing better (dare to challenge me here). The bad news: the wheel will need to be removed off the car if you plan on removing your center cap. It just won't come out without a good push from behind the hub. Call it "Anti-Thief System" ^ Quickly snapped in my old Twisties wheel hub. Again, flawless. Sits flat and pressed onto the edge of the hub by-pressure as intended and not moving in any direction. Unlike the CGT style cap, this Acetal adapter concept will ensure that when you install your center cap, you'll be dead sure it is concentric to the hub and not offset. Something that was hard to acheive, but not impossible, with the previous CGT style design. ^ Here goes the two fixtures I ended up having to machine to hold the workpiece for the various CAM operations involved. The first fixture (nearest) will in use later this evening to machine the main aluminum cap. ^ Same fixtures. This one showing how I mount the hub adapter so I can machine/turn the OD profile and also this is how it mounts into the 4th axis rotary to mill the clip using the multiaxis toolpaths you’ve seen in the toolpath pic4 (previous post). Enjoy!

The last fixture I'll have to do later this evening (finally). Shows how I'll clamp the disk shape center between my vice jaws (they are in fact softjaws, made out of aluminum). You can see the CAM toolpath work on those for the milling operations. If all goes well I'll be able to start anodizing this tomorrow late afternoon (shoulder hurt like crap though :/). We'll see, might have a fully functional prototype to play with this weekend!

This is absolutely brilliant! I need a price and colour options immediately!

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haha thanks bud RE colors, have a quick look at post#1. Expect the same line... gun metal, blue, red, black(my fav!), etc. Not sure I'll do the orange ever again as this never really turns out good anyway. RE price, well you guessed: US$16,499 ( each ). Seriously, and until we've finished machining all of this, we won't know. We'll calculate the time it takes (in CNC minutes), calc the material cost for a kit, and figure out a end price for the kit based on this (add 5% for the machine electricity). Sincerely hope to get them cheaper than what a 'cheap plastic' OEM Porsche cap kits goes for wish me luck man

LOVE YOUR SKILLS !!!! Keep up the good work . As soon as you can come up with your color offerings get them on here so people can start thinking about what to order . I have some aftermarket wheels and I " think " the center cap hole is different than Porsche OEM . Will you be able to alter the diameter of the locking portion and maintain all the other dimensions ?

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Thanks Rick! Tell you how I managed to get the standard Porsche wheel center/hub accuracy to 0.01mm tolerance (keep secret loll) 1. Fill/compress the wheel center with clay (or anything that doesn't shrink when drying) 2. Let dry overnight in a dry and warm room 3. Hammer it out from the back/rotor side of the wheel, so to keep the chamfer relief 4. Measure with a precision/metric vernier (caliper?) If you can do this then I think I can help you out with custom. If not then based on luck bud

And that is how one is spending his Chinese New Year eve! Making some cool car parts and drinking Champagne (Chinese version of it, of course ) In fear to destroy this masterpiece's reputation, I'll wait for tomorrow's day light to take much better pictures. No idea how to set a DSLR camera for a dark evening dinner table shot and photoshop just can't fix a drama like that. Oh, I've anodized a blue one also. Both look absolutely majestic.... wait and see! Total happiness . Look & feel is surprisingly everything I was aiming for; low profile, perfect fit, humble but looking very expansive

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Do you have any other color options for the center cap crest? I have a black/silver crest and am currently running black/silver wheel crests, and I am thinking the gunmetal center caps with a black/silver crest would be a good match for me. Although the colored Porsche crest is classic and goes with everything... Here is what I am talking about. My hood crest: My current wheel crests (made by stripping an old set of metal colored crests, then painting silver, then a very light covering of black that I then sanded off to reveal the silver underneath. Something like that maybe?

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I'll ask the manufacturer is he's willing to run a 'small' batch of silver for you. Not sure what you'll do with the remaining 496 crests though. Can I take a few off you?! But seriously, that silver a good idea Steve (speaking of a humble look). I'll see what I can do to convince him to run this low'er for us and let you and other know. Got to wait until CNY is passed though... out of a billion+ ppl nobody other than myself works during that time of the year. Stay tuned buddy (ps. thx for the idea btw )

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I could put them on all my other cars

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This looks AMAZING! you have out done yourself once again

Too kind man, thanks!!!

Beautiful, Fred. Like the champagne flutes in the background; love the new product.

Glad Chinese New Year's firework finally stopped. War zone stuff. Had time this afternoon to take those prototypes out for a ride in the front garden for their first photo-shoot. Guess it's official now "I really sux at taking pics" lollll I do have medium-to-great skills in Photoshop however e.g that first pic is the bleu cap in grayscale ( faked ). Tried to mimic what it would look like in Gun Metal but it did canceled the shine that gun metal naturally comes with. Regardless, gives a good idea! Using my old twities here as this is probably the most popular wheel in use these days. Gives a good idea of how those protrude out of the wheel and how the fit looks like. I promise I'll rig some rendering of the same wheel, and others (e.g. Carrera Sport 18s) both in silver and in black wheel colors for you guys to see. Do we need laser markings on those? They look like they could do with some

They look great; love the profile. I agree that the laser markings would be a plus, if similar to those on the higher profile caps. Great work, Fred. Amazing.

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hmm I agree too. I think I'll just use the previous laser script so we can retain consistency between both style, and future ones(who knows) Thx Kevin

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新年快乐! Ahhhhh the old balance feature hidden under the crest trick.....my brain is too dull these days to have figured this out was wondering about this on the CGT models. Have a great celebration!

Fred Now you got me thinking of how to protect these works of art. I can't imagine that many tire shops would remove the caps with the care that they deserve so, I'm thinking about a tool, wouldn't take much, round tapered fitting with a handle and stops, that could be inserted from the backside of the wheel that would compress the locking clips only enough to remove the caps for wheel/tire service. Might provide for ease of removal and not stress the clips. Yeah I think these caps are that nice.

Good call and observation. Point taken Clip's stress is accounted for "if they don't bend passed their contact path" (contact path: see CAE video). So it will be okay to apply a flat object on a clip and gently knock the clips out as you do with any other CC. Works actually quite well. What you CAN'T do is e.g. use a flat screw driver and pry them off . But I'm convinced that most shops wouldn't do that and knows the 'knock on cap' technique. Could be wrong, you just never know (good luck to you guys lollll) Could add a Owner's Manual with the kit Maybe a small sticker inside the cap would be better

So to remove these caps you remove the wheel/tire assy from the car and take something like a hammer handle and hit it to pop them out correct ? I see nothing wrong with that . Really can't think of a circumstance where the cap has to be removed while the wheel/tire are still on the car ? Oh and silver color is what I would want also .

I'm going to need a set in red Fred! I should just send you my visa number for any of your future creations lol

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Thanks Martin, will be in touch soon (loll visa#) Correct. Align a flat surface onto one or two clips and knock it out of its place basically. I've re-used the common clip concept so everything will 'feel' deja-vu when you do it for the first time, no worries on that. Just need to be careful when you do, hold the cap with the other hand because they kinda 'pop' out at much higher velocity than the porsche caps lollll Again, Acetal; nasty strong. They clamp with 8702psi of pressure (60megapascal) so don't think anyone will be able to pull them from the outside manually. Sadly you'll need to remove the wheel if you need to remove your cap (for whatever reason you'd had other than wheel balancing).

Fred, again, your work is simply outstanding and I will want a set of these regardless of the final design. I also realize that you cannot accommodate everyone but, by chance, will there be any availability for options? I am a one for simple tastes. I think the "Porsche" wording at 180 degree on the cap works well but the added laser markings detract from the overall beauty and simplicity of the design. Either way they are a winner.

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hmmm. You are not the first who tells me this. Got the vector file open now but will wait until I have a few drafts before uploading samples. Hope you can stick around and let me know what you think when this comes out mate (in few days I guess). thx btw

I really like the look of these, you come up with best ideas. I would like to put in my vote for a black and orange version as it's the best color combination on a boxster, or at least it is on the one I drive. Alex

These really look fantastic, I will definitely be interested in acquiring a set. Jim

Alex , thanks! Agree on the color combo, not bad looking at all however I don't plan on getting them in that combo. Not that I don;t want, its because I can;t mate. Just won't match to that orange tone you are talking about (gt3 rs?) My advice is as soon as they available ask me to clear anodized them. I'll seal them as they come out of the distilled cold water rinse and bag/seal them right after the dry. That way when you receive them they are essentially degreased and ready for spraying. No primer is required as anodizing open pores in the aluminum (if not sealed after) and that's what makes paint hold so well. Anyway, that's one option for you bud Jim - thanks and looking forward! Keeping a set for you in case you are still interested when they come out

I am looking forward to these! Only things I'll need to decide is whether to buy red or silver and if there is an alternative option to the center crest. How do people think the red would look with red brake calipers and either 18 inch Lt. Carrera or 17 inch Boxster II wheels in their stock silver car on a seal gray car? I already have Fred's projector beams in gunmetal, so maybe gunmetal would be the way to go?

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I'll let anyone else decide 4U, I can't do this Paul, give it a few days until I've pt up a few renderings/visuals of diff wheels in different colors. Just need to get the laser marking sorted first and rig a few for us to see. I also want to see those RE center; I am doing a set of caps for a friend here with the center completely solid in anodize black. He want his corporate club logo laser'ed right in the center instead of the P crest. I guess I'll soon have a few of those little disk centers and will keep some for solid/laser use! You guys might want to start thinking about something creative for the center if needed. Laser machine here is accepting vector based graphic only (*.ai, eps, cdr, pdf). Can't process jpeg or anything pixelated. No DEAD SKULLS please LOL

Thanks Fred, I don't know what the art of the possible and reasonable is, but a "Boxster S" using the same trunk deck script in red on a silver center would be sweet. Along the lines of these pictures-

I think this would look sooo sexy on a weekend roadster, no?! Just goes to show. Limitless really so be creative and I'll be happy to help out

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Paul, (all), no offense but please don't ask me what's best style/color/etc because almost every single time I offer advice the guys always end choosing something completely different from what I've proposed so... I quit bud You are all on your own on that part. mouahah Paul, RE "possible and reasonable". Anything really, up to you bro. Just got to be in vector format, solid black/white graphix like that skull above works best but can do raster also.

I made this in Adobe Illustrator for my vinyl decals, I stretched it for my vinyl but I could edit it so that it would fit into a circle, this might be cool for mine if there is a custom option for the center cap. Although I probably would just do silver crest

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Thanks Fred. I will look for or figure out how to get the Boxster S script in a vector format. Then I'll just need to know how much extra the cost is over the standard offering! That's what I meant about "possible and reasonable"! Even I am on a budget!

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Well there you go, we were all looking for the "Limited Edition" icon. Ladies & Gent, thanks goes to Steve! $4,999.00 (each)

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Nice! I'll take 8. Edit: And I bow to your 3d and photo manipulation skills!

Here goes the first stack of renders! More to come if needed I'm just going to keep the laser markings that I've done for the previous CGT series as this is what wins among everyone I've asked here. I apologize for the GT Collection autograph... I know it is extremely pretentious (loll) but there you go, gives a collection look & feel to them and getting good feedback from those who've seen them. Keeper! Anyhow, I guess you can call those fully-custom so if you don't like anything you can personalize them to your taste. If anyone in business and interested to get a batch for retail I can let them go for a better price. Something like $3,999.00 (each). Just PM me and we'll talk (no min. qty required) (serious, I still don't know what's the price tag on those, certainly below $150 for a kit for sure. Let's see when I'm done) ^ Any Sepultura fans here?!

Won't you be in violation of copyright laws thru your use of the Porsche name and trademark? Ferrari, for one, regularly goes after and prosecutes such cases like this. Thanks - DM

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I personally don't know anyone senior enough boarding the Ferrari group so very unlikely you'll see me using Enzo's trademark :/ Don't like Ferrari anyway... reminds me too much of girls shoes You don't like my center caps?!

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I don't like them. . . . . . Wait for it . . . . . I LOVE THEM! My wife hates when she asks me if I liked supper because I never like it. I always LOVE IT!!!

I am in for that gunmetal gray in your second and third pictures - it's like you used my car! Seal gray Boxster S with Lt. Alloy Carrera wheels in silver and de-ambered side marker lights. I also have the gunmetal gray GT Collection headlights. Looking good Fred, thanks!

Hey - I'm still waiting on an updated 987.2 LED Windscreen! That would rock! I loved my LED windscreen on my 986, want one on my 987!

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I do not see how you may have felt that I did not appreciate the work that you have displayed - they do look quite nice. No reason to take a cheap shot against Ferrari (girl's shoes - ???). I simply used them as an illustration of my point since I have been active on FerrariChat.com for the past 15 years. And it is well known there that the Ferrari corporate legal staff regularly monitors the site, looking for copyright infringements. One can therefore reasonably assume that Porsche has a similar legal department that might perhaps take exception to your work. That's all - I have said my piece, and I wish you the best of luck in your work.

He's a hobbyist doing this for himself, Dave. If he happens to pass some along to his friends that want to donate to help cover material and machining costs, I don't see the problem. It's not like he's mass producing a product.

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+1 .....i would think the long view would be free brand placement, promotion and marketing.

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Ok, that's great, thanks! Just like Ferrari, Dave, Porsche are indeed bothered about the un-authorized use of their TM. They won’t give ‘anyone’ the auth to do so, even to those who get to hang out with the top execs from Porsche Asia during the Carrera Cup, F1GP and other events Fortunately for us they are not as apocalyptic as some member here and somehow let us enjoy a bit e.g. flags, pins, knockoff center caps, etc etc that you see “everywhere on eBay”. Even their wheels designs. If they’d go full-speed legal about it trust me it’d be shut down in the morning under the VeRO act . As for those caps, and as friend Charles/Particlewave said, I do not offer them for 'profits' (hell, they'd be $625/set with all the works that goes into them lolll). If I’d be the bad guy I’d manufacture 20,000 and upload those crazy renderings on every eCommerce platforms known to mankind today and certainly get rich overnight with this stuff. I clearly have the abilities to do so but for obvious reasons I don’t . You just need to know where boundaries are (Dave!) What I do for friends is “fully custom” and based on your requirements so if you or others are feeling uncomfortable with using that majestic badge for your own caps, by all mean ask for the Death Skull design instead

That skull 986 logo is pretty darn cool. I just put new caps on my wheels to freshen them up a bit, but these would definitely be something special.

I like the Sepultura Star Those stars are actually sold, no kidd... funny Ran this at the local club here in SH and so far have 14/set pre-orders - given they are below $150. I'll run the same deal with you guys in a bit or just before they go on the machines. Plan on hitting the shop floor this coming Friday eve to warm up the machines for Saturday and Sunday work. I'll take pics, lots of pics, vids maybe we'll see.

At the shop this weekend prepping everything to do a run of those center caps. If any of you guys are interested in a kit, they'll run for $145 per set of 4 (four) . Anodized in the color of your choice (gun metal gray, black, red, and blue) and I'll get them laser'ed as per visuals (see previous page). Chance of a lifetime for your Porsche wheels! I don't have any plans on making many and very unlikely will be doing more this year as I plan on getting busy with other things. Fits any Porsche wheels (except the new Macan wheels). Direct replacement of the oem center caps - plug & play! Let me know ps: For custom order, price may vary... based on requirements.

Wish I had the spare cash to buy these in the middle of a career change so it's all up in the air! Some day I absolutely will though, I love these.

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Career change can be a good thing! I've been trying to get my employer to accept my resignation 5 or 6 times during the past 17 years - totally unsuccessful attempts each and every time. They even own my dining table. My dogs are mine though Lucky you and congrats! ps: you want the black-on-black caps with the gold Porsche badge on those black wheels. Those are the ones I'm personally going for, can't wait. Promise to post pics to make you regret LOL

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I'll give you a shout when I do the wheels And thanking you! Started a new career as a lecturer in the University that I went to 10 years ago. It's all good just a bit up in the air as I'm still working my old job and am trying to migrate fully! But yeah, those black wheel caps would look gorgeous.

Pm sent for a set if you are still looking for orders, gunmetal grey but I really don't know what would really look best on a yellow car! Just too good an opportunity to let slide by. Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

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Those leaked out on the local forums here and Japan and now at 33 kits/orders. Thanks to friend Andy who I'm sure is reading these :/ Hopefully you guys here won't need too many otherwise I'll end up doing this all summer long lolll RE Shipping: Had 6 (six) pm here and 5 out of 6 asked how much for shipping so I'll type this here instead of replying each PM. The kit is extra-lightweight and fit in a small jiffy envelope - protected by bubble-wrap. So expect something in the range of $20~30 International. That is Express Air Shipping (7~10days eta). If for some reason you are on a real tight budget I'm sure I can ship out using sea for a fraction of this price (20~30days eta however). Rob - Speed Yellow; one of my favorite car to render! If your wheel is silver then definitely Gun Metal Gray will do just what this wheel deserve mate

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Thanks for the pictures, looks superb and I am in for set of possible please. Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

So to be clear price is 165.00 - 175.00 shipped to the U.S. correct ?

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That's right bud. Declared as 'GIFT', no border tax, direct to your front door. You pay for the materials, carbide/PCD cutters, electricity and my super duper expansive bubble-wrap and off they go! You end up with the best looking & coolest Porsche Center Caps in-the-world Friends-for-life!

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I sent you a PM - I'm in for a set in gunmetal gray, just give me details on how to pay!

Thanks Paul, PM received. I've received a few others PM which I am also acknowledging here (thanks guys). I am reaching to you guys now to have an idea of how many I need to plan for the board, so to adjust material qty. Acetal is not exactly cheap and the last thing I want is to be stuck with a 10 meters long leftover lolll Once I have the caps lined-up on the workbench and ready for anodizing, only then I'll request for payment. Obviously the fellas who've shown interest by either posting here or PM will have priority

Just a quick hello from the official GTCollection Shop floor! Its a "massive" 118 sq meter floor, 15 minutes driving from downtown Shanghai and cost more in rent than a penthouse flat in downtown Montreal. Welcome to Shanghai, the land of the rip-offs. Those two CNC are now powered ON and won't shutdown for the next 2~3weeks, or until I am done with a few things I need machining. Few things; that includes those center caps obviously but also have to turn & mill some precision sleeves for a customer back in the UK (he just need 300 lolll). Views from the back of the shop floor, controllers for both the high speed cnc mill, the horizontal turning center and a shot of the turret that I've populated this eve. Last shot is the cozy desk of the guy who is cleaning that shop after each day, The Janitor! That's all there is to do there - cleaning. Machines does the rest really. I'll try to take better shots.... if I don't forget my DSLR cam next time

I am in for one , red please Can't wait! Randy

I think I mentioned this on the first page, but you might have thought I was joking... so I'll clarify. I'm in for a set. I assume the gunmetal for my standard grey wheels and black car, unless you might recommend something else. :-) I'll PM you with more information... -Troy

Randy, Troy. Well received! I'll have those ready for you guys in a week or two. Troy - gun metal gray for silver wheels bud. Guarantee to look humble & classy. If the car is tricked and comes with red calipers then go crazy, those red are pretty sweet also. For the all-black wheels, you want the black-on-black caps (now those are killer looking in person, my fav in all honesty). I'll get some renders done with all available combo/colors in a few... so we can see what's what. We still got plenty of time to decide about colors anyway

I'm in for 2 sets per my PM.

How long will you be taking preorders? I'm interested, but in the process of buying new wheels, and not sure if I'll end up with black (would want red) or silver (would want gun metal), or how much I will end up spending on wheels!

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How are they progressing ? My wife is nagging for present ideas for my birthday in a fortnight and these would have been ideal. Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

Saw something in the local Craigslist that reminded me of these center caps... [from a 2016 Porsche 911 twin-turbo]

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Pffff... mine are sooooooo much better (so so much better LOL). Pretty much done with the adapter both in & out. You should see the mess... its even sticking to the ceiling above the machine. Cutting acetal, hmmm Took a few more shots of the shop few days ago when I took reception of the aluminum rods! See next to my Castrol can of cutting oil/fluid. Its an alllll "very safe" shop lollll nothing can cut off your fingers, roll your torso around a lathe chuck, nor poison you with 17 mixed petroleum based chemicals. Of course not... meeting international standards ladies and gent (coughsss) ^ And yes, we are only using PCD inserts (lathe cutters) to turn our parts, incl our Porsche center caps of course. That black cutting edge is diamond my friends. The surface finishes on the aluminum + using Castrol's specials(!) is simply phenomenal. Something nearly impossible to achieve with standard HSS or carbide tools. Those in that pic aren't cheapo inserts lollll (from Japan). ^ Soon to be xfer into Porsche wheel center caps... those cutters you see above are nasty things, razor sharp btw lolll ___

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Fred, you've made a work of art there. That center cap looks incredible, I can't wait to get a set in red :dance: I was wondering, instead of the silver center where the porsche crest is, could you possibly make it all red? Randy

Randy, the AL for the center cap (6061) and the AL for center/center (6063) is not the same grade. They just won't anodize the same red/tone. I haven't tried on those particularly mind you but pretty sure it wont. Perfectly fine for neutral gray & black but not for red & blue. Why diff materials you may asked; we need that 6063/'gummy' aluminum so when faced the surface finish becomes mirror like. Hard to get with the 6061, especially for a flat surface. The 6061 is for the cap... you don't want that part 'mirror' looking or it'll look silly lollll Therefore, the center/center's options are black or natural aluminum color only (i.e clear anodized). ps: if really (really really) you need this in red I can see if I can find some extra 6061 for you man. Just let me know how bad you need this red lolll

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I really really definitely, really really want this in red lolol... ONLY if its not too much to ask for of course. ALSO, I'd like another set of these caps in black/black with gold crest. Father's Bday is coming up, seems like a great idea. (crosses fingers Fred finds more 6061.... )

So, is there an official way of placing an order? If not, what I want is a set of black ones with aluminum center, a regular crest and no laser engraving. There are no words to describe how awesome this is! Skickat från min Nexus 7 via Tapatalk

Hi Fred, Can you let me know if its possible to have the centre/centre in black with colour logo (I think you said it is) and how much to ship to the UK. I am definitely interested. I applaud not only your engineering skills but your patience in producing the videos and replying to the techy stuff. Terry

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Hi Terry, yes absolutely feasible. Good taste if I may add I'll keep a kit for you mate. Actually planned on getting a few more done but somehow this overstock is getting lower by the day. Thanks for letting me know in advance. ps: you haven't seen the techy stuff yet, wait until I post vids of the machine cutting this thing high speed. Automation stuff..... Haha thanks for the kind words! Painting the good side of things... not always fun aka-easy little porsche caps. Not only doing my own parts but also manufacture very complex parts (bike/motorsports + medical) to pay for that shop and software. Those parts that nobody wants to mfg here, or incapable of doing so possibly loll Hard work man... No official way atm but Coming Soon! I had the eCommerce security & back-end done a few months ago but never really managed to finish a skin for that little tool. Here goes a quick preview of what it may look like (grid system, mobile compatible). This site is for the Projector kits really so don't expect to have those caps on there for more than two week! or less... I wouldn't be surprised ... pls don't mind the dummy text lolll That'll change, with the exception of the free shipping part EDIT: wooof did I uploaded a pic of a non-released website?! What was in my morning coffee. Pic removed, for now. EDIT: I'll pass on Paypal instruction once I got your color & made-to-order preferences (I'll PM, and post here)

I have a Guards Red with black wheels, should look good!

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Black for Bad... two bad options for us also! Personally prefer the B-on-B but saying this... I've never seen one with a silver center in person, yet anyway. Both look amazing, it is just making it harder for you to chose... is the only difference

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This is exactly what I want, except for the text. Thanks for showing me! (Although they will be mounted on silver Boxster S wheels.)

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Admit this is a brilliant idea!!! Script can be made-to-order. However, "do your own" hehe. Here goes the sizing for the template you'd need to use for that to happen. Won;t accept JPG or anything pixelated. Has to be vector based and font included (or outlined at least). I have Illustrator and Corel here installed on the laser workstaion (*.ai, eps, pdf, cdr, etc)

Black on black please let me know how much and how to pay Terry

I remain at the ready to place my order!

Put me in for gun metal gray and silver Fred. Thanks for all your work.

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Well received, gentlemen! Keeping a kit for you guys

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That is seriously awesome! Unfortunately I'm in the Italian Alps skiing at the moment. I'm also quite lazy, so just black will be fine. Feel free to sign me up for a set.

Great, thanks, look forward to hearing from you.

I'm in for a set of gun metal grey.

I *need* a set of these in red/silver.

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Any chance you still have the Red Sox graphic from my winshield? I do not have the talent myself to try and get that together in the template here - thinking that may look cool though on the red ones. Would that be possible?

@Coaster @thatguychad @soxfan1966 Seen your note a few days ago... you guys really got in just in time! I've planed a kit for you guys. Soxfan please clarify if you want the redsox logo to replace the P badge. If replacing the script then let me know what you'd need in place e.g. "Official Major League Baseball - Boston Redsox rocks" or something of the like? Just thinking out loud here Running in the backorder already... and being harassed (literally) from an online shop owner here in SH who wants 50kits just for himself. Calling me twice per day, often he does :/ Looks like I'll have to do another run of those caps eventually (or possibly not, dunno yet). Pisses me off because they are not all that easy to do... lots of set-up and fixtures here & there. Not even yet anodized lollll

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I was only thinking of the Sox logo replacing the Porsche logo. Script as is OK with me. Do you think it would work?

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Crybaby. Back in the 70s when I was a child-laborer we had it tough. I'd spend my after school hours working with a 1940s era Bridgeport machine for pennies an hour, breathing toxic fumes and bathing in fluids known to cause 47 different types of cancer. None of this fancy CNC stuff. Quit your whining and set up that second run. :ah: ( )

Is it too late bag a set? Cheers David

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Excellent! Please PM me details when you have them.

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Wow, 47 diff types of cancer? What an improvement, we are down to 17 these days. Think I caught 6 already but here's the trick; you have to inhale PMMA smoke cut by a laser and breath Acetal fumes off the lathe - anything living/growing inside you instantly dies Had a dust & mist collector installed in the shop right above the machines. Perfectly fine for Andy who is sitting at the desk and watching his silly illegal movies, but the wiffs you get when opening the CNC machine doors every 2~3min is like nothing I've smoked before. $6k fan.... use-Fn-less lollll @David - I'll run another batch of those in a few weeks. That run is sold-out... already half way done and can't go backward (only have two machines loll). Wouldn't be fair for those who are waiting for their kits. So next run, I'll shoot you a note and post here no worries @Soxfan - got ya. As soon as I get back to the render workstation I'll draft something for you bud. Let's see what it looks like first

I'll probably get in the line to purchase when you make the second manufacturing run.

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Hey Don - very unlikely I'll be doing another run but will try my very best. Certainly won't happen anytime soon I'm sure of that :/ Perhaps early summer if all goes as plan on my side. We'll see...

Quick update: I have a new coolant pump, and the accuracy of my cnc turning center have never been better! Seriously, the Acetal dust from previous machining got stuck in a small T pipe in-the-tool-turret... as-in where the coolant comes out :/ Long story short, I have a new pump! and clean turret internals (and wasted 1.5 full day/night of work) Other than that, got 986 million adapters fully machined. And yes I've "vacuum" the milling center this time. Can't afford another of those pump lolll Inspection on the adapeter next (once they are cleaned) and we are done with that part! I'll let you know how many failed lollll In a meantime, I'm doing the center aluminum caps this Wed, Thurs and Fri! In the Media this week: ^ Got a few more than a few of those adapters. Hopefully they will all be within the 0.05 tolerance/spec after inspection. For a 4 (four) operations part, that'd be a miracle lolll ^ The Great Porsche Center Cap is not all that easy to do. Following pic showing the 3 lathe operations + 1 multi-axis milling... and that is just for the adapter! ^ Custom precision fixture to machine the third op. This is the most critical as we need parallelism and concentrically down to 0.05mm precision. The four screw do just that... adjust the concentrically (trade secrets online, there you go...) ^ Done with the Acetal! That machine needed a serious clean-up :/ Acetal is fun to machine but got to be vacuum after... so I've recently learn :/ ^ Moving to the last operation (multiaxis milling). Following 3 pics are visuals of the another custom precision fixture (jig). These fixtures just take 1.5 days to do sometimes... they are as good as the required precision of the part they accommodate. ^ Favorite tooling for dialing the 4axis and fixture. All have to be withon 0.05mm. Ridiculous for a center caps I know but hey... they are for Porsche cars

Thanks for the update, Fred! Ignore the first part of the PM I just sent you!

No worries, I'll respond as soon as I find out myself. Give me a few days Some clips I've put together last Sunday (tried, anyway). I'm a VJ lolll That fixture above, on the picture. Funny how it takes 1+min to setup the blank part in it but it takes 23seconds to machine. Frustrating when this scenario happen. God bless robots Real-time setup and machining CAM Simulation of the adapter

I haven't seen any sort of confirmation, so I really, really , really hope I'm on the list...

Very cool videos!!!

look at that machine work it! Amazing job as always Fred

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You certainly are bud! Keeping those black on silver just for you (no script) The one who I fear "is out" is myself. Not sure I'll have enough as I've just thrown 2 kits (7x adapters) in the bin a few hours ago. Took a break from the noise and cleaned & inspected them one-by-one. Goes quick after your third coffee Bench top style, as-in manual inspection here. The every sane person's suicidal tendencies test! The repetitive hypnosis.... dangerous job man We average 0.02~0.03mm tolerance on the parallelism. Meaning, if you are driving your posrche car at the speed-of-sound, or above?!, then the kit should (will) prematurely fail. If installed on anything else than a space ship, that kit should (will) be good for life ^ That is the kind of part that some may consider 'semi-precision' (in USA, Germany for instance). In China they consider this 'unpractical' lolll

Fascinating stuff, Fred. Kudos!

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Yeah... About that... Is it too late to email you an idea for laser engraving? I'm a watch geek as well, and I just thought of something without a text, that slightly resembles the bezel ring on a diver watch... I have it in Illustrator format, with the correct measurements too. (Obviously, the triangle should be aligned straight above the Porsche crest.) Edit: Never mind mailing, it's here: http://home.fridsten.se/tmp/center-caps.ai (Having a web server at home is a good thing. )

Still watching you Fred, amazing stuff! Terry

@Terry - thanks bud. Trying to entertain the best I can @fridsten - Perfectly doable and looking forward. I'll shoot my addy as soon as I'm ready to laser. Keep this vector ready, lookin'goog (1+week) Quick update: Firstly, I apologize to all who are waiting for this kit. This seems to be slightly taking longer than initially planed and hoped for :/ I bet you will all appreciate that I also have other things to do in between. Such as walking my two dogs @ midnight every single day (sometimes twice!). That's right, priority #1 are my puppies, sorry fellas loll Anyway, at least we are going in the right direction. Nothing is rushed so everything is going smooth and as planned(technically, anyway). We we're hoping for the Best Porsche Center Caps In-The-Wolrd , and from the look of it, we are going to get just that!!! In the Media this week: ^ This is what is turning in Shanghai! 6x half meter long 50mm diameter aluminum rods.... To make the center/center - the part that accomodate the badge! ^ Very (very) satisfied with the performance of that little lathe. Getting some pretty yummy parts of it it. A little 2x tons lathe... should, right?! ^ That pile of centers (left hand side) are failed right off the machining lolll. Took a while to setup (external) coolant to spray correctly so to not have chips ruining te parts. Some literally flew off the cutter and knocked on solid steel leaving marks about the size of our universe :/ Good throw coins for sure lolll ^ More precision fixture machining. Those are soft-jaws (aluminum) and meant at clamping the parts without leaving 'marks' on them. Had to do two sets... one for the centers and one for the main cap itself. ^ An idea of how the fixture (vise blocks) works out ^ Here a shot of the vise with the un-featured softjaws. I'll bore this tomorrow late evening (can;t wait) ^ The milling center I have here is so well trammed and squared, I am able to square these block within more or less 0.005mm tolerance with this tool alone - A face milling cutter. Watch your fingers (and wrists, I thinkloll) So yea... all good fun for sure! Thanks for watching guys... I'll update in the end of the week with the latest. This thing should start to take shape by then. Some Videos: Real-time setup and machining CAM Simulation of the adapter

I am in no hurry so don't feel pressured! On another issue does that mean the lettering can say anything or is there a lot of work involved in changing the wording?

Don't know if I missed the boat but if possible I would love two sets: a gunmetal set with silver cap and a red set. If you have some still let me know how to pay you. Regardless of whether I get into this buy or not, your work is absolutely STUNNING!

Fred - I originally ordered a set because they looked cool. After seeing how they are made - jeez, they are incredible!!! Jim

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Thanks Jim! Trying to have them fit for Porsche cars that's for sure. 100% of those caps are made for good friends so a lot of care goes into making those things. Exclusive stuff so might as well have them looking good as much as looking cool Terry, certainly doable however, and don't take this wrongly, but I was hoping for you guys to use the template I've provided in an earlier post + a vector based software to do your own! Just so I don't have to go back & forth for draft approval, mods, etc, etc In any case, if you are not happy with the 'default' script, shoot me a PM and I'll see what I can do for you mate Thanks for the kind words! Can;t say for sure if I'll have any left, to be honest it doesn;t look like it but you just never know... some may change their mind and I might end up with a spare or two I'll post here for sure if that happens. Fingers crossed In the Media this week: ^ So the first milling Op on those center/centers is to face the back of them. Te lathe finishes the front surface, were the badge goes, but does leave a nasty finish on the backside. Ti fix this, we have to load them up by pair in the milling machine and take a light cut to get that mirror finish! Details... its all about details ^ So poor I can't even afford a decent workbench dedicated to the machines lolll This has to be the most ridiculous set-up of all time e.g. what happen if I bump in that skinny bar stool?! Time to get a nice table custom made I think... ^ Adapters and centers are done!!! All left to do now if the main cap ^ Kept a few center 'solid' so I can laser some of my mate's custom request/visuals. Can;t wait to get those Sepultura stars completed (see previous pages/renders, in black w/star). ^ Preparing for this weekend's job (the main cap). Here I'm prototyping a precision thread that will accommodate the adapter. The adapters are "deep freeze @ =22 degree Celsius prior assembly so this thread has to be right. No "lock-thigh & no-glue" on that thread. A plain a simple locking mechanism using thermal expansion (trade secrets, again!) ^ Precision threading... had to made 5 diff size to find the correct one. So the aluminum cap has to be heated at 40 degree and the adapter deep-freeze for things to work. Once both parts are at room temp, its permanent... no way to get this unscrewed (got one chance at this loll) Some Video:

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Thanks, please PM me if that is the case. Thanks again.

Hi Fred I'll go with the default, haven;t really thought of anything better anyway! Looking good! Terry

Just joined the forum to comment here! Man, this is amazing! The BEST center caps I have ever seen! Quality looks out of this world as well. Incredibly creative. Do let us know if you plan to make another batch, or if you have a set left over.

It's been some time since the latest update on this. I everything alright, Fred?

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No. Nothing is alright these days. Had my 'workstation' C drive (SSD) dying on me last Thursdayeve and spent like 4 full days just to get back on track. Also had a terrible cold/flu hitting me at the very same time. The End-of-The-World lolll I'll push out the latest media news and answer PMs in a day or two. Let's hope my new camera lens has not melted while I was away. Thanks for asking bud

Feel better soon, Fred!

Sorry about your SSD and flu. I hope you were wise enough to have a proper backup solution in place, but judging by how you do things, it should be well taken care of. So get well and get to work!

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Thanks Kevin A cold virus... what's bloody worst than that (for a real man lol). Prefer road bike accidents over that nose pissing/sneezing thing anyday. Yea got backup everywhere, mini-fireproof safe at home just for these sort of things and all. The M.2 SSD (oem) I got sent as replacement was the wrong size (day1). Restoring a 160G system image took 1.5 day because the external drive I have the system regularly backed up onto is encrypted and needed full decryption (using Truecrypt, not Microsoft). Then re-installing my latest system user defaults + software templates (+1 day). Add the sneezing and all that sleeping stuff; my work was blacked-out for nearly 4 full days. Data backup or not, what a real pain. Never tough it would have happen (to ME anyway lolll)

Must be global cold/flu season, my whole house it right now, but I think we are finally on the tail end of it. Hope you are feeling better!

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I think you're right, my whole house still has it... (including myself, who hasn't been sick in years!) Take care and get well soon fellas!

Ouch, already feeling better at least to know that I'm not alone lolll Get well soon fellas, this virus is by far the worst of all (in the lightweight virus category anyway). Quick Update: Good news; we are nearly there lolll I think we've done all the fixtures (jigs) that we needed to get these parts done to the tolerance we need (i.e. less than 0.05mm). IN fact, we did so well that most of the parts are ranging between 0.01~0.03mm. So... anything vibrating in your wheel I promise you its not The Great Porsche Center Caps - its the wheels themselves - or the road Some of you might think I am 'really' picky. The thing is I know for sure that some of my mates will drive their P car on the Int'l Circuit here in Shanghai and its a fast one (+320km/hr). As I know them well they just won't bother removing those caps so "they-have-to-work". Besides... I just don't want to end up being "the talk" at the track, not even for an afternoon! So that precision/fit challenge is completed - finally lolll All we need to do now is 1,600+ holes and off they go to anodizing (this coming week). In the Media this week: ^ Looks weird, I know. Those are the precision threads I was talking about a week+ ago. The first turning operation for the main cap. ^ Again! Needed a fixture done for turning the other side of the cap, the side facing the world. Parallelism, always... those two spacers made out of Acetal are also precision machined... and so is the fixture :/ Took me almost 1 day to make this item lolll ^ More of the same, shows the rough piece of stock that precisely screw/thread on the fixture. Those same you saw on the green floor (pic 1) ^ More of the same, again (not creative this week huh). That's what comes out of it. I'm attaching a Youtube vid below to show how this works. Notice how violent the first operation removes the metal... that screw the cap thigh to the fixture and this is where those Acetal spacers comes handy! The only way to unlock this part after machining really. ^ And finally, on the workbench. If all my parts would end up with quality surface finishes like this I'd do this everyday lolll Look sooo nice in person. All the above, real-life!

Next: Off to the final operation! 16 slots per cap, we have something like 115 to make. That should keep me busy for my entire Sunday night I'll make a video of how this is machined using high speed toolpath. We have a high speed machine here so might as well use it to its real potential! ^ Last (last!) fixture here. All geared up for Sunday... all what's left to do is pressing the "Cycle Go" button. ^ Final product. DON'T PANIC; the product won't look silly shinny like this, no worries. The anodizing dulls the metal a little + color dyes makes them look & feel just perfect. Wait and See! ^ And finally. Quite exited to see this on the workbench. Once the final operation (16slots) is completed, all we have left to do is anodizing and laser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beware - Sharp! Random pic. Because we can.... I'll update in a few days - enjoy!

Even though I know I am not likely to get parts...I always look forward to your latest update. I learn so much by watching each step....Thanks so much for sharing. Its great to see and artist at work :-)

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Winning comment of all time ( ) - u r welcome. In that case, you can have mine bud. I'll be in touch ps: one guy wants 4 sets here (Shanghai) and me have an idea of what he'$ up to. So bad news for him, he'll get 3 only loll Fair enough I think

hey, where you buy the crest from? I want to buy one of those for the car interior. -Vidhu

Custom/made-to-order. The minimum order was brutal on those (so was the initial mold cost). Glad I'll get them all in use at the end Bet you can find tons off eBay in similar size? E.g. shirt & cap pins. You might just need to dremel the back pin on one of those and you are all set. Just guessing out loud here

Beautiful work!! The results of high end machining is jewelry to me. What CAD platform do you use? If you ever make another run I am definitely in. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking good Fred, quite like the shiny, not for me though!

These look amazing, Fred, can't wait!

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Current CAD geometric modeling is parasolid, platform is Siemens NX. I also have/used SolidWorks but its been long unmaintained (unpaid) since 2+ years now. Prefer NX in all honesty, slightly more complex than SolidWorks but does a million things better at the end of the day. No plan (as off now) for another production of those but if I ever do, I'll refer back to this thread and PM you bud. Let's see if we can get those 25+kits out first. Wife actually mentioned when she saw that set arriving at home; " you're sure your friends will like that shinny thing?! ". Luckily for us anodizing cuts off a good 25% reflection Could look nice on a Bentley though, no? Thanks bud! Me the first, quite anxious to have them all anodized and a kit snapped on my wheels :/ Quick Update: ^ Last operation completed. Involves milling 16 side slots around the cap ^ Makes for some great visual here. Shows all of the machined features of the main cap, thread, center bore, side slots, and the greasy Castrol coolant layer on top of them all loll ^ Same caps, on the workbench after inspection. Each and every one of them went under the mic for tolerance checks. Reject=two only! Possibly due to some debris left over from the previous op (human error!) ^ $200 worth of carbide end mills and inserts heading for the bin. They certainly did a great job. Some of those could be re-used but most machinists prefer fresh and sharp cutters when starting a new job So... off they go! ^ Garbage?! That's right, I am sharing with you what the garbage looks like after a job like that. Recycler-man loves those swarfs and so do I. I get $1 per KG of that stuff lolll You are looking at a fat $40 worth of garbage here! ^ All packed up and sitting right next the shop's exit door. Heading down to my secret anodizing facility (anodizing is illegal in my area, can't be done at my shop or/at the cost of being fined quite a lot). Quick vid ~ those were quite a lot of holes (thanks to Beats for providing great headphone (ear protection systems!) NEXT: Taking orders and Anodizing! I'll shoot a PM this Saturday to all who've shown interest in this thread, letting you know how to proceed for payment and what to expect! Would do this tomorrow but it's my dog's quarterly vet visit + I'm cooking for friends in the evening :/ Talk again this Sat, fellas!

Fred, you do absolutely amazing work! I really don't need center caps, I am actually happy with how mine wheels look, but I almost want to order a set just to display on my mantle! Seriously, you produce some beautiful stuff!

All looking good Fred, I'll keep an eye out for your PM Terry

This is looking better and better! No PM yet, though... Edit: I got a PM!

PM sent. Apologies for the delay. Lovely weekend although pissing rain and cold. We've spent it all at the circuit (Chinese GP) and partied most of y'day with the organizers (early start at 19:00). Helen my wife is still sleeping now and its Monday 18:00 (ouch!). We came back at 04:30. Love mosports

And I've placed my order. I didn't bother with the custom laser script, though. :P

And me order placed and paid. Can't wait to see them. Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

I'm in, thanks Fred, can't wait to get them on my car!

HI Fred, Got the message just a quick question about the black centre, is the default just aluminium? If so I'll pay the extra 10 bucks and get it black. Terry

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@Rob and @Paul Thanks fellas, well received! Haha, it works!!! That extra $25 was to discourage anyone who wanted to get this laser job custom loll The more custom jobs we have to do = the longer it takes for everyone to get their caps (I'm one of those that wants them soon'er loll) However yours looks fairly easy so if you are happy to wait after I've shipped out the standard kits, I'll get the custom laser done on yours no extra cost bud. Already agreed to in a previous post (I think). Let me know if that's okay with you (e.g. +3~4 days, not the end of the world) Terry, you are correct. The default is clear anodized on the center, therefore silver color. If you want them all black that's going to cost ya! The little Anocalc I have here compute $1.60 for each center in black anodized (the dye, seriously). Thought I'd raise that to $2.5 each (2.5 sounds better loll) At that rate I should become billionaire in 287years; there some ambitious life goal Just ordered a fresh/backup of black dye from Japan a week ago. TAC: 1KG= $620 ... to give you an idea :/

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Why, you... Thanks a million for offering. I actually think I prefer them without any laser script at all, though, if that's not too much work. In fact, I ought to get them cheaper that way...

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No-No cheap here bud, I wish (sincerely). Would you believe we've estimated that roughly 65hrs went into making the fixtures and programing. Not accounting for the CAD and validation (CAE) of the models (that's extra). Just for a 20x manufacture-prep-run, and at my hourly rate, you are looking at a >$600 kit there lolll Gift for you: The Best-in-the-World Porsche 'stick' LOL I'm soon going to make this FREE for you to download (on request only). Sort of an opportunity for any of you to become a manufacturer for one day! Model can be sent to your nearest 3D printing, you get to do the surface treatment and detail it with some super-duper expansive metallic paint. Recommend 'metal' 3D printing, makes it easier to polish afterward Personal/hobby use only; can't be sold . That is actually a very expansive Porsche item ($900 if I'm not mistaken). ^ The one without the 1-2-3-4-5-6-R hat is for the Tiptronic. The one that goes in my car lolll ^ This is 'surface' modeling. All driven with industry standard G1~G2 curves and I think I have 2 or 3 splines in there that are G3 continuity. Expansive stuff :/ ^ Career for the less-than-sane individuals - don't try this at home

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I believe you, and I wasn't being serious.

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Of course not, brother. Its allll part of the show, remember

Thanks Fred, will pay that today. Terry

Sent you an email fred

Now paid Terry

Terry, confirmed mate, just saw that. Oh man you will love those blk-on-blk. We'll have the same, that is what goes on my wheels here also (friends for life loll) 3 kits left (so sad) :/ Just waiting for the 3 remaining members who've I've promised those too. We'll give them until this coming weekend before they go to someone else @Martin - reserving a kit for you bud (and pls don't forget my msg for your bro)

Is it too late to get in on these? They are nothing short of fantastic and the price more than reasonable.

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1 (one) kit left. Troy, my friend, its all in your hands now bud Let's see if Troy is a generous man! Mind you he is possibly 'on-duty' given the tension we have here in the Pacific. That could explain why he went quiet. Let's wait for him. Not a 'mega huge demands' for those center caps; I've failed to exterminate the $5 Alibaba plastic champions LOL But who knows, once the guys see them on your cars, word of mouth, etc, might need to do another 25 at some point later this year, or early next. Fingers crossed bud

Okay, if you end up with an extra set please PM me, I'm in.

Fred, These are fantastic and I want a set, but I can wait a bit if you think you are going to make another run in the future. I need to figure out how I'm going to get my car to Germany (my next posting!) and I don't need these getting lost in the move or removed from the car during shipment. -Troy

Troy! Absolutely no problem bud. Glad you've answered quick, was about to take out my sea kayak for a little adventure. Not sure it would have worked though... approaching a fully loaded destroyer with a nuclear submarine parked right under it... hmm "Don't-shoot-Don't-shoot - special delivery for Troy - its-me-its me, fred"

Cheers Fred, we can exchange pics!

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Ahh, I already rendered those using my boxster as backplate. You go first, I'll upload right after you Below are pics that I can show right away though. Quick Update: Already started full speed on the anodizing. Been a while since I've anodized my own parts and was hoping that the smell be different. Unfortunately it does smell exactly the same - rocket fuel :/ (NO SMOKING) ^ Some of the most advanced fixture ever built. A spring clip! Made out of medical grade 2 Titanium though... hence the weird purples and bronzes shades ^ Type II anodizing here. Running amps on affordable residential electrical current. Commercial electricity (e.g. my shop location) is 3x the price in Shanghai. Things you learn in China includes how and where to 'cheap out and cut corners' lolll ^ Ran a few batch of those centers. Clear anodized first then we'll move to the colors. A batch of 20x like these takes aprox 15min. ^ Rinsing in distilled water to avoid minerals to be trapped in the open pores of the anodized layer (the oxidation layer its called). One drop of tap water and that part is destroyed (bad stains, very very bad stains!) . ^ Now that is not preety at all. But it is what it is; "boiling H2O". To seal the part after anodizing we normally boil them for about 15min and dip them into cold water. It closes the open pores of the oxidation (sealing). Some prefer chemicals sealant (1min) but most avoid - nasty stuff and it never works anyway ^ Here I think we can see what I meant by getting rid of that silly shine. Left is not anodized, right is. Results are phenomenal... the very same classic Porsche aluminum style (mostly found in interiors though!). A tad better than having DVD'like rotating reflections on your wheels anyway LOL Next: Clear coating of the badges, anodizing centers + colors and main caps. Lots of work but all quick and easy to do (so I wish)

F'in beautiful !!

[Image-only or quote-only post; no author-written text.] http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/slow_clap_citizen_kane.gif

It's great seeing how these things are designed and manufactured! How did people make stuff like this before CAD and CNC?

Will do my best to post some as soon as I get the caps fitted

Nine8six - If you do these again I'm first in line (unless someone has already beaten me to it!). 15 yrs from now when these cars are collectable (and they will be), having Fred's bits attached to them will be a market raiser.

Fred, have you seen these? PORSCHE ALUMINUM CENTER LOCK CENTER CAP | eBay

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Is right. Fred I feel like paid too little for yours after seeing these other ones. Where can I PayPal some extra $$$ to, just because yours are sooooooooo much better than whatever those are* *If whoever made those eBay ones is on here, sorry they are better than what I could make...

Gotta love these ones too, they even ripped off Fred's 'GT Collection' script... Sport Style Wheel Hub Center Cap Fashion Tire Center Cover For Porsche Red

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Hey Jim, liked your vid about the air horn btw... was L-OL when I saw that the other day. Purposeful mod indeed, love it I'm getting the compliment but you really think those roadsters will gain value? In fact mine being the only one left in China, or one that works and look 'half' decent anyway, is worth $20~25k today. Occasionally getting offers for it but never came to mind to sell... whats the point, I'll have to buy another one the following weekend :/ Can't live without a topless car - roadster until the end-of-the-world brother! Nope, never seen this one. I like how creative this guy is RE the adapter, not bad not bad! Design is not all that bad also, kinda like them, affordable for sure (he must have made a thousand of those!). I am speechless at the fact that this item w/ TM sells on eBay however. I'm so out these days I could pull 1,000+ eBay listings (easy) with "my" copied racing motorcycle adjustable rearset designs, and many other things we've done for the bike mosport industry back in the years. As any other things that I do here in Shanghai, expect those to land on those sites eventually. Nothing you and I can do about this, our China friends are experts for that. About a year ago I spoke to a seller here about those CGT style caps and asked how long it would take to get an order of 400x caps. He goes "3 days - we already have them in stock" LOL So you see, they just make 10,000 units and sell-sell-sell. Can't possibly comment about "quality" publicly here on the forum but if you or others plan on buying, please PM me first . Quick Update: Anodizing completed. One huge problem however, they are soooo beautiful I'm having a hard time just thinking about letting those things goes out in the mail. I'll be doing laser work on them this weekend. That is going to be relaxing because the laser machine was recently relocated in my study room upstairs (got a Harman Kardon HI-FI in that room). Time to listen my old 80's 90's trash metal albums Running LATE guys, my apologies. ^ Dare anyone on eBay or ChinaEcommerce to try to meet me "half" way on those LOL That is 'real' precision and worthy of the P brand. Using imported quality dye with a minimum 10years flash-point also - not the cheap local stuff that fades in the sun (UV) after a weekend or two

Here goes one set I've ordered from a shop who claimed these were the 'authentic' CGT caps (whatever that means LOL). Even funnier, in their listing/description they say it was "designed by a famous German Engineer" (in Chinese). That was purchased up on Toabao.com and advertised as "Exotic Flame Red" (hehehe) We got to love our friends from China Give'em some hope fellas ^ NO PhotoShop, straight out of the DSLR as-is

Sorry for the delay, I think you ate right - sticking with the Porsche logo makes sense. And I think the red ones will go with the red calipers on my S perfectly. I hope there is still a set left for me, was going to put the order in this morning.

Has anyone heard from Fred, it seems a while since I paid for these and have heard nothing.

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I was just wondering the same. I hope he's alright.

Fred is busy doing Projectors for you fellas well, trying to anyway... got my big sister in town for the whole week so it's eating, eating, and eating for us here. She leaves on Sat morning so I'll get back to my gym habit right after :0 Got all your tracking numbers in hands already so hopefully this will be entered into the system this week. Shipping out to you guys in a few days!!!!!!!!! ps; few fellas here in SH has them installed on their pcar already. Got them all out and packaged last Saturday only (what a pain those caps lolll) (pics to follow... not on the PC atm)

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PROJECTORS?! AND CENTER CAPS at the same time?! say it ain't so....

No problem Fred, don't forget to give me the options on the projectors

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Awesome news! I forgot and haven't checked for a while, so good timing! Looking forward to getting these!

Fred, I've sent you a PM (with no response from your end) and the website I placed my order through for center caps is currently out of service. So, reaching out to you publicly because I have had a change in my shipping address and trying to have the center caps shipped to the correct address. Please send me a PM when you see this post. Thank you.

Hi Fred, do you think these center caps will be on the way by Father's Day. (That is my Father's Day gift to me!).

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Yes I've seen your post Lee, and they are coming in at the new #7806 addy I just have a really bad habit of never replying PM. I normally get on avg 16,876/week... sometimes more loll As per bad habit, I am replying here... instead of by PM (CC by PM)

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Oh all gone those little caps! you should get those in a few days. Dropped them all at the post office last Sat morning and they are sending them in batch of 3x per day as per 'non-commercial' rules (I do not have a registered company, and even if I had... they are ALL marked as "GIFT" ). Same price for me, you get to avoid pay import tax on them that way Updating the system and emailing you guys s I get the tracking numbers daily from my little postman(women) ps: it was bloody hard letting those jewels go, me think you guys will freak out when you receive them. Really happy with the results.. you'll soon see what I mean

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Woo-hoo! I got my shipping notice from the GT Collection! Thanks Fred!

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That got to be a system glitch Seriously though, enjoy those beauties Paul and thanks for the support PS: I'm keying those tracking # as they come in guys. They text those to me at 0800 each morning (how kind, not 'standard' services btw). On the other hand, I can't pressure that little local post office for obvious reasons or they'll give me grief... got to be their way or-we-loose. (Welcome to my China! )

I've got the email! Awesome!

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I see above you're not much for PM's-I'm interested in getting a set of your next round of Projector Lights to back up my originals. Thanks again!

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Thank you Fred! I certainly appreciate the notification/response! Can't wait to have these in-hand! - J.

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nope - never been never will. Sent you my email (by pm ) I've been traumatized from pm, still have nightmares about it. From 100+ stray solicitations down to a very tasteless(at the time) death treat lolllll

While we're waiting for delivery, it would be nice to see a picture of the finished product...

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Man was I hoping for no one to ask this question lollll I think I wrote I few times I really sux at taking pics. Regardless, here goes a few of my personal pics... with all the nice fingerprints and Shanghai dust on them - Enjoy. Almost as good as the OEM plastic caps

There you go.... not ALL that bad :/

So beautiful!

Just amazing.

Looking forward to receiving mine, thanks Fred

Good Lord they look amazing. Fine craftsmanship!!! Great Job!

Gorgeous, can't wait to get them on my car. Thanks for the pictures Fred!

Gorgeous, Fred. Your work is stunning; we're all very lucky to have you as a fellow forum member. Thanks so much!

Nice one Kevin, much appreciated and welcome btw Planing on my next 'part-time' DIY [From CAD to Finish loll). Got 2 more to come for 2017... just don't know which one to jump-start first

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Can't wait!!

Watch all of your amazing projects closely Fred and can't wait to see what you come up with next! :dance: Your attention to detail is first class, Thanks for making these unique creations available to us The local PCA guys love my 'Skybreaker'

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Two more? I can't afford this!!! I already decided against the headlights, since my car has Litronics.

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Are these still trickling out? I have not received an email notification yet so just wondering. Has anyone that got an email received them yet and installed them? Would be cool to see pics here. Thanks

ALL gone! You should have received your tracking number by email today... as I've finally took the time to update the system with all the remaining tracking numbers :/ (all gone; saddest story of 2017. When you'll see these beauties you'll understand exactly what I mean by that)

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Just got my email thanks - can't wait to see them.

Look at what just arrived into the UK. Fabtabulous. Thanks Fred. Quick question, what stops them being stolen? Thought there might be a small locking screw on the inside or something? Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

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Don't worry! They're supposed to be very, very difficult to remove.

Mine are currently in Malmö. What are they doing? I'm in Stockholm, which is almost 400 miles away...

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Unbelievable. Can't believe you received them so quick?!?!? Nobody will nick your caps?! Ppl are not that mean bud. You'll see when you'll clamp them in, there are not much room for prying them out and even if they were any room to pry, I don't think its going to be an easy job. There is something like 7,600psi of pressure on them when locked in place. That thief will need some pretty rigid finger nails if he manage to get 1 (one) out LOL

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Malmö?! Is this a place, or a country? In all seriousness, I've seen this many times, especially in Europe where they often share cargo planes. You seeing them 400 miles away only means that they have transit there. They should be en-route to you as soon as they board the Stockholm port plane/truck. However, if you see them in Maimo, with a "awaiting for custom" tag, then, I don't know man. 400 miles looks like a cool ride for a roadster

^ How do edit the title? Pressed shift+enter and it posted like this :/ Installation Tips & tricks: 1) Place them in the refrigerator @ 2~3degree Celsius for an hour before installing them. The pressure is quite less when cold'er. Judging from the CAE simulation RE thermal expansion. Just makes it a tad easier to press-in. 2) Hook up the 2 bottom tabs and slightly press downward while clamping them at the same time. If you try to align all the tabs flush and push-in straight, as you'd normally do with a traditional cap, you are going to sweat your arm I promise. 3) Clean with normal carwash soap, rinse with tap water. No additional maintenance required. NOT TO DO 1) Can't use aluminum polisher on anodized aluminum. They shine now; meaning they will for the next 20+ years. 2) The crest/badge have been clear coated to protect it from the elements, avoid heavy solvents on that part. 3) Can't use acidic-based Wheel Cleaner anymore (e.g. those magic commercial heavy duty wheel cleaner). That will strip your anodized color, dry your brake holes, and damage brake pad material, etc etc etc

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Yeah, it's a city in the very south of Sweden, with Copenhagen just a bridge away. The Swedish post has a transit point there, so no worries... I was actually almost all the way down there this weekend because of the annual meetup (or festival) for Porsche Club Sweden. Good times were had.

Did you seriously posted a CGT pic? Just as I was forgetting my 2~3 weeks ago's adventure... when the only guy in SH who has one was fun-rev'ing it at the circuit. I still have chills down my neck just thinking about it lollll Other than that cgt pic, the rest looks fab!! So lucky, in fact we are ALL very lucky. Cool lifestyle man

Got my confirmation email that it shipped yesterday as well! But the tracking says status not available, probably just isn't available "YET". Thanks again Fred!

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What beautiful pieces..... Did I miss out? Are these still available? Thanks

So, here they are fitted. What's the verdict? Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

And another.....pity the bolts are a bit of a mess. Think I need some paint on them. Maybe black for a bit of contrast and to match the recently painted side vents. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

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Those are surely big and busy bolts! I'm currently working on a project using a lot of M1 and M2... those mini hex head screws. Screws are a marvel... I almost love screws. Moving those pics below across, my my self Those wheels are alive man, they have an upgraded soul, a story to read and feature to bling! Although not as important as screws, wheels still deserve some love and care Well done to you if you ask me, nice add-on for wheels and surprisingly looking nicely balanced on your speed roasdter. Not bad at all

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Hey Randy, yea I can see them live here at my end. Might take a few days to reg in usps dunno, wouldn't worry bud. I appreciate reading between the lines though, I know you are waiting impatiently for those customs you've asked for. My apologies if this took longer than advertised. To you and also to everyone here.

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So aren't they standard wheel bolts? Anyway, I will try the paint finish first and if not right seek advice on the best looking replacements. We keep adding these refinements to our cars, and I've only had it 12 months so onwards and upwards. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

yea those are the standard Porsche lugs. You can't paint those but can clean them real good from time to time with a rotary steel wheel, or a hand SS brush, if you almost love screws too! They come back to life with little effort. I covered mine with little black plastic hex caps I got for $1. I cover the inner wall surfaces of those caps with grease using my finger, leaving about 0.5 thick of grease in there. Those sit quite tight onto the hex head and lugs behind stays nicely protected and clean.

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Not even worried about it bud, I know it'll get here eventually. btw, it now says accepted and currently in china

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Did you just throw them on randomly?! The point of the crest should be pointing at the valve stem...or at least have them all oriented relatively the same. Looks good, aside from that.

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Yep foot of crest pointing to the valve stem and the top of crest your locking nut

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Ahhh, didn't know that. Anyway, I only just put them on so I put them vertical so that I could take the pictures for the forum post. Off to adjust them right now, they are able to be twisted whilst on. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Fred, you devil! This is pure pornography. I can't wait to put them on my car. I just have to wash it first. Oh, how do they withstand a pressure washer? Edit: I was hesitant for a while, but now I'm glad I ordered them without engraving.

Cool pics! I am so happy to hear you like them, thanks for the kind words bud. Excellent question RE pressure washer. I don't know the answer so based on luck really. I am 100% certain it won't defect the anodizing in any way, that coating is so strong it even resist high speed flying gravel and sand. I'm worried about the crest though. Although they were coated with the same BASF coating used by automakers to coat headlights (and Skybreakers!), the problem is with the epoxy behind this crest. The epoxy I've used has the exact same thermal expansion coefficient as aluminum, however this does not mean it is 'flexible'. So... too much pressure on the crest and it could/will deform - weakening the epoxy bond. (my guess) So in all, yea you can still use the pressure washer, just keep the nozzle at about 15~30cm distance to the crest and all should be bling'ing for a long time.

Personally, I would never use a pressure washer on these cars, or any car. Too many ways for things to go wrong in a hurry

Captain, I'll take your word for it. Culprit myself, got that little yellow Karcher that can blast off oil and muds pretty quickly. Never I had to worry about getting the nozzle too close to the paint job... just because these things never happens, right!? watch out for rubber seals I've been warned by my kind and intrigued neighbor once - I was so 'weaponized' with my Karcher that day. you'r right, these thing can be brutal, so fun also loll

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I have the yellow Karcher as well, fantastic washer but one false move or maybe an adult beverage or two before hand, and........

Ok, I'll go ahead and say this for those of us that missed out on this round of caps. When by gosh will you be making more Fred? I know you keep a lot of irons in the fire but...PLEASE. Count me in now.

Yeah I missed the first wave....... Any plans to produce more? Put me on the list

Hey Fred, any tips on removing the Center cap without damaging that I could pass on to my tire shops in the future

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I'll see if I can be faster than the eBay folks who copy these things. Normally you see these things appearing on eBay 1~2 months later. Or could be faster.. they have the complete DIY here to follow At the moment my machines are taken and set-up to do projectors. I have one job after that for a fine and kind customer in the UK, and only then I can have the machines back to run a small batch of those again. We'll see, certainly won't be before late summer I'm sure :/ Wish I had the dosh to buy more CNC machines :/ It is what it is I guess... so poor... lolll Buried galaxies away, in a thread somewhere, I found the answer for you Martin. Linking you up instead of re-typing http://986forum.com/forums/524911-post74.html

I washed the car and installed mine today. Very happy with the look. Need to do something about the bolts, though... 😝

Thanks brother, those are already fine wheels but even better now! Bet they look just amazing in person I'd love to see pics of your cars outdoor from time to time. Let me know if friends and folks likes them etc. Always good to see and hear

Just got an email from USPS. My caps are being delivered today! Woo Hoo!

I just checked mine, they hit my town at 6:59 AM this morning. They are not out for delivery so I think I might get them tomorrow!

Customs....hmm..not sure how long mine will take. I'm thinking friday the latest. These are begging for center caps!

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Better hope the customs agent for st drive a porsche and likes them caps

Got mine today. They are too beautiful to put on the car before I have a chance to wash it! Thanks Fred!!!!

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They did get here, and this lousy picture is the best out of the ones I took...

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I think they liked it lol, it passed customs! Sneak Peak..

thx for the pic Randy, better than what I can do. Keeper

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What a humble mad scientist you are Fred.... Props goes to you bro!

Thanks Fred!!! My brother was asking about his part for his old caps today

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uh-oh, please tell me this isn't real and I didn't forgot about your bro's stuff. How embarrassing. Shipping is on me, I'll get this out to you guys presto. Bloody bird brain... barely can do two thing at the same time lately. My sincere apologies to your brother and to you Martin.

I mean, just look at these...Cheers Fred!

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Lol no problem Fed, I have been giving him a hard time about it lol he hates when I point out to people that he is missing the insert lol. My wife is mad at you though, she has been waiting for a bag she bought from Singapore, she is mad that I got the Center caps before she got her bag lmao

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Oh, another one who went without the engraving. Looks great! Skickat från min Nexus 7 via Tapatalk

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Clarification (everyone): Martin's brother has the GTC style cap. Not the GT3 style published in this thread. I've been told by email from his brother that he suspect his mechanic/Wheel installer unscrewed the wrong screw! Mecanic possibly/wrongly associated the center screw for the one holding the cap in place. He may also have forgotten the technique required to secure a M4 screw back together correctly. Bro therefore lost the center part/badge of his cap within days following the maintenance. Nice8Six Factory should have raised a formal complaint to the CA Transport Ministry and delay all diplomatic relations until further notice, however have instead agreed to simply replace the missing part for free - Martin Bros are good friends of us Thanks for letting me know you received the cap Martin! SG has no exit port checks, that bag should be held-up at the custom with CA Post. Keep up hope the Inspection Officer is not a chick LOL

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Yes :/ 4 (four) of you guys didn't like the laser bits - as in the coolest part of the cap. But that's okay, we are just not friends anymore loll (just jokin) does look classic without the script. Had friends over that said the same thing when they saw them. But then they we're picking up, holding, looking and completely fascinated with the ones having a laser script & autograph. Both a good choice apparently!

Can the smart guys (who jumped on Fred's Cap creations) please stop posting photos of these beautiful caps. It's making me, and I'm sure everyone else who did not jump in, quite sick to our stomachs. They all simply look outstanding! Congrats to everyone that got a set. Fred, while you are waiting for your car to dry out, I just thought of a great suggestion. Why not make another run!

Fred - Jeez, these are beautiful. I will post on the car as soon as I can, wife has the car right now. Thanks so much!!! Jim

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Would love to buys a set if they're still available or there's a 2nd run coming for my 911 996?? Sorry just read my PM and hopefully they'll be a 2nd run in late August this year, if so I'll take a red set!!

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Lol gotta love Costco for that, my first gen caps they left loose to rotate >.< P.s her bag came while I was working outside debating about holding it hostiage to see what I can get out of the deal ...... if I don't post anymore you know she did not take well to the idea! Lol

Oh yeah the Facebook guys love your caps

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lolll Exclusive stuff, enjoy bud

Fred.... please never design anything with 5 small set screws holding it again! Lol what a pita taking the old caps off. New ones look amazing!!

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Good god... Martin this looks nice. Thanks for sharing bud. Keeping this PS version in 2xcopies. One in the caps folder and the other in the projector folder. Owe you huge brother. Thanks! RE previous model's 5x set screws. Hmm, doable but not easy man, can't disagree here. Sorry about that... won't happen again.

Look what just arrived: Plans to wash the car (ugh - pollen) and then install these later this afternoon

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Nice color combination!!

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Are those packing bags exploding due to altitude? That little post lady was so not impressed with my packaging skills... she said this is going pop loud in the cargo. Was she right?! we're they still sealed when you got them?

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dude that looks so badass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM SO JEALOUS !!!!!!

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They were sealed perfectly still - not even a single bubble in the bubble wrap was popped.

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They look even better in person. They are just sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for me to get them outside (quick T-storm just passed thru and I finish up work in a tad, then its out to wash the car and pop those suckers on). Will update with a pic after.

Just arrived a little while ago. I'll take some proper photos of them installed sometime during the next week. Absolutely brilliant, Fred. So lucky to have you on this forum!! Thanks so much.

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And here they are installed:

I got mine..there is only one word for what Fred has done. SPECTACULAR! Its almost too gorgeous to put it on the car. I feel like it needs to be displayed with an Art Collection! THANKS FRED! Now I want your projectors and anything else you decide to make. Fan for life!

I also received mine Wednesday, will take a pic when I get them on. Thanks Fred.

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Good lord, you have some style Kevin. Nice comp and lighting. Symmetry and all. Jeez man. Glad to hear you like them. And please go easy on us if you take some more pics (wish I had yours skills) Brilliant software and machines, kudos goes to those assets. I'm just an operator loll

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Way too kind David, appreciate the kind words. Glad you like them @Jim - way cool to see them on your car finally, looks cool bud. Boring and unchallenged install I presume? didn't take long for you to get them there. Got to be a better way lolll @Terry - can't wait

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I had the read the instructions earlier - put them in the fridge while I washed the cars (my 986 and the wife's speed yellow 987). Lined them up, first two prongs in then pushed the rest on - a little tap with the palm of my hand and right in. Very easy. Thanks again

People seem to like them here in Sweden too. Some believed I had converted to center bolts. 😁 After my explanation, though, one comment was that original looks better and this is like putting M3 badges on a 320... Can't please everyone...

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The comments I am ALWAYS getting is “ where the hell did you get those ” or “ man those are f n nice ”. Occasionally comes from non-porsche owners and friendsa also. The recent comments we had for the latest caps here at the club is “ HOLLY *&^&&^, whatever those cost I want them also ” lollllll Reminds me; when we were out on our monthly Porsche Drive, this guy (Spanish guy) comes up to me and asked if my car was a CGT?! He was so (soooooo) upset by the fact that my headlights and wheels were retrofitted. Standing there, red face, arms straight on the side of his body, literally getting ready to kick my ass. It was one of the most ‘porsche’ awkward moment I’ve ever experienced. As is scary as hell. The same guy who owns a Guards Red 996 with carbon fiber stickers/trims, road-rashed oem wheels, rusty lug bolts, Alibaba.com $5 knockoffs center caps, and old style yellow’ish headlights. When my mate later found out he had GT3 labeled floor carpets in his interior and told everyone, the guy magically disappeared we just never saw him again. Weird(est) dude ever! You got to be careful who you play with in this Porsche/business man, weird dudes like this do exist (real)! You just can’t be into this “please everyone” thing, that will never work ( see below; speaking with experience ). Just have fun for 'yourself' my friend

Center caps arrived yesterday afternoon and they are going on the car today! The frosted edges are from putting it in the fridge this morning and then letting it sit on my counter top for a few minutes. One installed on the wheel! 3 more on deck!

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jeez... clearly no contest anymore. I quit you guys lolllll Have fun fellas Thanks for letting me know Jin, appreciated. Love that frosted shot... saving it

Missed the delivery man yesterday, so I just came back from the post office on my lunch break for these! Lug bolts needs to be anodized... And once the G2 caliper refresh brush on kit is applied ( Thank you Patssle for the motivation), more photos will follow. AND TO YOU FRED! THANK YOU AGAIN! flippin beautiful peice of art man. P.S. If anyone has any doubt about these caps, throw it out the window because these are very high quality, and the fit is snug tight.

That is super cool! Boy get ready to get a lot of attention around Thanks for the heads up and the shot. Happy to hear they worked out just fine for you bud PS: watch the gold wheels at the nite-club. Requires lock-nut, you're screwed loll

Took some more shots after a bit of a drive with them!

Nice, Martin. I've actually saw those red in person and on a pcar for the first time today. Seen the gray and black a few weeks ago, but red was a first for me. Its insane. *Last Update* Just had lunch with the boyz & kidz today and only received good (above excellent) feedback... mind you we only have 6 sets here. Fairly happy with the results tough... perfect oem fit, snug and tight clamping, dead center of rotation. No complaints, yet. Once again, kudos to effective software! Cool car parts. Take care of them guys. They should be looking exactly as they are now for min the next 10~15years (outdoor and exposed to the elements). Twice longer if you park indoor Lastly, I've really enjoyed doing these with you, fellas. You've offered great support and motivation all along and that community energy was obviously passed back to the final product! On behalf of all of us who got those caps, thank you

Quick cellphone pic; better shots to follow later this week.

Hi Fred, My file won't upload but you can see the pics of the car here. My Boxster - Album on Imgur Terry

Kevin, now I see what you meant lolll Terry, got the link bud thx!! One of yours below, in guards red Those black caps are bad-bad lookin. Good eye man. I'll get mine on as soon as I'm done with refitting my car here.... let me show-off my cheap Dunlops (how do you guys bloody afford those Michelins all over... crazy stuff)

I had them all round until last week, I had to go home to Ireland in a hurry and as as a result I put up a good mileage shagging out my rears tyres in the process. I had some Potenzas at home so put them on temporarily, today I discovered a bulge in the wall of one of the fronts, its got loads of "meat" on it so I am peed off! Just checking out the prices of the Michelins online now, bloody cars, always costing money!

Cheap on the tires and buy Made in Japan Dunlop, Terry. I think you can almost shoe X4 your Boxster for the price of one Michelin. Good tire, look & smell similar Edit: sidenote, 1 (one) imported Michelin tire e.g. Pilot here is $600 Was looking at your pics earlier... if you are in shopping mode lately then pick up a new camera or phone also. One you got now can't process reds anymore, they don't show on my monitor here anyway. Unless perhaps you have an exotic custom paint? If factory guard red, then you sure need a new camera - bin-the-old

Well I washed my car and installed my caps today! They look amazing Fred, thanks!

What are the Dunlops like in the wet? You gotta remember I'm in the UK!!! I noticed that about the pictures, to be honest I am not one of those who cares too much about these things, my Sony is a fantastic phone ( got 2, 1 for each country) and that is its main purpose.

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Oh man. Looks fantastic! I knew I was write to subscribe to this thread back when it was made and check back later.

I realized after the fact that I'd managed to shoot a wheel with a couple of small gouges, and my OCD required me to address that. Here's the same image with a little bit of retouching and some added contrast.

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Just got a new PS2 fitted for £123 all in, happy enough with that!

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That whole set-up/car/wheel is kinda of amazing Kevin, fairly jealous here. Looks sharp man, well done

I really need a set of these! My wheels are the 17s on a 02 Boxster S. Black outer eadge with red center with colored crest. How much and how do I pay?

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Those really look great. What do they cost? Where did you get them? Thanks

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Go back to the first page of this thread and do a little reading.

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You guys should read the entire thread... There's no way to buy them at the moment. You might, if Fred (Nine8Six) decides to do a second run.

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Looks like more than a "little" reading. 😲

Hey Fred, These look look great, I've got the wind deflector, the headlights, and count me in for center caps if you're up for another run. Kicking myself for not catching this the first go round. If you're bored and want to have another go at these PM me so I can be first on the list!

If another run Id like a set also. Thanks

me too! buy a couple possibly

I would be honored to buy a set off you. I will not give up my reservation this time! :-)

I have the pleasure to report that I have now tracked the car with these center caps on without any issues. Granted I don't think I went faster than around 100 mph (160 kph), they were still in place and properly aligned afterwards.

Thanks for reporting, we haven't track them here yet. Shanghai is rain rain and rain for the next month :/ Lucky you bud Centrifugal force; meaning the faster you go the stronger they clamp. They are rated at 22,000RPM before they 'begin' to explode (according to Nastran). Your track day wheels shouldn't really exceed 3,000RPM so you should be good to go again - and again! The only problem with these caps imo is the cost of that Acetal. Excellent material but just bloody expansive. Werks... all it matters I guess

Well, my two sons surprised me with a set of these beautiful caps. I have been emailing Fred to please make more. Little did I know he and my boys were in cahoots. And he kept the secret beautifully. What a surprise! The caps are absolutely a work of art. If he makes another run I will definitely get another set. It's great to know that my sons went to that much effort and I've also got a little bit of Fred always riding with me. Thanks Fred!!!

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Haha, great father's day gift! Your sons chased up that kit for you every single weeks of the development, just so to make sure you get your kit. Cool kids! Thanks Jim

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Magically beautiful car (and wheels), Kevin. Thank you so much for sharing those amazing shots. Friends-for-life brother

Hi Fred, These are great and I am interested in purchasing them. Are they still available? If so, please provide the details. Thanks. Alfredo

These sure are nice looking, but I'd never get away with them here. I have too many gear head friends that would call me a poser for having fake spin locks. Too bad. Maybe you should make some flush fit lug bolt hole caps.

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Pm sent Sir. We'll have them again, but late summer not before. Custom made-to-order and limited to members only. You design your own, you say:I do. Tk again in Aug/Sept! Adding custom airbrush /w basf chemical coating service, 0.15mm thickness only lol. One color though: 918's Yellow/Green Edition. Identical replica tone; like this little guy here

I am with Particle on that one. They are really beautiful, but the fact that they appear to be something they are not (centerlocks) would likely subject me to ridicule and psychological distress. And the detail of my Sport Design wheels is already a pain to clean But if they were flush and easier to clean, not suggestive of centerlocks just very nice wheel centers, with a center emblem that doesn't fall off and no paint that can peel, well then I would probably have to restrain myself to stop at 2 sets. Seems like such a thing would be a chip shot for a man with your talents. Any chance you might do such a thing as part of the second run?

Not entirely sure what ridicule and psy distress means or feels like. But did heard/read about it a little e.g. facebook kids-bullying-kids, is it the same thing? Center lock style indeed, Porsche wheel aftermarket accessories, to entertain a wheel, its driver, fun, looks expansive! NOT meant at entertaining another 911 Porsche car owner who shoes a $12,000 wheel set LOLL His stock wheels worth twice what my boxster worth... scope for more bully perhaps?! No plans on re-designing this particular kit, I actually love them, but might eventually have more than a few ideas for dressing-up sport wheels. Unlikely, as you can clearly see the amount of work that goes into these, but would be cool though. Same concept... center of rot, protruding features with a clean visual, simple wheel touch! Don't forget to smile when you drive guys

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^ picture this inside a concave black wheel, sporty car... how bloody nice would that be. Insanely cool looking wheel gadgets if you ask me (psy distress... lolllllllllll)

A few people have tried to make comments about them being fake Center caps... but that has come from Honda civics with wings on the back of them. If you like them put them on and don't worry what others think. Flush lug nut covers would be great though

Maybe just some without the flutes? Just a smooth, round protrusion? I would think they would be easier to machine, too. Just thinking out loud, bud! Regardless, gorgeous works of art, as always!

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Oh no no no, those aren't fake my friend. Only very high precision machining! Designed and rated by the most advanced solver known to man kind today also (Nastran/SOL601). A fully matted assembly in those similar tolerances, with two different mat properties would cost you an arm and leg (machining alone). Try to explain this to a civic ricer next time LOL He'll immediately start talking about tomorrow's forecast I promise. Good feedback none the less. Was actually waiting for these critics to kick in... was getting worried. Time to make more PS: Kevin, moving this pic across. Could look at this wheel all day long, sorry bud

The fit on these caps is so precise you almost need the OEM center-lock wrench to twist them once they are installed, if you don't have them properly aligned with the valve stem! The machining is so crisp I recommend putting a glove on your hand before trying to twist them once installed.

Yea, had to get the p wheel hub mapped in a pretty tight tolerance also. So to prototype this inside Nastran without wasting to much of anyone's time . Funny bloopers loll Looking again at those source files that acetal part was designed/analyzed/solved and optimized for 1) Clamping/contact force, 2) Centrifugal force, 3) Thermal expansion, and 4) Gravity. All-at-the-same-time. Ran these sims at freezing temp and to 40dC. Thermal stress data (thermoplastics, serious stuff) The thermal & stress data is also what made this Thermal locking mechanism between the adapter and AL a success (zero Lock-tight!). The Most Advanced piece of plastic in the World LOL And Paul even discovered its built-in Anti Theft System, fascinating piece of kit /showoff. attaching the sim model for our cae friends here to enjoy

The clamping time (0.9sec) and the wheel rotating the rest of that sec. Full dynamic sims... time/data fields for centrifugal force... was a cool project these little caps lollll

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Fred, Flattered that you like it!!

Yep fascinating Fred.... yawn! Sorry. loving mine, they would look great with some projector headlights though Hee hee.....

Hi Fred, Any news on when the new batch of center caps will be available? Thanks.

haha! Yea, good news is I got all the material in hands already + a new batch of the same crests turned up 2~3 weeks ago. Its about time we get a few of those those done. Will be fast this time tough... all the CAM code and fixtures are already done Just waiting for this silly weather to stop. As soon as we hit in the 28~30degree I'm re-opening the shop bud. Its roughly 40~45dC indoor that shop these days. Although it was pretty cool today (31dC). Shooting there every evenings in about a week (2 max, I really hope).

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Put me down for set please

Thank goodness you are doing these again! Put me down for a set. :-) Now, about that SkyBreaker... lol! -Troy

Hello, can you please contact me if you have red center lock caps again? would very gladly 1 set! best regards Fabio986s

Hi Fred, Do you have an update on the center caps? Thanks.

Fred, any thoughts about posting the STL files to thingiverse or somewhere else where we can buy them? I have aftermarket wheels on my 997.2 CS so the snap-on fingers will need to be modified but LOVE the design you have made. Thanks in advance for your consideration. Ryan

I've actually made another 26 kits and got them out of anodizing literally 2 weeks ago to have them all confiscated by the local mafia. I call friend Andy and his friend "The Local Mafia". They do that... once they see something cool on the table, they occasionally nick the whole lot and resale overnight while I'm away. No idea how they do that but something tells me "its planned in advance". Hence the 'mafia' term. Not the end of the world, frustrating, and I always end up being unfairly paid for the efforts lolll I'll be running another batch of those in a week time, thank god I kept a few crests. Waiting for the parts I'm turning now to complete and we'll roll. I'll update fellas

Id like a set in silver if available. :dance:

Are these still available??? I would like a set in red with the silver inside!!

Anybody have a source or know were Fred bought the crests from? One of mine fell off ...

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When I bought mine I bought 4 extra crests from Fred, I'll send you one for the cost of shipping, send me a pm with your information. And I'll go down in the garage and make sure I can find them.

If anyone is interested I have a set of the original caps Fred Produced. Mine are Blue and have never been mounted. Still in Box and look like jewelry. I am using aftermarket wheels and they will not fit them. $185 delivered in US. Thanks for looking Van

Did anyone ever find the crests somewhere? I lost one of mine yesterday.

Hi!! Id like to get Ones Red and black center info plz!

How can i get them?

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Still available, van? Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Yes still available

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I need a set of these too. :-( Don't know who to ask for them.

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I'd like a set too, but unfortunately it seems that the originator of this thread and maker of the caps has not logged into this site since last October. Highly unlikely he'll see anyone on here asking for more anytime soon. Perhaps someone knows him outside the forum and can reach out to see if he's willing to make more as a business sort of venture? I'm thinking that's probably the only way anyone will reach him.

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Thanks Doug. I appreciate the feedback. I am doing several things to my car and I was impressed with the center caps. Too bad he may not make any more. I guess I missed my opportunity. Thanks again.... David

I have a set of the originals in red still new in the box if some one wants them. $185 plus shipping.

I had a set in Black they were stunning quality, lost the bloody tyhings during my last move, absolutely gutted/

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you have a photo of them?

I have a set of the originals in red still new in the box if some one wants them. I took the chance of them fitting my 991...no luck. $190 plus shipping.

Do these caps still exist,..those are just to cool.

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Nine8Six (Fred) did a number of really cool things that he made available to us, but he had some personal matters to attend to and stopped participating. He resurfaced a few months ago but has gone quiet again. Some things I recall that he offered us were bi-xenon projector headlight kits, 2 different versions of the wheel center caps and a wind deflector that had a Porsche logo that lit up. He was last working on a dash mounted custom computer tablet that would install in the dash instead of a double din radio. Hopefully he will return one day! For now the only way to get a set of the wheel center caps is if someone here offers a set for sale.

Fred is a genius and an artist. I have the illuminated windscreen with the Porsche crest and it’s beautiful. I missed out on the wheel crests but hope all is well with Fred. Hoping he comes back to the forum and joins the fun. Would love to have a set of the wheel crests and would love to see what Fred comes up with next. He’s definately missed. Larry

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Same here, I have the second generation of his wheel caps and the projector headlights. The flat screen computer in place of the radio he was last working on really looked awesome although it was probably a bridge too far for me! Hope you are well Fred!

I have a set of Blue ones (Perfect, NEver-Installed, Still in FRed's Packaging) that I'd be willing to part with if I could find a set of RED ones....... Anybody got some RED ONES they'd like to part with?

I really want the projector headlights... They looked awesome. Just got my boxster and what Fred did back in the day was "epic". Wish he was still here and hope he comes back one day. If anyone has some projector headlights they want to sell let me know.

Hi Guys...and Ladies! I know it may be a long shot, But I am interested in locating and commandeering a set of Fred's Center Lock style Caps for my 981. Red or Blue would be lovely! Although I am new "officially" to the site, I have really appreciated all the useful information the forum over the years while relishing my time with my former 986 and despite moving into my 981, I love being a part of this forum! Thanks so much!

PM me as I have a set of red that I may consider letting go.

A long shot, but did want to ask if anyone has a set of 4 that they are looking to sell. Would like them to be in top notch condition though. Please PM me. Many thanks.

Absolutely stunning work! I these ever come back into production, I'm definitely interested!

They are awesome and I always get comments on them (in a good way) when I go through tech:

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Me too! Artic Silver

Ok okok. I'll do a a few kits this spring for you guys. Just waiting for the jobs that high-jacks my machines at the moment and off we go, car parts!!! Looking at mid-spring season guys, not before sadly, but I'll get a few kits done no worries there Thanks for the pic, Steve. Looks amazing, and fast (the car, of course!)

Awesome Nine8Six!

Well, If you are actually going to make some more, I will be in for an set in silver.

I would also purchase another set if you make some more, just because they are so great!

I've been looking for a set of red ones.... so if you're starting up production..... Haha. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

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I'd still like in a set please

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If they start back up I will take a set like this

Count me in as well for a set when you start back up! :-)

Well, if Troy is in, then COUNT me in as well (UPDATE: matte Black, if possible). Will look awesome on the Fuchswheels, I hope. Thank you. Uhm Fred, btw. do you know what happened to those "super cars shiny" headlights in the making? You mentioned in a thread somewhere, that you saw some prototypes.

I missed the first run and thought I was SOL. So if this happens please COUNT ME IN!!! Thanks

I’m down for ordering a set as well. I’ll have to think on the color choice. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

all this talk of another production run is devaluing the sets I've been hoarding..... jus' sayin'....

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Talk is talk. I wouldn’t worry too much.

Let's walk the walk. Btw, that wheel color combo looks intriguing, too. What would be actually possible, Fred?

Please count me in as well. I will take a set in silver and one in red

Had one of the center caps fall off while driving a couple of weeks ago :/

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You know what Bran, lets try a set anodized in "gold with a black center" and see how this ends up looking, although I' 100% sure it will end up looking killer. I have fresh dye stocks from mid 2019 and have that true gold finish in. Not-for-sale; just a complementary color-test kit for you Bran, I'll send it to you with your other kit (Man that classic pcar... those back wheels' and fender flares, yummy. Jeez man if I had money I'd hunt for a classic like this one). Took note of all the names who are in for the next batch guys, thanks! I'll get a few dozen turned during spring and get this out before the good weather kicks in. ps. here goes the spare parts I kept for you guys, just in case of mishaps. Got plenty of them in all colors, adapters and an industrial amount of those lil crests too. You know the drill, shoot me a PM if you need a replacement or anything

Fred, I'm in for a set in Rex. Thanks Van

谢谢, 非常感谢 , master Fred!

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Awesome! That gives me time think whether I want the gunmetal grey or black version (or both!)

Fred, Count me in for a set of gunmetal gray caps. Thanks, Don

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Hey fred - forgot I posted this + car had an accident recently. To clarify, only the outer-facing plate fell off, the clamp with tabs is still on the wheel. Unsure how that happened but would definitely love to get a replacement (just the 1 outer-facing plate is good). Let me know how we should do it!

Hey y'all! Help... please. I'm installing a set of the 2nd generation center caps (man are they pretty!). So these are the ones with the tiny little set-screws. (I THINK that's the 2nd gen, right?) What's the trick to installing them? With my big banana-hands and hot-dog fingers, using the supplied allen wrench, I managed to -mostly- install one last night. it took me most of 30 minutes. Is there a cool tool y'all use? or do you hire children from the neighborhood to do it? Any tricks or hints would sure be appreciated.

Agree that lil'wrench isn't fantastic, works but certainly no performing LOL See if you can find one with a longer handle in your toolbox or if not use a small diameter metal pipe as an extender e.g. slide the long-end of the hex wrench in it and use that pipe as handle (drinking straw size pipe, or anything else solid and hollow, old broken ink pen, anything...). Hope the idea helps a bit

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I ended up cutting most of the 90d end off of one so I could spin it between my fingers. Then I took the longer one and tightened them up. They look BEAUTIFUL. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

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Even better than I could come up with! Ps. sorry for that HelloKitty wrench man (seriously couldn't found longer ones at the time, I'll put a bit more energy next time, thanks for letting know)

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I realize I may be a little late but if there's any way to squeeze in another order you can put me down as well! I took a little hiatus but now I'm in the process of really treating my boxster to what she deserves after years of teenage abuse (I know I told you all I wouldn't - I guess it's all part of growing up). Anyway, it's good to be back! It's great seeing you well and still active in the community!

Just saw this thread that the Fred wheel centers might be coming back. If so, I'm in! Whatever color most closely matches the color of typical aluminum wheels.

Thanks guys. I'm seeing your posts/requests and can confirm those will be back soon enough. I keep you in. As soon as this 'health & safety' situation stabilizes itself I'll be able to give out time-frame. In a meantime please remain vigilant and in good shape guys (eat & sleep well), and all will go fine. Got quite a few mates here who've been hit, some worst than others, but all recovered already. ps. struggling with supplies at our end so business is severely impaired and running on the contingency plan. I'll update as soon as things starts to ramp back up.

Great to hear you're doing well. Stay safe until things get back to some kind of normalcy

Fred, How'd'you like THEM apples?

So today I made another DIY video for removing the stock center caps since I was going to install a set of 1st Gen center caps I bought from another member on here. Figured I'd share it with you guys and give Fred a heads up that a lot more people are about to know about these! ;-) I know a lot of you guys already subscribe to my channel and I thank you very much for your support! If the others of you don't mind helping out a fellow Boxster owner by clicking a button for me I would really appreciate it! Keep up the great work Fred! And I think I'm going to need to upgrade these to the new ones in Gunmetal!!! (Also, I sent you a PM about the best way to have people contact you. I included the email you gave me previously. If there is a better way please let me know and I'll change it.) https://youtu.be/vr79LEFrlrM

Wannnnnnnnt these

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Good to see you here and hearing from you too!!! Same bud, stay safe until this calms down, should be soon now that the weather is warming up a bit, let's see. uh-oh, just pulled the GTC inbox and found quite a few emails in there. Why I'm feeling like I should get my rig together and start making instead of talking :/ Thanks man. Let me update in a day or two... Phenomenally beautiful. The whole Porsche car, I mean. That paint job (wow btw) and color combo is pretty cool. Good shot thanks man, I keep (saved!) hmm me too :/ Let me get those out in a month (or two) max

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Yes! He’s back. I need a new set to match my new wheel paint job

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Gun metal, saw that/heard!!

Fred I’m in for a set. Not sure if I should get the wheel matching color or the red to match the car, Guards Red. Comments / pictures from anyone? Thanks Mark

Hey Mark, sweet! counting you in for sure. Have a look at that awesome wheel refresh DIY vid from member TTGator, see if this would work for you (you can see the red center caps installed toward the end of the vid). Pics in gun metal a few posts up Choice is all yours! http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/77575-diy-painting-your-own-wheels.html edit: pic here now lol

Fred I will take the gunmetal color. Thanks Mark

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Still a tough choice... but I've decided to go for these:

I'd be in for one or two sets!

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I guess I will be in for a set also since Helping TT gator paint his wheels, we liked them so much did my own the same color!! Hated to be a copy cat but.... Gunmetal should be close! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Ok, I'm next to the Gunmetal Club... tired of my satin black wheels anyway, they were fun at the time! Let me talk to my indy and see if he's willing to help me out with this and let his paint guy do my set in the same gm tone as you guys. Copycat x2 coming your way soon Reading your msg guys, trust me I can't wait to get those machines set-up for those caps. No need to pre-order, I'll turn a 50x sets/batch so... far more than we need for everyone I'm sure

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Your starting a new fad . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Hahaha I see that!

How can I purchase a set of those fantastic center caps? I’m also going with the Gunmetal finish....should look nice with the Ocean Blue paint

Hello Fred, really interested in buying a set of these for my car!

Fred, any chances to get those beauties built in spring 2021? I plan to get new tires then, so it would be nice to have them along with some TPMS TTMS sensors installed. And another question: Would it be possible to get them in matte black plus pull holes, like the OEM ones have?

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How much are you selling it for?

I bought these red center caps - I never put them on my 2003 Boxster - I just sold the car to buy my new Cayman and now I would like to sell these caps for $200 if anyone is interested. They are perfectly like new and still in the box.

Raising this from the 2020 dead. Any chance we'll see a new batch this year? Otherwise Ill keep praying to the mod gods and roaming the FS section

Do you still have the original style CGT caps I would like a set for my 2002 turbo. Thanks Carlos

I have a set of the first production center caps I’d be willing to let go https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-6318.ZP4AE

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I'm interested and located in Canada! Unfortunately I just joined and don't have PM privilege. Let me know how to best reach you. Thanks!

Love these caps. Are you selling them (sorry if it was mentioned didn’t read full thread) If so what’s process, timeframe & cost? Thanks

Nine8Six is gone in the wind. To get any of these and his other creations you should check the classifieds. Occasionally used ones come up for sale.

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[email removed] is my email