I also like my duckfeet. Just might change wheels for something lighter.

 

Guys, I think your heart is in the right place,but...

 

Hi, My name is Paul...PJ if you wish..I'm the guy with the idea about vinyl wheel inserts to brighten up our OEM 's.I am located just outside of Philadelphia in the Northern suburbs.

I looked at the picture of the Duck Feet. I am speaking to my friend that has the Vinyl Graphics computer. I think they will look really super but I am wondering if he will be able to do the part where the curve is, at the hole, and the lip drops off, on the Duck Feet. We will get back to all via this thread if I can figure out how to get back in

As far as the 10 spoke vinyl inserts go, They are available now. The best part is, the more people that get into it, the cheaper it is for everyone because, like printing business cards...the more you print, the cheaper they become. For a 10 spoke 19" wheel like mine you will need 40 inlays and we will give 5 extra just in case one gets screwed up.
For the 5 spoke Duck Feet you will only need 25 so we'll supply 30...that might work for some extras. Maybe more if needed.

Once these things are on, they are great .The vinyl is thin, easy to work with and easy to put on. It really is surprising how easy it is and just how durable this stuff is. My friend has so many colors, textures etc. Like Carbon Fiber and pearl finishes, aluminum , flat, glossy and more. I've already gone to my car wash twice and there just is nothing happening.

The vinyl is that which is used for Outdoor Signs and truck lettering. My friend owns a speed shop and he has been doing computer graphics on cars , trucks, custom license plates and car designs for a few years. I saw a CTS that he did with Carbon fiber, on the roof and other trim.

I came up with the idea for the 10 spokes on my G because I just got it after trading my CTS .I have to get all season tires in November and I don't want two sets of wheels now. I've been there with the Caddy and my RX-8 and RX-7 and my Audi TT. This time i'll just change the tires to the OEM rims in spring and fall until I get ready to put fancier wheels on .
I did a couple of minimal mods on my G like the aluminum door grabs inside. They were scratched. My buddy gave me a piece of vinyl to play with. Aluminum sparkle type. It was VERY THIN and moldable and I did both door pulls in less than an hour with just a razor blade/X-acto. The stuff is super high quality and it molded right on and so flexible i could pull it tight like Saran Wrap. They look great and they don't scratch any longer. I even did the aluminum center on my shift **** but the **** leather was beyond repair so I put an Automatic M-45 leather **** on and it fit perfectly.If they get screwed up, i'll just replace them...That piece with scratches was driving me NUTS.

Many of you are experienced with cutting vinyl already but the graphic cutting machine makes it possible to get these things so uniform and in large numbers it's totally cool..I had my windows tinted in my CTS and they used the same machine to cut the film. I thought it might be a good item to share. For those of us that are not heavy duty gearheads, that do these easy little mods to be different and have fun and save a few bucks, I thought it would be perfect.Once we get a GOOD template made , it goes in the computer. Then we'll be able to make as many as we want. I made my template by hand and then he refined it on the computer. I wish we could find an actual wheel to try it out but I personally never saw one. He might be able to find one. He sells all kinds of custom wheels in the Speed Shop and I bought my CTS Black wheels from him , with new tires too. He has LED lights that I used to replace the small bulbs that are inside my headlight lenses...Now I use that as running lights. No wiring, just plugged in to the OEM socket after removing the stock bulb.

I am available at temptones1@verizon.net for questions. We don't know what the price will be yet because we haven't made any except mine.

We'll come up with a price for a set of the 18" Duck Feet and the 19" OEM spokes and I'll post it or tell you on E-Mail. My friend said " I don't want to charge any outrageous amounts for these as long as we cover the materials and the labor. Once that is figured out we'll know. If a set of wheels costs $800. to $1000. or more , this would be a viable alternative , probably somewhere around $60. to $80. we hope.

Let us do our homework and get back to any of you that are interested. I had great fun putting mine on . I was so eager, I actually did it in the rain. That actually helped because using a bit of dishwashing detergent in water and a spray bottle , allows the graphic to slide around and be adjusted. By the end of the first wheel, I was getting so good that a quick spray and it went right on. It only took about an hour or so to do all 4 wheels of 10 spokes each.

I will keep you posted as soon as I know something definite. I already showed the DUCK FEET picture to my friend so we are on it.If you know how to get this message to more people here , just send it and if you look at my pictures of my car on the initial post you can see what it looks like.
Cheers,
Paul (Temptones 1 )

 

These are my OEM 19" spokes. Masking and painting each wheel with Plastdip would take 100 times longer.You would have to spend so much time masking and taking wheels off and correcting mistakes. These will not peel off easily either. I did it in an hour. No wheel removal. It doesn't look cheap. It actually plays a trick on your eyes and looks really good.I have shown many guys and they all thought it was very good looking. It certainly beats getting new wheels for me right now. My daughter's college is $52,000 a year. I have enough troubles buying toys.

It's a matter of taste. I know there are guys that will say they don't care for the look , but maybe some will. Maybe just for winter wheels or until we get the new , magnificent ones we really want. For the money though, it is worth a try.

 

I agree that the black inserts on the Coupe 19s looks a little contrived; those are gorgeous wheels, so I would not tamper with that look.

However, the black on the sedan sport 18s seems to give the wheel somewhat of a more modern OEM look. The duckfeet wheels have really grown on me over the past year, so I would be reluctant to change them, but I think if this was done correctly, it may look decent.

 

I like the duck feet too. But I do miss having aftermarket wheels. I have a set of matte gunmetal Avant Garde M580 on order. Won't start using them until next year since there's not much summer left here. And I need to save up for tires. lol

 

4 wheels x 5 spokes = 20 overlays

Extras for goofs.

 

Agreed, interesting concept but two tone wheels look low rent IMO, will cheapen the whole car, esp w plastidip involved...

 

Same here. Took a while but I have learned to like them.

 

Those were my exact feelings too, for the first couple of years. Didn't like them at first, but they grew on me.

However, after buying aftermarket wheels, now I look at the duckfeet and wonder what the heck I was thinking. The finish is really unappealing, and the spokes are incredibly fat.

 

Ok I will be honest, I wanted to try the duck feet but realize there would be to much cutting so I decided to plasti dip the chrome and also did my neighbor Maxima door handle and voila le resultats lol.

I was going to do the rims white but change my mind, but I think black rims looks sexy for some reason

 

I've actually thought about painting my "duckfeet" wheels. Since my car is malbec black I've been thinking about a really dark metallic red or gloss black with red flake. I figure at night everything will look black, but when the sunlight hits the car then the dark red might accent the purple flake in the car.......

 

I'd be most interested in trying this. It does look good on the duckfeet and it would give the G a different look. Sub'd

 

In for updates and Paul I will shoot you an email. This would be a short term fix while I negotiate with my wife for wheels (She thought they would cost like $300).

 

Right when I started becoming interested in the G37, I right away knew I wanted the G37xs. I started reading on the forum about "duckfeet" and making fun of these wheels, so I had in my mind that I will need to buy new wheels for the car right away, so in my mind I had a dislike just from reading.

However, every time I actually see them, the dislike just will not click in my mind. I actually think they are a nice, sporty set of OEM wheels. Yes, if you compare them to the 19" coupe then they are not as nice, but the 19" coupe wheels might be the nicest OEM wheels that I have seen, but aside from the 19" coupe, I think these 18" wheels really does well with the car and looks great. Truthfully, what am I missing with these wheels? Why the dislike and disgust?