Do you also sweat those cool little details?

I think it's worth the $15.

If I had a set of TE37s, I'd spring for the valve caps, too–and probably a couple of bags of replacements as well.

Now you need centercaps :)

In 1985 I bought little steel caps for my 1985 Nissan 200SX.  A coworker stole them from one side planning on the other side in the future.  Another coworker saw a guy bend down by my car and told me but wasn't interested in getting involved.  

I asked the guy and he started yelling at me so I've learned not to care about those caps.  The black plastic ones work fine.  

Slippery said:

Now you need centercaps :)

Would you believe that I have them–but am too afraid of losing one on the road. 

OG Volk TE37 center caps:

Never...

I would certainly never order a set of green Bentley valve stem caps to go on my green Bentley. 

Or a Bentley tool bag to go in the trunk. (I couldn't find a green one. Trust me, I looked.)

Never. 

Small update: I now see those Rays valve caps on sale for $12.76.

I've tried to but it seems to go down the dreaded OCD loop: You get all those little details just so and then see one more detail that would be that little bit better with one minor tweak, and that tweak begets another and another.

In reply to Tom1200 :

I hear ya. Somewhere there has to be a hard stop.

Rays valve caps? Yes.

Refinishing the wheels to like-new? No. 

I need a set of this for my Honda!

David S. Wallens said:

Small update: I now see those Rays valve caps on sale for $12.76.

Link?

Datsun310Guy said:

In 1985 I bought little steel caps for my 1985 Nissan 200SX.  A coworker stole them from one side planning on the other side in the future.  Another coworker saw a guy bend down by my car and told me but wasn't interested in getting involved.  

I asked the guy and he started yelling at me so I've learned not to care about those caps.  The black plastic ones work fine.  

I purchased STi caps for my.........STi. They were stolen. I bought a second set. They were stolen. I now just have the basic black valve stems. They have not been stolen. There may not be another thing on a car that can be easier stolen than valve stem caps. 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

I hear ya. Somewhere there has to be a hard stop.

Rays valve caps? Yes.

Refinishing the wheels to like-new? No. 

They are only stock once.

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

I need a set of this for my Honda!

Dang, that looks stunning. 

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

David S. Wallens said:

Small update: I now see those Rays valve caps on sale for $12.76.

Link?

Link. 

In reply to Feedyurhed :

If someone wants to break into our garage to steal the valve caps, fine. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

I hear ya. Somewhere there has to be a hard stop.

Rays valve caps? Yes.

Refinishing the wheels to like-new? No. 

They are only stock once.

Yup. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Thank you.  That's the DD.  I'm pretty happy with it 8 months in.  

Those Ray's caps would last 5 seconds around here.

No, I would never spend, say $80 on having custom center cap emblems made.  Never...

Caveat - many after market caps are aluminum. If you just stick them on a steel valve stem and forget about them, they eventually corrode/weld themselves to the stems. Be sure to dab them with some anti seize first.

I definitely have been known to, but typically restrain myself from going too hard on customization. Over the years I had to learn that many people just cannot see or appreciate the effort, even car guys can be oblivious. Now, it is always 100% for me and what I think is cool and worthwhile.

Fwiw, I highly appreciate those that have a vision and enact it. 

Eta: I grew up and have lived in areas where anything that could be carried away would be stolen quickly, sometimes by me. There is absolutely a time and place for cars that are practically invisible in their plainness.

Am I missing something here? Is there anything special about Ray's valve stem caps specifically vs. any other aluminum valve stem caps?

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Yep, they say Rays. The others do not. 

Slippery said:

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Yep, they say Rays. The others do not. 

Yup. 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

It's aesthetics. I'm usually a strict function > form guy but on occasion, you just have to. The Bentley came with cheap grey plastic caps and that just wouldn't do. 

I'd be embarrassed to tell you what a set of OEM Bentley valve caps costs by the time you air freight them from the UK. Suffice it to say it's a good bit more than $13. 

And a small PS.

Last night I took the Miata–with its fancy, new valve caps–to the Orlando Roadsters meet. Evan, one of the people in charge of the event, always has something nice to say about the car–and totally loves the fact that I have some old TE37s for it. He knows those wheels only come out for special occasions.

When I rolled in last night, I heard him yell: DO I SEE SOME OG TE37S!?

And when I told him to check out the valve caps, he voiced much approval. 

So, yeah, sometimes it’s the little things and the smiles they can bring. 

My e36 with 5.7 LS1

Details like this make a huge difference to me.  They all add up to the sum of the car.    

wawazat said:

Details like this make a huge difference to me.  They all add up to the sum of the car.    

Good way of putting it. I tried to do the same with the 911. The car’s from 1984, the plates are from 1984, etc., etc. 

The Cayman has Porsche Crest valve caps and a color matched Crest leather key fob.

My non autocross setup in the picture below. I have the original SSR Competition Center Caps, but I never liked how they looked, though I still have them along with a few spares and original stickers for the wheels  that I found on craigslist and had the seller ship to me. I also have black SSR valve stems hehe. 

However I never liked the original center caps and was able to get a more modern looking center cap from SSR that fit my wheels (despite the website saying they didn't)

https://more-japan.com/ssr-wheels-aluminum-center-cap-a-type-super-low.html?category_id=3

I autocross with these 15x8 PF01s though...but I do take the center caps off if I go to the FIRM with them.

I'd like to fix a lot of the little things though, the door dings, the paint, etc. Interior wise, stuff like OEM radio (or something period correct) and keeping the confetti 90s era confetti seats. (Glad I don't have leather!)

In reply to aw614 :

The SSRs are such classics. 

preach (dudeist priest) said:

The Cayman has Porsche Crest valve caps and a color matched Crest leather key fob.

Nice. FWIW, I matched Regular Show cast member key fobs to all of ours cars: Hi-Five Ghost for the white Miata, Mordecai for the blue M3, etc., etc.