[John E Davies]

Hi;

This is my first post - I am considering buying an LX in summer, and I was wondering what the rear would look like with a matching 17 inch alloy wheel and no cover. Has anyone got a pic that might help? Even with the OEM steel wheel?

I think the cover looks like a huge M&M candie hung off the back. Maybe I should just paint it like this:

I want to be able to rotate the spare, and I have a heavily modified LX450 with the spare on the back, so the two would look good in my driveway with the cover gone.... I think.

Thanks.

John

 

[garfieldgurl]

Hehe, i like the idea of the M&M's cover :lol:. I collect M&M's things, maybe i should paint my cover in green

 

[flyingn]

John good idea but don't you mean a Limited? There is no Rav4 LX.. ????

 

[John E Davies]

Oops, Freudian slip - I own an LX450. Yes, I meant Limited.

John

 

[karrock]

I'm sure it looks fine -- the styled steel wheel is very nice for being what it is -- the main problem I see is that the steel wheel won't match your four alloy wheels. I'll try to snap a photo some time.

 

[RAVishing]

Okay...I couldn't resist!

 

[becks]

EEEEEEEE.......GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD..lol

Now you just need a Lic. Plate that says "Candy Man"..


Thats funny

 

[garfieldgurl]

Okay...I couldn't resist!

:lol: Niiiiiiiiiiice... Looks kinda cool, doesn't it? :wink: :lol:

 

[John E Davies]

I'm sure it looks fine -- the styled steel wheel is very nice for being what it is -- the main problem I see is that the steel wheel won't match your four alloy wheels. I'll try to snap a photo some time.

I would appreciate a pic. I was going to buy a 5th alloy wheel to match the rest, if I decided to go without the cover. That way I can rotate the spare and get some use out of the rubber.

John

 

[karrock]

First of all... LOL RAVISHING!!! I cracked up looking at your creation the first time and it always give me a chuckle. Maybe Marcutio or Mensajero will put your idea on their RAVs! :lol:

Here's my Limited with the hard cover removed -- I didn't take off the back part of the shell, because that would involve unmounting the spare as well... Maybe someone with a Base or Sport could take some photos, since their whole cover is cinched on with elastic?

As you can see, the spare (which is the same as the Base's styled steel wheel) is held onto the door with three lugs and needs a little bit of cleaning up to remove the "new tire" markings. If you do let your spare run naked, I'd suggest a wheel lock (keyed lug nut) to deter anyone from walking away with your precious spare.

It looks perfectly handsome without the spare cover, but I personally think it would look a lot better if an alloy was hanging there.

 

[John E Davies]

Thanks for the pics. I think the trucklet looks 10 times better with the spare in view, but I am sure that opinion isn't shared by most owners.

It looks as if the cover is a pretty tight fit around the perimeter of the tire - if you removed the inner part, you would only gain a teenie bit of extra rear vision over the top. Do you agree?

Now you need to PhotoShop in a matching alloy wheel onto the spare and post that pic

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

[becks]

Personally...I like it with the cover. The lines are cleaner for my taste. Thanks for the pix.

 

[karrock]

Yes. As you say, any rearward vision gained by removing the cover would be no more than a fraction of an inch -- millimeters off the radius at best.

One observation: despite the flat finish of the shell's black plastic backing, it still reflects the third brake light at night. A very minor annoyance, but it's noticible to me.

 

[karrock]

I kludged this 'chop together... The other angles are proving to be a lot harder -- maybe when I have the time to work on it some more...

 

[becks]

Great job...It def. provides a good visual perspective...

btw ...lol I like the fact that it comes with a disc brake installed hehe...

 

[thecat]

Well now I'm curious, what does it look like with the tire removed? Is the back a nice painted finish or ... something else?

 

[karrock]

It's painted, but there's an eyesore of a mounting bracket there -- even with the bracket removed, it won't look very good.... Not very appealing naked...

This is a 4.1, but I'm sure it's not all that different with the 4.2 or 4.3...

 

[thecat]

Only a Mother could love that

Well, if the 06 is similar so much for removing the spare. You couldn't put enough lipstick on that pig.

 

[John E Davies]

LOL that is funny.

Maybe that brake is to keep the wheel from spinning while you drive, like those idiotic propeller things that go in the hitch.

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

[Bluenoser]

karrock:.....that'd be a great pic for "What's wrong with this pic??"
Wonder how many ppl would know........ :roll: :roll: