DIY rim grips

RedBull48 · Mar 4, 2021

Hello all, I am planning on building a diy rim (likely Audi R8). I am very comfortable with the modeling and electronics side of the project. My biggest consideration at the moment is how to tackle the handles / grips. Personally I do not care for suede which is a very popular option in diy rims. Is anyone familiar with any vendor who sells pre wrapped leather grips that I may be able to incorporate? It would need to be a vendor able to ship to the united states. Thanks for any info!

Alvaro de la Orden · Mar 5, 2021

another option could be using handle bar grip tape, from bikes, or tennis/padel tape.
I used that for my Acelith rim.
I think leather or suede are doable but your need several things, having the handles divided on two parts is very convenient, also you may damp the material so it follows the contours better, and finally some adhesive glue particular for those materials involved.

The former tape is cheap, and allows for several applications, so it´s no big factor start wrapping and undone the whole thing and begin again.

RedBull48 · Mar 5, 2021

Thanks for the suggestion, I have seen that deployed in other DIY builds. I would likely 3d print the grip forms and then find some form of wrapping them. Injection molding seems like an interesting prospect as well but I am not sure how complicated that is.

Mcorp · Mar 6, 2021

As long as you use gloves wood could be an option as well......i love it.

RedBull48 · Mar 6, 2021

@Mcorp Very nice! Did you handcraft those yourself or did you source them elsewhere? If you did them yourself could you share the technique you used to shape the contours?

Mcorp · Mar 6, 2021

did it my self with a CNC but it's my own design made with Fusion 3d

.

RedBull48 · Mar 7, 2021

That's awesome! I myself started getting into modeling with fusion 360 recently and I absolutely love it. I only have a 3d printer to output designs but I imagine I will end up with a cnc setup myself soon enough. Great job on your wheel by the way.

Henrikk · Mar 8, 2021

If you 3D-print your grips (edit. should work on any material) you can cover them with plasti-dip, not the spray but the goo you get in cans, apply many layers and smooth out with thinner. Yes, it will wear out but it's easy to apply more. Be sure to have good ventilation or you will loose a lot of braincells

You can se the result on my cube-copy wheel.

RedBull48 · Mar 8, 2021

Henrikk said:
You can se the result on my cube-copy wheel.

Thanks for the recommendation, and great job on your rim. Lot's of talented people on this forum!

mrdublin72 · Jul 27, 2024

Henrikk said:
If you 3D-print your grips (edit. should work on any material) you can cover them with plasti-dip, not the spray but the goo you get in cans, apply many layers and smooth out with thinner. Yes, it will wear out but it's easy to apply more. Be sure to have good ventilation or you will loose a lot of braincells

You can se the result on my cube-copy wheel.

I'm finally considering My own 3d printed grips and was really considering plastidip but wasn't sure if it would come out well. Glad to run across your post. Great job

Henrikk · Aug 17, 2024

mrdublin72 said:
I'm finally considering My own 3d printed grips and was really considering plastidip but wasn't sure if it would come out well. Glad to run across your post. Great job

Glad you liked it!