What are these things on 80s Lancia wheels?

[lowfiwhiteguy]

I've been a longtime rally fan; Since I was a kid my favourite cars have been 80s Group B and early Group A cars. A characteristic of the most famous Lancia Deltas of these eras (S4, Integrale) were these black "wheel protectors" that were occasionally attached to the wheel rims, but I could never find an explanation to their purpose. I presume they're either to keep dirt off the brake rotors, or they're an air channeling device to direct air into the wheel to help with cooling, but I could never get anything confirmed from Googling.

Could a Lancia connoisseur please explain what these actually are? I included some photos of what I'm referring to.

Cheers.

 

[Eugene Abramoff]

My best guess that it is for cooling, Mazda 787 has those on front wheels as well. Ken Block's Fiesta had those too.

 

[Roy Magnes]

My best guess that it is for cooling, Mazda 787 has those on front wheels as well. Ken Block's Fiesta had those too.

Yes, those were installed to vent some more cool air onto the brakes. I know Ford and Toyota used those on their cars in the late 80's and early 90's too before the plates where banned.

 

[Eugene Abramoff]

Yes, those were installed to vent some more cool air onto the brakes. I know Ford and Toyota used those on their cars in the late 80's and early 90's too before the plates where banned.

Are those racing cars you are talking about? Why were the plates banned?

 

[Roy Magnes]

Rally cars I do not know why it was banned, might have been something to do with traffic regulations in general. That, and the fact that it did not look particulary good on the cars