Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Videos
Because spinners are so very '2005': LED message-board wheels
For those of
you who rue the day spinners rolled onto the aftermarket scene, we've got potentially good news -- they've been
replaced by something even cooler (at least from a technological standpoint). Custom Wheel has come out
with alloys outfitted with LEDs. When hooked into the vehicle's electrical system, they're a show car's wet
dream. Drivers can work with the software provided to create graphics that light up the wheels as they drive, and
each wheel can have up to six different pictures rotate through. Appropriately dubbed 'Pimpstar,' the wheels can show
everything from a driver's phone number to a full-color photo.
Similar wheels have been shown on race vehicles in years past, but this is the first available-to-the-public set we've seen. And they aren't cheap: CustomWheel.com pegs wheel/tire package deals starting at Chevrolet Aveo-like prices.
While we question the legality (and sensibility) of the things, it probably won't be very long before prices come down and they're seen on roads near you. So check out the link for a video, and don't say you haven't been warned.
[Source: CustomWheel]
(thanks to everyone for the tips)
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Giggles of Doom 9:21AM (3/28/2006)
I am sure these are very illegal in many states. Here, in WI, people get tickets over blinking tire air valve caps.
Reply
bullhonky 9:31AM (3/28/2006)
i think those are very, very uncool.
Reply
cowboy bob 9:53AM (3/28/2006)
Every time I think asininity has peaked, I'm proven wrong.
Reply
Noah 11:00AM (3/28/2006)
I look forward to the tickets that will be flying.
Awsome, I love it when people do stupid things and get tickets for it. The icing is when they try and take the product back and the place that sold it said "You moron, we told you"
--Noah
Reply
ZoomZoomin' 11:53AM (3/28/2006)
Combine that LED system with some accelerometers and programmable controller and you've got some interesting dynamic, road-reactive displays. Hit bumps and watch the dice tumble or give the female sihlouette pattern a "jiggle" simulation on a bumpy road and you've got guaranteed accidents.
I could see those being a popular promotional tool in cities like Vegas (everything is already lit up at night anyway). It might take a special city ordinance or rule changes, but I could see it being popular there on the taxis and promo vehicles. Same for here on the Sunset strip and Hollywood or in New York City.
Reply
Barry 12:03PM (3/28/2006)
It those LED's could be fitted to a normal looking rim and not such a huge stupid mirror, then that might be cool.
And instead of having huge rediculous image, use the LED's to display a simple side marker along the rim in red or amber. There is the possibility of some sensibility with this product, but I doubt the majority of people who can do this will head in that direction.
Reply
Corey W. 3:26PM (3/28/2006)
cowboy bob,
I thought the exact same thing...
But like previously posted this can be great for advertising... If anything, you'll get a good laugh while driving.
Well....until someone gets into a accident, watching these wheels, then they'll get banned like everything in this country.
Reply
Tom 5:00PM (3/28/2006)
Reminds me of a recent entry on the Make blog, where someone created similar LED POV animations for bicycle wheels.
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/03/light_up_animated_pacman_bicyc.html
I look forward to the creativity of the animation that will come out...as well as making fun of the really crappy parts-store version that will enevitably show up in a few years.
Reply
small-wee-wee 9:24PM (3/28/2006)
Only 20k and illegal in many states.
Reply
tony 8:05PM (3/31/2006)
i think they will cause distractions that might lead up to accidents...eg..cell phones...it'll be like rubbernecking...and we all know what that leads too....not a good idea...flashy but not safe...
Reply
A. 8:13PM (3/31/2006)
I think they will be a distraction to other drivers. Accident rate will increase
Reply
Carter 8:20PM (3/31/2006)
In a word...STUPID!!
Reply
Carter 8:22PM (3/31/2006)
Unless you're using these for advertising purposes, they are, in a word...STUPID!!
Reply
Aubree 8:31PM (3/31/2006)
well i thought it was stupid but when I saw what a car looked like with them on i had to addmit it's pretty unique!...yet strange
Reply
Cerita 8:33PM (3/31/2006)
I live in Vegas, I would love to advertise this way. However, I would only outfit the company car not my personal one.
Reply
300Mark 8:40PM (3/31/2006)
It shoudl go great with those retards that put bleacher seat wings on the back of a FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CAR. Or the ones with the huge coffee can exhausts on 4poppers that sound like overstuffed weedeaters. I hate stupid people.
Reply
Richard Weiner 8:42PM (3/31/2006)
I'm sorry, anybody who purchases those is an idiot. I won't be able to stop laughing at somebody who has those.
Reply
Robert Mitchum 8:50PM (3/31/2006)
A huge hit for black drug dealers everywhere.
Reply
DanBarrett 8:51PM (3/31/2006)
Admittedly folks who have these are suffering from a lack of attention (a serious condition that persists beyond the normal two year old 'Look at Me' syndrome)
But so what. They want to look goofy. Good for them.
For those concerned that these may be dangerous: What exact stimuli REQUIRES you to look away from the road? Are you the person that sued McDonald's for serving the coffee hot too?
Lack of personal responsibility. Exactly the thinking that will be bringing us closer to socialism everyday.
Reply
Danielle 8:56PM (3/31/2006)
I personally think that the rims are a unique way to express one's creativity or personal style. The only way I look at them as being stupid is if the person who's not driving the flashy car is dumb enough to be hypnotized by these things for so long that they crash.
Reply